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• By Jill Wyatt
• Feb 17, 2020
• 3 mins read

Hiring for a Seasonal Business – How to Plan and Succeed

Hiring is a top concern for every business that’s larger than a one-person shop. Finding the right people to fill critical roles helps keep a business running smoothly. Bringing on qualified employees requires time and effort, but it pays off in the long run. Hiring seasonal employees can be even more complicated. Your small business needs high-quality staff for its busiest times, but only during part of the year. So how can you connect with qualified candidates without offering year-round work to everyone, and without breaking the bank?

A successful seasonal hiring strategy uses many different tactics to connect with potential employees. Consider how these steps can help you in finding dependable seasonal staff for your small business.

Be Proactive About Seasonal Hires

It’s easier to start finding new staff and hiring seasonal employees before you’re spending long hours at the office preparing for the busy season. Start looking for new workers sooner than later. Set aside time on your calendar to review applications, schedule interviews, and filter through potential new hires.

Don’t put off hiring to take care of other needs. That only makes things more difficult going forward. Indeed pointed out that staff must not only be hired but trained by the time your busy season starts. Starting the process early helps you put good workers in every position you need filled.

Leverage Existing Resources and Networks

If you hired trustworthy seasonal employees in the past, see if they want to return. This strategy can help you quickly fill in key roles with workers who already know the ins and outs of your business. You can even get in touch with prior full-time staff who left on good terms, as Business Know-How suggested.

Depending on where your busy season falls on the calendar, you may be able to tap into local sources of available workers. High schools and colleges are full of students who have time off during set periods each year. You can simply post job openings in approved physical or online locations maintained by these schools. You can also get in touch with administrators to see if they can point you to career centers or job placement programs.

You might want to reach out to current employees to ask if they have family or close friends who they think would be a good fit. Just remember to make it clear that a referral isn’t a guarantee of a job. If you know other local business owners who employ seasonal staff on an opposite schedule to yours, you can even get in touch with them about sharing job information.

Point Out the Benefits of the Position

Does the seasonal work you offer feature higher pay than similar positions? Are there employee discounts or deals? Does the training and experience you offer help them grow their careers? Is there potential for high-performing seasonal staff to move into full-time roles?

Highlight the benefits of the job when you put together your ad for hiring seasonal employees. Emphasize the advantages that come along with working for you along with descriptions of the necessary duties and desired skills.

Hiring seasonal staff and scaling up operations for the most active weeks and months often requires additional cash. QuickBridge can help seasonal small businesses just like yours secure funding to make the most of their busiest times of the year. To learn more, get in touch with our team today.