One of your goals this year may be to hire good seasonal workers to help get through a more hectic schedule.
Job candidates are thinking about what they want to do months before seasonal breaks. It is important for you to think about and formulate a plan of what you want to do for your busy seasons. If you need additional help during those months, then hiring temporary workers may be what is best for your business.
Hiring seasonal employees isn’t difficult, but you should start planning early to ensure you get the best for your small business.
Here are some things you should do to get ready to hire your seasonal staff:
Write a really good job description
It should align with your company’s vision and can be the foundation of your hiring and recruiting strategies. You should ensure your job description lists the essential functions of the job, the education and experience required, lists any specialized knowledge, and states competencies required. Also, you should state the working conditions and any physical requirements needed.
Once a new employee starts their new position, you should make sure the employee has a copy of the job description, they sign it, and return to you indicating they understand the duties of the position.
Determine your exact needs and what may change during the season
You should know your budget and know how many you will be hiring. When posting, you should ensure you put the required hours, what benefits this job will offer, and any other important information that your candidate should know.
This will be the information you will spread around the community, so it is important to be very detailed and clear about your hiring needs.
Understand your state and federal laws for temporary employees
You should research pay regulations, benefit requirements, and any other requirements which may affect how many people you can hire based upon your budget.
Stand out from others hiring seasonal employees
If you are competing with other employers to hire workers, consider standing out in your job posting. Don’t be afraid to list your perks. For example, if you offer flexible scheduling or an end-of-season bonus, then you should list those on your job posting. This can help you with your recruiting efforts.
Think about what you offer which may be better than others. Post what will make your job opportunity more appealing.
When recruiting seasonal workers, use different places to advertise your job. Be creative when thinking about where to post your job.
Here are some ideas on how to find good employees to hire:
Referrals from customers and current employees.
For example, if you own
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Conduct an open house.
Advertise with your local community and your social media regarding an open house or job fair. This is where you plan a space of time to gather applications or resumes and talk to potential job leads. By having an open house, candidates can get a sense of your business needs and understand your requirements better.
Post your job at nearby colleges.
College students are looking for their summer job. Every college has a career center and the jobs posted are not just for graduates. They are for every type of job available to help the student earn money. You should contact all colleges around your area to post them. Think about posting the job as soon as you develop your job information. Students start thinking about what they are going to be doing on their summer or winter break early in the semester.
Post the job at your local career center
Every state has a local career center that is run by the U.S. Department of Labor. Ensure you post your job there because anyone who is laid off from a job is referred to the career center. It is free to post, which is even better.
Use social media
It can be a way to show the fun side of your business. Instagram is a great way to show pictures of what working there is like. It can help you establish your brand to help fulfill your hiring needs. Think about capturing your company events and putting those pictures on your business Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts. On those sites, you can use hashtags which are important to get your information in front of an interested audience. Don’t be afraid to put your hiring needs on your social media pages.
Post on other online job boards.
You can also post a job on Indeed for free. There are others which you may want to look at such Snagajob.com (which is for hourly workers) or seasonaljobs.com. These may give you a different audience if the postings aren’t expensive.
Another great tool called Proven helps you post to 100+ job boards to save you time and get the best exposure. You can also look for a job board for your particular niche as well.
When posting your job, think about
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If you have never hired an employee before, make sure you consult your federal and state laws. Review best practices for hiring so that you will not have to deal with turnover.
Don’t forget to put your perks in your job posting. Consider offering a seasonal bonus for those that work the entire busy season. It doesn’t have to be much, but it can help reduce job hopping and turnover for your seasonal staff.
Remember to keep your communication open with your seasonal workers. They are just like other employees and want to feel included with any company communications.
Also, consider hiring those with little or no experience. You may have to spend more time training, but you will be training them your way.
Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Group, says, “Most skills can be learned, but it is difficult to train people on their personality. If you can find people who are fun, friendly, caring, and love helping others, you are onto a winner.”
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Finally, ensure you can give your seasonal workers the hours you state in the job posting. Some employers hire a large number of employees and give them a few hours a week. They do this so they can test them or in case of turnover. This is not a good idea and it is a bad business practice. It can give you a bad reputation in the community. Usually these temporary workers want to work a lot, so ensure you give them the hours you promised.
Once you have recruited your seasonal workers, don’t forget to take down your job posting. You don’t want a job posting to always stay up as it can look like you have constant turnover.
Have fun hiring for your busy season. You may want these top-notch workers later when you need full-time help.
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