Whether you’re looking forward to Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas or even the New Year, the holidays are quickly approaching. For those who rely on a seasonal roster of supplemental employees, the time to begin preparations is now. Hesitate to do so, and you may find yourself without the seasonal help you need.

Onboarding Quickly and Efficiently

For starters, you’ll need to have a plan for recruiting and onboarding new employees in a quick and efficient manner. This is especially true for those who wait until the last minute to begin their recruitment efforts. Proactive employers, on the other hand, start the hunt for seasonal employees’ weeks or even months in advance.

Additionally, many employers find it helpful to utilize external help in the form of a third-party staffing agency. Even if they are only used on a seasonal basis, the resources available to staffing agencies can be used to fill temporary roles quickly and easily. Who knows, you may even find a permanent employee through a staffing agency.

Reactivating Previous Employees

In many cases, previous employees can be called upon to fill seasonal positions. Those who are only interested in part-time or seasonal work, for example, make great candidates. As long as the professional relationship between you and your past employee hasn’t been damaged, there’s nothing to lose by asking and reactivating workers you’ve used in the past.

However, contacting past employees may prove difficult and, in some cases, impossible. People relocate, change telephone numbers and even take up brand new careers altogether. If you find that you are in need of seasonal help every single year, make sure to communicate this to your staff. While you certainly can’t expect them to put their personal lives on hold for the seasonal needs of your company, it does give them the chance to make the arrangements needed to accommodate seasonal or temporary hours.

Embracing Seasonal Employees

For those whose businesses are subject to seasonal trends, the importance of seasonal workers cannot be denied. However, it’s important that you embrace such employees, keep them informed and make sure they feel like a part of your company. After all, you never know when you’ll need to call on them again in order to meet a major deadline, achieve a production quota or support your full-time service staff.

Turning Temporary Positions into Full-Time Employment

You may even find that some of your seasonal or temporary positions are needed on a full-time basis. In this case, don’t hesitate to offer the promotion to the temp in question. Not only are you already well aware of their skills and capabilities in the field, but you’ll save on the added cost of having to interview, onboard and train a brand new recruit for the role.

If you know that there may be potential for a seasonal job to turn into a permanent position, make sure your new employees are aware of this fact. Simply making this information known is a great way to drive morale and motivation while ensuring productivity.

Work with a Leader in Light Industrial Staffing

Work with one of the largest staffing agencies in the U.S. to meet the employment needs of your company and contact Automation today! With 33 branch locations, we can help meet any of your staffing needs.