Many businesses rely on a few extra hands on deck during the summer. Students will be on their summer vacation and many adults use their vacation days during the hot summer months. You should be ready for the extra foot traffic that may be coming into your business by hiring a few more employees. While it may seem like a minor step to take, your summer hiring practices can affect your company’s revenue all year round.
Have a Process in Place
You do not want to waste any time in getting your new hires up and running. First, you will need to figure out how much extra help you will need. This can include deciding if you have longer hours during the summer, or if you just need a couple extra people on each shift to account for the excess of customers. You should start posting job listings and conducting interviews before the summer season officially starts. Your ads should include all pertinent details about the position such as: – Start date – Expected hours per week – Salary – Benefits (if any) – Responsibilities Once you start doing interviews, you will need to make offers fairly quickly. Chances are that someone looking for summer work will be applying for numerous positions, and they will likely take the first one offered. Speed is crucial when it comes to your summer hiring.
Attract the Best Workers Around
Some people may just want to work for three months before heading back to school. Others may be hoping that a seasonal job will turn into a full-time position once you see their quality. Regardless of how long an employee will be working for you, it is vital to make sure all your workers remain professional and that you hire the best people you can find. You can do this by offering a competitive salary. You can also offer bonuses for exceptional work, and it can be a good idea to have fun events scheduled for outside of work so that morale remains high. Even if you are only planning on keeping extra staff members on for the summer, it is still important to take the summer hiring process seriously. Your customers will remember a bad experience, and even if a worker will be gone in September anyway, your clientele may never come back if they remember a poor shopping experience. Take the time to really get to know your new workers. That includes checking references just like you would any other new hire.
Train Everyone
A solid training procedure is still needed for summer hires so that they are able to do their jobs efficiently. You need to give all your workers the tools they need to deal with unexpected situations. Unruly customers are common, and someone with little to no professional experience may crack under the pressure. Never leave an unexperienced employee alone on a shift. Always have someone at the business who can deal with the more complicated matters should they arise.
Eliminate High Employee Turnover
If you have an efficient interview process for summer hiring, then you should have no problem finding workers who actively want to work for you. However, you can never be 100 percent certain about anything. Some employees may depart without any warning, and you should watch out for the signs. Workers who constantly refuse to pick up extra shifts or are always looking at their smart phones might be ready to check out. You should also be wary of workers who are always calling in sick or are asking to switch shifts to something more convenient for them. In the event someone does leave unexpectedly, you should have a procedure in place to cover. You may want to get some part-time employees who would be interested in shifting to full-time at a moment’s notice.
Do Not Overtax Employees
Although your business may need some extra help during the summer, you want to make sure no one is working too hard. Make sure your schedule is fair and that everyone has enough time off to relax. It gets hotter in the summer, and depending on your business, your workers might be spending a lot of time outdoors in the heat. Make sure everyone stays properly hydrated and that everyone gets breaks during their shifts. Exhaustion could lead to someone leaving unannounced, or they may just not perform to the best of their abilities. Mighty Recruiter has additional tips on summer hiring as well as bringing on new employees any time of the year, so make sure to check them out.