6 Tips for Hiring Seasonal Workers This Holiday Season

With the holiday retail apocalypse upon us, many employers -- especially those in customer-facing businesses and in retail -- will be hiring temporary employees to get their companies through this crazy time of year. Hiring new people isn’t always an easy undertaking. There are job ads to place, interviews to conduct, onboarding and training to oversee, payroll updates … the list goes on. We understand the irony of taking on all the extra work of hiring new employees in order to lighten your workload by … yep, hiring new people.

We’re here to help with some quick tips for hiring high-quality temporary help over the the next few months so you can have a jolly holiday and a happy New Year!

1. Good help doesn't have to be hard to find

You may be tempted to go cheap on the job listing fees since you’re hiring temporary workers, but know that you will attract high quality employees if you spend a little cash to find them. An ad placed with a site like ZipRecruiter will be distributed to 100+ popular job boards ensuring visibility far and wide. Using job posting sites like LinkedIn or Indeed where people are actively looking for employment will quickly connect you to ready-to-work people. Extra bonus: You’ll be able to see their qualifications in their profiles.

Because you’re probably not providing benefits to this group of employees, offering incentives like employee discounts or an invitation to your company holiday party will make your business more attractive when vying for a limited pool of seasonal workers.

One more option? You might consider teaming with a third-party temp agency with pre-screened workers at the ready.

2. Conduct in-person interviews if possible

Meeting a potential hire in person is a necessity if they’ll be working with the public. Especially in retail, employees who are upbeat, positive and can keep a smile on their face even when things get crazy are the kind of team members you want over the holiday season. You’ll be able to assess this kind of quality far better in person than over the phone or through a screen on a video call.

3. Hire high school and college students

With school out for the winter holidays, some young adults may be looking to earn a little extra cash. But you need to know that hiring teenagers means following some very specific labor laws. If you hire your own child, you’ll be eligible for tax breaks, and there is no restriction on the hours they work. Workers age 16 and up also have no hourly restrictions, while those under 16 do. Read up and be informed about your state’s labor laws when it comes to hiring young employees.

4. Know the legal requirements for seasonal workers

Seasonal employees are subject to many of the same labor requirements as permanent, full-time employees such as tax withholding, Medicare contributions and, in some states, workers comp. Again, your state’s Department of Labor will have the specifics for how to treat and employ your seasonal workers.

5. Train them well and welcome them to the team

Even though your seasonal employees won’t be around for that long, you’ll want them to feel empowered as professional, knowledgeable representatives for your business. That means offering a thorough training and then assigning a long-term, senior employee as a point person for any questions or concerns. Encourage your full-time employees to treat the seasonal workers as legitimate teammates so morale stays high and all your team members can work together to best serve your customers.

6. Conduct an exit interview and complete an evaluation -- of your business

When the gig is up, ask your seasonal employees for insights into your business. Although they’ll have had limited exposure to how you operate your business, take their feedback seriously. It can only help you build and grow your business even more successfully ahead of the next hectic holiday season.

For further reading on this topic, visit QuickBooks Resource Center:

• Legal Guidelines for Hiring Under-18 Workers
• What You Need to Know About Hiring Short-Term Employees
• How to Motivate Seasonal Workers to Perform at the Highest Level
• Different Types of Workers: Employees, Contractors and More

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QB Community members, have any tips to share about hiring seasonal or temp workers for your small business?

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