When the weather turns colder, thoughts veer toward warm sweaters, boots, and the upcoming holidays. While many think of shopping, eating out, and parties, employers start gearing up for holiday hiring. According to a recent survey by Snagajob, 80% of employers plan on hiring extra help for the 2015 holiday season.
This season, finding the best seasonal employees presents unique challenges. The low unemployment rate and predicted brisk holiday shopping add up to an extra need for good quality help.
Never fear! Employ these five tips to land the best seasonal employees for your holiday hiring.
#1: Encourage referrals.
Current employees are often the best source to find other great people to join your team. Add a referral incentive, and make sure each employee understands "what's in it for him" if his or her referral ends up being hired.
#2: Create powerful job descriptions.
Set aside some time to drill down to the specifics of your job openings. Lay out your expecations, as well as the skill set the applicants need to offer. A well-fleshed out job description is key to attracting the best seasonal employees, and weeding out the ones who would be a waste of time interviewing.
#3: Leverage social media.
Let your audience know you are hiring! Post job openings prominently on your social media pages, and encourage sharing. Use links to contact pages where applicants can easily upload their resumes and fill out applications.
#4: Screen every applicant.
Even though holiday hiring is not long-term, employers must still be careful to avoid dangerous hiring decisions. Perform background screening on each person before hiring to ensure they are qualified and present minimal risk to the safety of your other employees, your customers, and your reputation. A good best practice, depending on the position, is to look at criminal history and sex offenders registry. Other helpful background screening reports are employment history, assessment testing, and drug screening.
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#5: Don't wait for the last minute.
Holiday hiring must begin weeks before the season kicks off. Failing to start early sets your company up to be short-staffed or settling for less than stellar holiday employees, because the good ones have been snapped up.
It's a huge endeavor to ramp up and execute a productive holiday hiring initiative, but is well worth it.
By following these five tips, you will increase your chances of bringing good, honest employees into the company, and enjoy a massively successful holiday season!