Holiday Staffing: Gearing up Before the Rush

But the holidays don’t always have to be stressful. With enough preparation, you’ll be able to emerge on the other side of New Year’s Day unscathed. PayPal and Talus Pay both have lists of tips for how to prepare your staff for the holiday season. We’ve compiled insights from those lists here for you, so you have all their tricks for how to take the stress off your shoulders. 

Temporary staffing 

Temporary, or contingent, staffing is often the way to go for the holidays. Many Americans switch jobs or re-enter the workforce after retirement for the holiday.  

Think about it: not everyone has cash on hand to buy their grandchildren gifts, or to throw that big holiday party they’ve been dreaming of. There’s plenty of job seekers out there right now preparing to take on the holiday rush. 

Temp staffing can even save you money. Zen Business says that hiring a temporary employee is often cheaper than hiring a permanent worker, who requires benefits and pay raises over time. With temp staffing, all the complicated parts of hiring and payroll are managed by an outside organization: a staffing company.  

Why work with a staffing agency? 

Staffing firms are great resources to any organization thinking about using temporary workers to get them through the holidays. These companies take the time to understand your needs, do the recruiting for you, and present you with pre-screened, qualified, and eager candidates.  

But it doesn’t stop there. Many staffing agencies will help you with interviews, onboarding, and even payroll. They will make sure your working space is updated and safe, that your new employee has filled out all the necessary paperwork, and that your temp workers are qualified for the job. 

Attracting Contingent and Temp Staff for the Holidays 

It’s no secret that the holidays are one of the busiest times of the year. You should expect stiff competition for every holiday season, and 2022 may be the most challenging yet. Your competitors will be looking for the exact same talent that you will be. To come out on top, you’ll need to start your hiring process early.ng now will also ensure that you have time to evaluate, onboard, and train your new candidates or employees properly. 

Identify what you need 

Do you need part-time employees, or full-time employees? What about temporary or contract workers? These are all questions that you need to ask before your holiday hiring process. Without these answers, finding your target audience will be difficult. 

When it comes to an audience, you may want to think about looking to the younger generations for help. College and high school students often work during the holidays as they come home from school or have time off. They could be great resources to you during the holiday season and are hungry to work. 

Review employee schedules and resources 

Now let’s look at your company as it stands. Do your employees have enough space to do their work properly? If you hire more employees, will that make it more difficult? You may want to rent out temporary space for the holiday season to ensure that everyone can work properly. 

Taking a second look at your holiday schedule is also a good idea. Is it truly necessary that your business runs 24/7 during this time? If it is, PayPal says you may want to consider hiring employees virtually in different time zones to bridge the gap instead of asking employees in your region to do overnight shifts. 

Talus Pay also advises you to re-evaluate the duties you’re giving your current employees. People tend to do better work when their responsibilities are specialized. It allows for more consistency, better flow, and even more security for sensitive customer information, such as credit cards.  

Think about it: employees juggling several tasks during a busy season can get overwhelming, and things can get lost in the process. Instead, divide up your duties across several employees, and take the stress off their shoulders. It will create an overall better work experience, and a more appealing job description!  

Job descriptions 

Next, let’s look at your job descriptions. Each specific position needs its own posting. This strategy will ensure that you’re receiving applications that are hyper focused on what you need. 

For these job descriptions, you may want to re-evaluate your listed responsibilities, required experience, and skills. Are all your requirements necessary? Oftentimes experience or skills can be replaced with on-the-job training. Adjusting these qualifications can open your candidate pool. 

Now that your job descriptions are written, you’ll want to make sure to post them in as many places as possible. Online sites are great resources. Try Monster, Indeed, or Glassdoor to start. If those aren’t working for you, do some research. There’s no shortage of online sites that could work for you. Or consider partnering with a staffing agency that has access to a network of job boards! 

Training 

The busyness of the holiday season can bring a sort of scramble when it comes to training new employees. Many companies throw new workers into the thick of things for the sake of profit without training them properly. Having untrained employees on the floor can lead to operations issues! 

This training is why your holiday hiring early is so important. Training your employees early for the holiday season will ensure they are in top shape to keep your business running smoothly. When your employees are at the top of their game, so are you. 

Talus Pay says that you may even want to create a special handbook for employees. This handbook should give your new workers the rules, tips, and tricks of working for your company in a quick, conscience manner that will prepare them for the holiday rush. A new handbook can help your employees feel prepared for chaotic Black Friday sales and holiday shopping. 

Beat the Hiring Blues 

Holiday hiring can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. Anything from tuning your job descriptions, dividing up your employees’ tasks, or reviewing your schedules will make sure you come out on top. 

With the help of a staffing agency, looking to temp or contract staff for help, and good hiring practices, you’ll be able to prosper in no time. The holidays won’t be so hard with the help of these tips!