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Does Your Seasonal Hiring Process Add Up?

July 24, 2013 | Staffing Blog

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A variety of industries rely on temporary workers to get them through particularly busy seasons. Nowhere is that more evident than in the retail distribution industry where businesses ramp up for the impact of critical holiday sales.

No doubt it’s challenging for those managers and owners to add dozens – and in many cases hundreds – of employees for a few short months. It can take just as much effort to hire temporary workers as full-time ones. So why not make sure the process is as smooth, efficient and successful as it can be. 

To ensure the process works, first take a look at last year’s seasonal hiring and ask yourself three questions: 

  1. Of the people you hired last year, how many transitioned to full-time employment?
  2. Of the people you hired last year, how many did you consider hiring? 
  3. What if you could hire fewer people because they were a better caliber of employee? 

Let’s say last year your business hired 100 temporary workers at $8 an hour, but what if only 60 of those employees were quality workers who showed up for work and excelled in their roles?  You could have hired 80 excellent workers at $9 an hour, had a more productive season and saved money in the long run. 

Too many businesses get stuck on the hourly rate and don’t think about the quality of the people they are hiring. A professional and experienced staffing company can handle the hiring process so your business receives higher quality employees that are committed, punctual and hard-working and don’t turn over. That translates into fewer people, higher productivity and lower cost. 

Many staffing companies will propose a lower hourly rate, which is attractive to a business thinking only about that one aspect of the entire cost. To justify that lower hourly rate, those companies cut corners. They hire less-experienced workers and cut out important parts of the hiring process, such as reference checks, additional interviews and testing for aptitude, skills or safety.

Those added steps may come with what seems to be a higher hourly rate, but in the long run they save businesses money in terms of fewer accidents, better customer satisfaction and quicker turnaround.

Let’s go back to our review of your hiring process last year. If you didn’t even consider bringing any of those seasonal workers on as full-time employees, your staffing system may not be as robust as you thought. This year, think about the big picture. Consider all of the pieces of the hiring puzzle and how partnering with a quality-driven staffing partner can lead to heightened efficiency and cost savings in the long run.

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