Hiring temporary staff is a great way to open doors for the future. They may be seasonal now, but if the experience ends on a positive note, that will create a connection you can look forward to later on.
For that reason, in this article, we will talk about:
- Benefits of hiring seasonal summer staff
- How to successfully hire seasonal summer staff
- Pros and cons of hiring seasonal summer staff
- The best software for hiring seasonal staff
Benefits of Hiring Seasonal Summer Staff
The benefits of hiring seasonal staff are vast, so let’s get straight into them.
Growing your business
Seasonal staff can help you grow your business. In some cases, part-time workers will transition into full-time positions. In addition, you can use the part-time employees to fill in where they’re needed as the full-time staff takes this opportunity to help grow the business.
Companies that are busier in the summertime with events and other things can take advantage of using seasonal staff to help. Sometimes temporary workers are available to work flexible hours without a fixed schedule. This will be great for full-time staff that might need to take a vacation or work a fixed schedule.
Cost-effectiveness
Temporary staff can be more cost-effective than full-time employees. This is an advantage that will help your budget for the year. You may not consider this a benefit in the beginning, but after reevaluating your budget at the end of the year, you will notice a difference.
We often think of the temporary staff as a fill-in or catchall for tasks that need to be done quickly and usually without any specific skills. However, hiring a temporary professional to come in and train your staff might be beneficial in more ways than one.
You can streamline your overall workflow and ramp up efficiency. Hiring a professional temporary employee can also offer skills to your company so that current employees can learn from their experiences and knowledge.
Streamlining processes
Seasonal staff can also help you streamline your recruiting process. It’s a great way to weed out negative approaches and work towards successfully hiring qualified candidates.
If you had seasonal employees last year, who made a real effort and seemed interested in working again, contact those workers first. Not only will you know they understand the job, but they’ll also help in streamlining the process for training new hires. This will also be a great way to cut down on part of the overall seasonal recruiting process.
Summer vacations are about to start and instead of suffering through absences, consider finding a temporary replacement. Hiring one or two seasonal workers will alleviate some of the stress that comes with employee vacations during the summertime. These workers can fill in throughout the entire summer and offer flexibility for current employees.
Successfully Hiring Seasonal Summer Help
With students out of school and retirees looking to make extra money for a vacation, there are many workers available. Below, you will find several tips that will help you successfully hire seasonal help this summer!
Start as early as possible
Start recruiting seasonal help as early as possible.
Of course, you can’t employ them until they’re needed, but starting the overall hiring process in advance is key in hiring temporary workers. Go ahead and add job ads several months in advance.
This way, you will start getting applications and resumes quickly. Then, you can focus on interviews. If you do things in advance, you won’t be rushed to find the perfect candidate. During this process, you can also hire applicants sooner than they’re needed so that they’re able to go ahead and fill out paperwork and get started training.
Use the help of digital technology
As you’re starting early to get applicants in the door, make sure you’re using technology to help. Online recruiting, automated onboarding, social media, remote training and other types of advanced technology can help speed up the entire process.
HR software, formatting resumes and more can be done with programs that are geared towards recruiting and hiring. To learn more information, contact us. We have the best software available for your needs.
Think in advance
At times, you may have an available position for permanent workers. Be sure to keep temporary employees in mind for these positions.
Let them know as they’re hired that they may be considered for a full-time job. At the very least, let them know that you’d be willing to bring them back again next year. Oftentimes, knowing they’ll have a seasonal job again will give applicants an incentive for accepting your offer.
Have clear job descriptions and ads
Seasonal employees are not going to be ones that expect to work full-time. That means when you are recruiting, steer clear of those who are looking for a permanent position.
Often, retirees and students are great seasonal workers. Make sure you specifically target the right applicants. Make sure your job ads are clear and concise when it comes to disclosing seasonal needs.
Seasonal workers should be flexible and adaptable. Make sure they understand this at the time they apply for the job.
Training will be done on a flexible schedule, as well. Disclosing every bit of information possible within the job description will help clear up any issues that might come with applicants applying when they’re not as flexible and adaptable as you need them to be.
Understand the law
Take a look at laws and regulations to make sure you fully understand what it takes to hire temporary workers. Sometimes, paying for unemployment, once the seasonal job ends can come into play if you are not familiar with specific laws.
Be sure to work with the BLS to make sure you’re doing what you need to do in terms of withholding taxes, paying them, and more.
Write up a seasonal employee agreement so that everyone involved understands what is expected. This contract will help in all aspects of recruiting.
Know what you are looking for
It’s important to find the right type of seasonal help. Make sure you have an idea of exactly what you’re looking for in terms of daily tasks they’ll need to perform like bookkeeping, public relations, or sales. Having a good idea of what you’re looking for early on is a great way to help the overall process run smoothly.
What type of worker do you need? If you need a specific skill set, be sure to disclose that in the job description. Also be sure to discuss specifics in interviews, as well.
Pros and Cons of Hiring Seasonal Summer Staff
As with everything, there are pros and cons to hiring seasonal summer staff. Let’s look at some pros and cons.
Pros
Many companies are choosing to hire temporary workers because they’re very effective in terms of getting ahead of the game in the busy season. There are candidates out there looking just for seasonal work.
With seasonal workers, you don’t have to pay workers’ compensation insurance, state unemployment insurance or benefits like retirement, healthcare, insurance or 401(k).
It can also cost less for the recruiting process when hiring summer staff versus permanent positions.
There won’t be a need to pay Medicare or Social Security taxes. Most of the time, this accounts for close to 8% of employees’ salaries.
Performance reviews, bonuses or appraisals will not be necessary, either.
There will be less training involved when hiring seasonal staff. They will only be responsible for specific duties.
Many times, seasonal staff is available immediately. That means you don’t have to wait on them to put in notice at their current job. Most seasonal help only works during the summer.
Because they are part time and seasonal, summer staff will work only a few hours a week and can pick up shifts for those who need to go on vacation or spend time with family.
Hiring seasonal staff will offer higher productivity and more efficiency. You’ll notice a difference in increased work due to extra staff members.
Unfortunately, there are some cons of hiring temporary seasonal employees. Below, you will find out what those negative things are.
Cons
The training won’t be as time-consuming for summer staff as it would be for a permanent position, but there are training requirements. There’s really no way to avoid it, but you should be able to speed up the process since there won’t be a need for extensive training.
There are also safety issues that come with summer staff. They’re not working during the coolest time of the year. That means higher temperatures which can lead to accidents on the job.
Often, temporary employees don’t have time to get to know current permanent staff. That means teamwork might not be at its best.
Sometimes, legal issues can be a problem, as well. Lawsuits are a risk and it’s important to check out the SBA to ensure you understand all laws and regulations when it comes to seasonal staff.
Some studies show that temporary workers are less reliable than those that seek permanent positions. That may not be the case, however.
Joe Broschak, Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, states that “On average, these temporary workers displayed better performance relative to goals compared to their full-time counterparts.”
Broschak stated that temporary hires that were later brought on as permanent employees did better. He said that “they continued to become better workers after becoming permanent.”
It’s important to understand each and every pro and con when it comes to hiring summer staff. While there are negative aspects of hiring seasonal help, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. Often there are more pros than cons in your situation.
Be sure to consider each and every factor as you seek out top seasonal talent that will work well within your company. We hope this information helps you make a great choice.
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