Back to Blogs

Seasonal Staffing Solutions | Are You Prepared for the Upcoming Holiday Season?

August 26, 2014 | Staffing Blog

Allegiance Seasonal Staffing Solutions

Yes, there are fewer than 20 weeks until Christmas day. But businesses have already started preparing for their peak shopping season. Retailers in particular will hire hundreds of thousands of temporary workers to assist in the crush of holiday shoppers, not to mention shipping and handling, stocking and customer services tasks. 

In 2013, Macy’s added 83,000 temporary jobs while e-commerce giant Amazon.com brought in 70,000 extra workers for the holiday season. Even though some retailers – especially those with brick-and-mortar stores – have cut back on seasonal hiring, there are still plenty of holiday jobs available. Five of the nation’s largest retailers added a combined 300,000 jobs last year, according to 247wallst.com

But what’s the impact on your company when you bring in thousands, hundreds or even just a few dozen temporary workers? Did those employees add value to your business during your busiest – and most profitable – time of the year? Stop to think about whether any of the people you hired transitioned to full-time status. Did you even consider bringing anyone on full time? It’s important to think about whether those seasonal hires are an asset to your business or a drain on your resources. 

The key traits hiring managers find especially important in staffers: reliability, ability to turn quickly, a personality that makes them easy to supervise, and a customer-oriented personality.

That’s why at Allegiance Staffing, we use a 3-Day Hiring Process so we can provide our customers with temporary employees that exhibit these key traits. Each person interviewing with our company has to come to our office for three separate interviews and screenings. Whether they come back three times speaks to their reliability and overall work ethic.

We work to ensure employees are properly trained and ready to hit the ground running the day they show up at your business. 

If you’re still in the hiring process for this holiday season, don’t just repeat that process from last year. If you weren’t satisfied with your seasonal workers and wouldn’t consider adding many of them to your full-time team, then it’s time for a new hiring strategy. 

Retailers can make upwards of 40% of their annual income during November and December so don’t leave your hiring up to chance. You spend all year getting ready for this shopping season so make sure you spend just as much time and effort getting your staff – especially your temporary ones – in place and ready to succeed.