For some companies, the end of the year is a busy season. Last-minute orders, or rush projects that need to be delivered before the calendar flips to the new year (and maybe even the new fiscal year); can all add up to a stressful time. 

It’s also a time when your employees want to take a little extra time off to get their own last-minute, end-of-the-year projects done, like wrapping up their never-ending shopping lists. 

How do you, as a manager, handle this push-pull of needing to meet your obligations while wanting to be flexible with your hardworking team? 

The answer is simple: Hire some seasonal employees. 

Here’s how to go about bringing in extra hands for the winter and why they can be just what you need to end the year strong. 

What are seasonal employees?

Seasonal employees are people who come in to work for your team for a set amount of time. They’ve been the backbone of the retail industry for ages: extra cashiers and shelf stockers who work for a month to six weeks, helping to provide extra assistance to meet all those consumers’ demands and trying to keep things running calmly and smoothly. Seasonal workers get no benefits and need little training, other than showing them your company’s specific way of doing things, and there’s no need to worry about hiring them full-time and completing the official onboarding process. When your busy stretch is over, their time with the company is done, and they know this coming in. They work for as long as you need them and then they go on their way. 

How many extra people do you need? How do you know?

 Look back at last year’s statistics. How much extra work did you have? How many of your full-time permanent employees took vacation and how many hours needed to be covered as a result? Did you have any late or rush orders that needed to be addressed? If you’re in the hospitality industry, how many parties was your company responsible for and how big were they? Learn from your history to get a sense of what you might need this year: How many people, and for how long, would have been helpful to have on staff last year? Use that as your guideline for determining how many seasonal employees you might want to bring on this year. 

Find the help you need as soon as possible.

Once you’ve figured out what you need, it’s time to get to work quickly. Make sure you have accurate and up-to-date job descriptions on your website, specifically saying you’re looking for temporary, seasonal employees to help you get through the end of the year. Go to your social media profiles and spread the word far and wide. But the biggest and most effective tool in your toolbox might be partnering with a staffing company, like FurstStaffing. We specialize in helping companies like yours find trained, capable, and prepared employees who are ready to step in on day one and get the job done. We have strong job candidates looking to pick up a few extra hours each week and are ready to jump in right away. You tell us what you need, which positions, and how many hours, and we’ll take care of the rest. We also handle their payroll so you don’t have to worry about paperwork!

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Seasonal workers are the best gift a manager can give their team: Extra help when they need it most so they can keep their production and productivity levels consistent but also allowing them to take an extra day, or a few hours, off when they have other obligations to address. 

FurstStaffing specializes in helping all manner of industries find the job candidates they need and we help you find them quickly. Whether you’re looking for a handful of seasonal employees — or even just an extra team for a big event! — We can help you get to full staffing quickly. When you’re ready to learn more, give us a call !