Seasonal Staffing How-Tos
It seems as though every year, the holidays approach faster and faster. As you prepare your business for the seasonal rush, you may also be considering your payroll. Typically, businesses prepare for the uptick in sales by bringing in temporary seasonal workers. Here, we’ll dive into some seasonal staffing how-tos for recruiting and hiring the right employees for your business.
Who to Ask?
Oftentimes, the best employees come from referrals by your current staff—especially the staff you see as shining stars. When you’re gearing up to start interviewing, check in with your best employees to learn if they have any friends or family members who would make a great addition to your team.
Also worth considering for hire are your customers themselves. Your regulars will know the store layout, the product, and possibly the employees. Bringing on your biggest fans can be a winning strategy for sure. Bear in mind that the learning curve for seasonal hires is significantly shorter than that of a full-time staffer, meaning there is not as much time for onboarding and training. This is just another great benefit to looking toward customers as potential hires.
Additionally, one of the easiest ways to solicit resumes is to post your openings on social media, or even in your store window. Who doesn’t love the nostalgia of a good old-fashioned “Help Wanted” sign?
What to Pay
Business owners may be prone to think that offering the lowest hourly wage for applicants around the holidays is a winning strategy. This year, it’s important to consider that unemployment is at a 50-year low. What does that mean for you? It’s a job-seeker’s market. As you begin advertising your open positions, you will be facing stiff competition from competitors. Instead of offering the minimum wage required by law, consider what you can afford to pay a temporary employee without sacrificing profits. Not only will you be more likely to beat out competitors, you’ll also be better positioned to find top-quality candidates.
Don’t forget to check out your state regulations for hiring seasonal employees. This includes how many hours are considered part-time, overtime rules, staffing youths under the age of 17, and more.
When to Look
ASAP. That’s an easy one. As we mentioned above, the learning curve for seasonal hires who will only be on-board for a couple of months is short. To mitigate the stress that comes with training a slew of new employees during the holiday rush, start your search early. There are likely also a lot of your full-time employees hoping to have off around the holidays, so all the more reason to get your backups in place.
Where to Find Funding
Hiring staff, no matter how you slice it, is going to cost you money this season. Take the financial sting out of bringing new employees on board with a Flex Pay loan, bridge loan, or line of credit from ARF Financial. And even if you’re a last-minute shopper, not to worry. We can get you approved in 24 hours and funded in as little as three days. Stop by today for a no-risk, no-obligation offer. And cheers to a happy, profitable holiday season.