You can see it on the horizon. Summer will soon be here, which means there will be lawns to cut, pools to skim, and tickets to scan.
For school-aged kids, this is the greatest news ever. But if you’re a business owner, meeting the impending demands of peak seasons can be a major source of stress. Whether you’re ramping up for the summer landscaping rush or need extra hands for a big outdoor festival, having a solid seasonal staffing strategy is paramount.
At Ethan Allen Workforce Solutions, we’ve been helping businesses in the Hudson Valley navigate their seasonal workforce needs for more than 50 years. Let’s examine five measures you can take to build a winning seasonal staffing strategy to bolster your business during the busiest of peak periods.
Analyze and Define Your Seasonal Labor Needs
Of course, when you’re running a business every day, stepping back to plan a seasonal staffing strategy can be difficult. Start by analyzing historical sales data, industry trends, and any external factors that may influence demand. This will help you pinpoint the exact timeframes and skill requirements for your seasonal workforce.
For example, a landscaping company might review its sales records from past years and notice a regular spike during May and June. Keen on following industry trends, that same company might be aware that sustainable landscaping practices are increasingly popular. Thanks to their timely homework, the landscaping firm is ready at peak season with seasonal workers skilled in organic pest control.
While this is merely a simplified example, Ethan Allen does work closely with clients to clearly define the roles, skills, and number of workers needed for their specific industries—be it landscaping, event staffing, warehousing, or construction.
Develop a Dedicated Seasonal Talent Pool
Once you’ve defined your labor needs, focus your recruitment efforts on building a dependable seasonal talent pool. Target candidates who are interested in temporary or seasonal work, such as contract workers or students.
Having met and worked with countless local students, we feel that there is a vastly underutilized workforce right in front of us, especially when it comes to skilled labor. We would all do well to build our connections with eager young people with an eye on their futures and a knack for more complex challenges.
No matter where seasonal employees come from, Ethan Allen maintains relationships with them, ensuring a quick and reliable hiring process later on. By taking the time to maintain a talent pool of proven performers, you can fill positions each season with workers so dependable, you’ll wish you could keep them all year.
Start Recruiting Early and Proactively
We all know how time seems to fly, making this step the simplest but somehow the hardest. Begin recruiting early and proactively to ensure you have sufficient time for onboarding and training before the peak season starts.
We recommend starting your seasonal hiring process at least two or three months before your peak season. This allows ample time for recruitment, interviews, background checks, and onboarding, which empowers your new hires to hit the ground running when you need them most.
Technology can make things easier. For example, Ethan Allen’s recruitment experts craft clear and engaging job descriptions and leverage digital platforms and social networks to reach the broadest possible audience. By starting these activities early, you can avoid last-minute hiring rushes that can lead to less suitable hires.
Streamline Onboarding and Training Processes
If you’ve made the effort to find the right seasonal workers, don’t put them in a position to fail with inadequate preparation. An effective onboarding and training process is essential for getting your seasonal employees up to speed quickly. It never hurts to develop a standardized onboarding process that includes focused training tailored to the specific role.
Consider a clothing store in need of seasonal workers ahead of the holiday shopping season. To make sure the seasonal staff is well-prepared, they might implement a learning management system (or LMS) to implement training in product knowledge, POS system use, customer service, and safety and loss prevention. Combined with in-store sessions, these online modules ensure that new hires learn at their own pace, augmenting the in-person advice and guidance they receive from experienced staff.
A reputable seasonal staffing provider like Ethan Allen can help businesses of all industries design and implement comprehensive onboarding programs that set their seasonal staff up for success, ultimately contributing to the store’s overall positive performance during peak seasons.
Engage and Retain Seasonal Workers
Sometimes attracting and retaining the best seasonal workers comes down to creating the most attractive place to work. Always aim to offer competitive wages and to foster an inclusive culture that values seasonal staff as much as full-time employees. Providing a positive work experience can increase the likelihood of seasonal employees returning, reducing costs associated with repeating many of the steps above.
Ethan Allen works with businesses to develop strategies that encourage engagement and retention, helping them build a sustainable talent management approach for future seasons.
Leave Seasonal Staffing to Ethan Allen
These five steps aren’t always easy, but as you may have noticed, Ethan Allen can guide you through every one of them. We’re here to help you develop a robust seasonal staffing strategy that meets immediate operational needs—and continues to do so well into the future.
At Ethan Allen Workforce Solutions, we specialize in providing top-notch seasonal workers across various industries, including landscaping, event staffing, warehousing, pest control, customer service, and construction. Our flexible solutions adapt to your seasonal business fluctuations, ensuring you have the reliable staff you need when you need them.
In other words, you can stop sweating seasonal staffing before the “lazy” days of summer even start. Relax! We’ve got your search for seasonal workers covered.