Seasonal Hiring Best Practices in 2023

In today's tight labour market, each quarter can feel more challenging than the last. Canada's unemployment rate remains low at 5.5%, making finding available workers time-consuming and frustrating, especially for sporadic needs like staff illnesses or sudden production demand spikes. As we approach Black Friday and the holidays, seasonal hiring becomes a top priority for businesses in manufacturing, logistics, and retail. Read on for insights into when seasonal hiring can benefit your business and best practices to streamline the process.

 

Why Is Seasonal Hiring So Important?

Seasonal hiring is vital in helping businesses efficiently manage holiday rush orders, preventing workforce overload and missed delivery deadlines. Cold and flu season can also disrupt productivity, making it crucial to fill in for absent employees quickly. Finally, employees often take their vacations in Q4, especially if their vacation days don’t roll over, so seasonal hiring is essential to cover their absence and adapt to fluctuations in demand.

 

 

Best Practices to Jumpstart Your Seasonal Hiring

If you've recognized the importance of seasonal hiring for managing the holiday rush but aren't sure where to begin or how to make the process cost-effective and hassle-free, we've got you covered. Read on for a mini crash course on seasonal hiring best practices to help you get started.

 

Start Hiring Now

Indeed reports that 48% of employers started their holiday hiring in the summer. This early start is necessary because finding, interviewing, hiring, onboarding, and training seasonal employees can be time-consuming (not to mention expensive!). Delaying the search for seasonal staff until the last minute is not only headache-inducing but is also less likely to be successful. If you feel like you're already late to the party, consider reaching out to our team so we can help speed up your timeline.

 

 

Re-evaluate Your Must-Haves

While it would be ideal for every candidate to have 5 years of experience and in-depth industry knowledge when joining our organization, the reality of the market is different for seasonal positions. These roles are often the first jobs for individuals starting their careers or settling in a new country. Therefore, consider framing your job(s) as valuable learning opportunities for suitable candidates. Focus on distilling your must-have criteria to only the most essential skills and experience.

 

Don’t Ask Candidates To Jump Through Hoops

Candidates generally prefer not to undergo lengthy processes, such as writing essays or participating in multiple interviews for short-term positions lasting 8 weeks or less. Streamline your application and hiring process, making it straightforward and efficient. Prioritize gathering essential information, explore virtual interviews, and, critically, ensure swift responses to candidates. Delayed responses may result in candidates seeking opportunities elsewhere.

 

 

Consider Raising Your Wages

A low unemployment rate translates to a highly competitive labour market, giving employees the upper hand. They often have multiple job options during the holidays. Given the short duration of these seasonal roles, offering a robust benefits package is less likely to be a deciding factor. Instead, competitive wages have a more significant impact. In a recent Indeed survey, 44% of job seekers expressed dissatisfaction with their salary or hourly wage. To address this competitive landscape, many prominent brands are increasing wages and offering additional signing bonuses for seasonal labour.

 

Try A Temp to Perm Model

Seasonal hiring offers a unique opportunity to test a working relationship with a sizable group of employees simultaneously. It enables you to identify top talent for any unfilled permanent positions and can also inspire seasonal staff to excel, with the possibility of transitioning to longer-term roles. Many of our partners have successfully adopted this approach, leveraging our workforce with great results. If you're curious about how this model works, feel free to reach out for more information!

 

 

Be Flexible

Work dynamics have shifted significantly, particularly after the pandemic. Flexibility is now non-negotiable for many employees. Seasonal workers, in particular, often juggle multiple jobs, and parents frequently employ creative childcare solutions that they have to work around. Providing shift flexibility, allowing shift changes, or implementing a rotating schedule can make your positions more attractive to candidates. This approach can also optimize your HR budget, ensuring that employees only work when absolutely needed.

 

Simplify Your Seasonal Hiring

Seasonal hiring doesn't have to be expensive and time-consuming. If you lack the bandwidth for a seasonal hiring project, consider temp labour from Grizzly Force. Our dedicated app and web platform streamline the process, with an average job fill time of under 30 minutes. Having your account set up ahead of time will greatly speed this up, so we recommend reaching out to our team today to make sure we’re ready to help, whether you need us tomorrow, next week, or next month.