Many businesses see hourly staffing needs spike in the fall. Proactive planning by analyzing past cycles, forecasting demand, broadening your reach, ensuring coverage, and tailoring onboarding to optimize seasonal recruiting.
Analyze Previous Fall Hiring Cycles
Review volumes, roles, timing, costs, and applicant metrics from past fall recruiting efforts to prepare for seasonal hiring. Compare year-over-year trends in hiring numbers by week and by position. Look at peak weeks when recruiting resources were stretched thin.
Analyze hourly wages and total expenses spent on recent fall hiring, broken down by component costs like advertising or staffing agencies. Calculate your cost per hire.
Identify lessons learned and pain points to improve, like starting sourcing too late, dragging screening processes, or inadequate selection tools for volume hiring. Discuss what worked smoothly to replicate, like strong candidate flow from select job boards or effective assessment center event coordination.
According to HR experts, this retrospective analysis of volumes, spending, metrics, and experiences frames an informed plan for the coming seasonal ramp-up. Capture key learnings in a lessons-learned document to guide strategy sessions.
Update Seasonal Job Descriptions
With insights from past years’ performance, update seasonal job descriptions and requirements to match your current needs precisely. Remove outdated qualifications not actually needed. Keep descriptions clear, concise, and targeted to attract qualified candidates, not deter overqualified ones.
Prominently highlight the temporary, seasonal nature of the roles upfront so expectations align. Share key start and end dates, number of hours per week, and expected commitment through the peak season. Authentic transparency helps secure applicants who fit the short-term needs.
Tailor language and stated duties specifically for the fall rush based on department manager input. Cashiers may need customer service experience, while warehouse roles require physical stamina. Fine-tune each description for the intended audience.
Forecast Hiring Volumes and Schedule
Once descriptions are set, forecast the hiring volume needed for the peak fall period by collaboratively building out weekly demand based on sales projections from operations and finance teams. Compare forecasts to prior years’ actual hiring numbers adjusted for expected business growth, adding a 5-10% buffer for contingencies.
Map out a specific weekly hiring schedule, working backward based on projected start dates and the time required for sourcing, screening, interviewing, offers, and onboarding. Identify the most intensive weeks for proactive planning.
Secure approvals for seasonal headcount from Finance and leadership stakeholders before executing hiring. According to staffing managers, aligning on target numbers, roles, and timing at the outset prevents resource conflicts down the line when demands intensify.
Widen Your Candidate Pool
Expanding your candidate pool is vital for meeting increased fall hiring needs. Refresh existing job board postings with updated seasonal descriptions. Boost advertising budgets to expand paid search and social reach.
Leverage new inbound channels by engaging career services at local community colleges. Consider contest giveaways or incentive referrals prompting sharing with networks. Explore viable options, even if unconventional, like sponsoring local fall events.
Promote openings on campus before students return to increase early applicant flow. Be flexible on start dates into October to attract students juggling class schedules.
According to recruiting experts, meeting surging seasonal demands requires tapping into new sourcing channels, not just increasing spend in familiar areas. Get creative in generating buzz among untapped candidate communities, both virtually and locally.
Ensure Staffing Coverage for Hiring
Avoid recruiting team burnout by redistributing responsibilities or acquiring supplemental staffing to handle the fall rush. Shift other HR roles to part-time or delegate to interns. Consider adding temporary agency recruiters or contractors to assist during the crunch.
Revisit recruiting technology, tools, and systems to identify any holding you back from scaling efficiently. Are manually intensive processes causing bottlenecks? Where could automation increase throughput and free up recruiters for personal outreach?
Prevent overburdening hiring managers by limiting interviews per day and providing clear guidance on delegating selection tasks to assistants. Have veteran team members mentor newer managers navigating seasonal spikes for the first time.
Onboard Seasonal Workers Efficiently
Welcome seasonal hires through streamlined orientation and training tailored to their more limited role scope and duration. Roll out condensed onboarding focusing on the specific systems, tools, and product knowledge needed. Push any non-essential content to later.
Pair each new hire with a buddy or mentor to provide hands-on support and quickly answer questions during ramp-up. Schedule seasonal cohorts together for batch trainings to maximize existing resources.
Set clear expectations around required hours, schedules, dress code, and performance standards for the busy fall season. Treat seasonal staff as integral team members, not just temporary fill-ins. Foster camaraderie through group lunches, peer mentoring, and celebrations of milestones.
Careful preparation and dedicated support accelerate new hires’ productivity during demanding fall periods. According to managers, integrating seasonal workers into the team culture pays dividends.
Final Thoughts
Proactive planning and expanded outreach enable staffing for seasonal hiring surges. With tailored onboarding and inclusion initiatives, temporarily larger teams drive success during your fall rush.
Chattr provides seasonal recruiting automation and analytics, ensuring your team can execute hiring surges efficiently while maintaining candidate experience.
