The festive season is always a great opportunity for hospitality, retail, and agriculture businesses to maximise sales and profits before the New Year. But while the financial benefits may seem appealing, the extra work of recruiting and retraining seasonal employees can come with its own challenges.
How can you make sure you’re recruiting top talent for your business? And how do you better retain them to ensure they stay to support your business during the holiday madness? Read on!
Recruit employees with long-term appeal
It is common for hospitality and retail businesses to recruit short-term, seasonal employees over the holiday period.
But according to Bryce Welker, member of the Young Entrepreneur Council, setting your business up for success requires a focus on recruiting employees with the experience and traits you like to see in long-term team members. That way you can avoid those less-motivated workers, who are less concerned about the impact they can have on your business.
Offer more than minimum wage
Today’s hiring market is fiercely competitive as more and more employees evaluate the work they do. In fact, Microsoft suggests that 41% of the global workforce is likely to consider leaving their employer within the next year.
Offering a higher hourly wage could factor into a potential employee’s decision to choose your business. In addition, the higher wage could also make it easier to retain those seasonal employees for longer. Or it could entice them to come back for the next holiday period – saving you time in the long run!
Lean on employees for referrals
Ever advertised a role and heard nothing but crickets? Employee referrals could be a better way to fill your job openings.
By setting up an employee referral program with meaningful incentives, you may be able to find some great candidates to fill roles. In addition, your trusted employees could recommend solid candidates they know and trust, essentially screening applicants for you and saving you time on recruitment.
Set-up a great onboarding experience
Setting up a great onboarding experience is the perfect way for employers to win over seasonal employees.
According to the Society for Human Resource Management, a great onboarding experience can result in increased employee loyalty, with 69% of employees more likely to stay with a company for three years.
And by great onboarding, they don’t mean days of emails back and forth, lost documents and complicated steps. It should be a quick and simple process, done from anywhere and quick to complete.
Create a positive employee experience
No matter the season, retaining the right staff is crucial to the success of your business.
According to a study conducted by Gallup, an engaged workforce can increase productivity by 21%. In addition, it can also reduce turnover by 65%, and increase profitability by as much as 22%.
And the best part? It’s easy to create or enhance your employee experience. You could:
- Provide your staff with earned wage access. This could give your employees more control over their finances, reduce stress and help them focus to perform better at work.
- Automate your payroll to take it from hours to minutes. If you have different staff working different hours, automating your payroll could help to make sure they get paid on time.
- Implement rostering apps and clock in, clock out solutions. These could increase your efficiency and help you make better business decisions for the holiday hustle and bustle.
No matter the season, foundU can help hospitality, retail and agriculture businesses save time on recruiting, onboarding, and rostering new employees. Book a demo to find out more.