When Should You Be Staffing Up or Down for Seasonal Help?

If your company has a lot of seasonal work, when is the best time to staff up?

When to Staff Up

Never, ever wait until the last minute. Start at least 3 months ahead, and more if possible.

Why? Well, first, you face competition. 70% percent of companies that need seasonal summer workers, for example, have those people hired by April or May. Companies that use winter seasonal workers often have staffing in place by late summer or very early fall. You don’t want all available seasonal employees working for your competitors.

Second, seasonal employees need to be trained. You want to bring them in a month or more before peak season hits. This is especially important if your sales and customers in seasonal times are crucial to company performance.

Untrained workers can be disastrous. They can impact sales negatively and even make customers look elsewhere. It’s worth the time, effort, and cost to train them properly.

Third, you need time to assess them. Seasonal workers who shine can make valuable permanent employees if there is a place for them. But if they don’t start working until peak times hit, you may be too busy even to notice who the best seasonal workers are.

When to Staff Down

Now, when do you staff down?

First, make it clear to temporary employees what the duration of their employment is likely to be. Yes, temps know they’re jobs could end at any minute. But if helps you and them manage their time if they know approximately when seasonal work will end.

Second, make sure that all seasonal workload is done before you let your seasonal workers go. Are there likely to be late-breaking quotas or customer service requests, for example? Be sure to plan.

Third, assess the staff to see if there are any temporary seasonal employees you’d like to keep as permanent employees. Seasonal work can be a great time to assess employees for unflappability, strong work ethic, team collaboration, and more. Don’t pass up the opportunity to find top employees.

Fourth, even if you don’t have a need for more permanent employees, make a list of the top seasonal employees. Next year, you’ll contact the best seasonal employees first, to increase your chances of having experience, trained people.

Fourth, staff down. It’s best to work with a staffing agency familiar with temporary employees to make this a streamlined process.

The Benefits of a Staffing Agency for Seasonal Work

If you need for workers at certain points in the year, let a staffing agency assist you in finding temporary employees. We have strong networks of people who want temporary employment. We can help you staff up and staff down at optimal times.

We’re happy to help. Contact us today.