When Should You Start Thinking About Staffing Up For Holiday Seasons

Before you know it, the holiday season will be upon us. This means a busy time of year for everyone, including your staff. There will be vacations, social gatherings, holiday parties and family obligations that will take your team away from work. You want to maintain a high quality of service for your customers while giving your team the break they deserve, especially at this time of year. Giving them the ability to have flexible schedules during this time will improve morale throughout the year. How do you maintain staffing for the holiday season? When should you start preparing for the hustle and bustle of the holidays? How can you do it right, so your staff is running efficiently throughout the holidays?

Start in October

The beginning of the month, you should have a plan outlined for your needs. Decide the number of staff, the average number of hours you can offer and when they will start. By starting ahead of the other companies, you’ll have a better selection of available candidates.

Create the Job Description

Know the skills you need and outline exactly the tasks for the extra staff. They may be more general and more “as necessary” type skills so including verbiage such as, flexible, team player and multi-tasker, may be more important with these hires.

Contact your Staffing Partner

Let your trusted staffing partner know when you’re ready to start interviewing. They will probably have a list of qualified candidates to start with and you’ll be able to choose from that group or start with an entirely different group. Share with them the job description and they will be able to offer any advice on how to work it and how to pool from the most qualified people.

Day One is Important

Hiring seasonal workers means you still need to complete the proper legal paperwork for their employment. Don’t skip this step and face penalties later. Proper training, a positive company introduction and fair pay will help them be an asset for the short time they are working. Skip any of these steps and you might end up wishing you had not made the hire.

While you can start in October to staff for the holidays, remember when you maintain a strong professional relationship with a recruiter, they can provide you with staff when you need it. Share with them your needs, the positions you most hire for and the time periods that you are usually short; a good recruiter will keep candidates in their back pocket for your company so that you are rarely left short-staffed. With locations in Portland, Clackamas, Beaverton, Everett, and Vancouver, our skilled recruiters are ready to help you make your workplace the best it can be! Call NW Staffing today.