5 Tips for Recruiters to Boost Seasonal Hiring Strategies

Seasonal hiring is underway. It’s that time of year when businesses recruit, hire, and onboard temporary employees to work through their busiest period. With the continued labor shortage, finding seasonal employees is no simple task.

Recruiters predict that retail businesses will add 700,000 seasonal workers this year, down nearly 40,000 from 2020. Sales are predicted to increase by 9% and e-commerce sales by 11-15% this holiday season. That sets the stage for fierce competition for workers. Though recruiters and HR teams are all too familiar with that competition, refreshing seasonal hiring tips can help meet hiring goals.

Equip recruiters and HR teams with the most effective strategies and tools to find, hire, and onboard a solid seasonal workforce. We’re sharing five tips for a successful hiring push this season.

Seasonal Hiring Tips for Recruiters:

#1. Be Specific With Recruiting Efforts

It might seem obvious, but seasonal hiring requires targeted recruiting strategies and straightforward job posts. Ensure you’re posting and advertising open positions on the appropriate job boards and social media platforms to reach your candidates. The job description should accurately list expectations and requirements to reduce the number of unqualified applicants.

Seasonal job seekers should have an accurate idea of what the role entails going into the interview. Describe the position in detail, including expected duties, required skills, and any physical demands in order to enhance the candidate experience during seasonal hiring:

• The employee will assist customers in the store, answering questions and providing customer service.
• The employee will operate the cash register, process purchases, and bag items.
• The employee must be able to lift/carry 25+ pounds frequently during shifts.
• The employee must be able to stand more than 75% of the time.

#2. Tap Into Your Talent Pipeline

As of August, retailers saw a 44% drop in applications  (vs. 19% across other industries) compared to the start of 2021. Combined with a smaller number of expected seasonal hires, it’s more challenging than ever to build a seasonal team. Luckily, HR teams have a key resource at their disposal: existing talent pipelines.

HR teams that utilize an ATS are in luck since the software keeps track of past applicants. With HR software, your teams can also easily locate past seasonal employees and reach out with new opportunities. Tapping into your existing talent pool has many benefits in improving the hiring experience:

• Time-to-hire reduced up to 50%
• 7x higher hiring success rate vs. new candidates
• Up to 15x higher ROI thanks to reduced hiring costs

#3. Simplify Applications And Interviews

With so much competition for seasonal employees, it’s imperative to get them hired quickly. Make it easier for candidates to apply with accessible applications. Mobile applications and Text-to-Apply are powerful tools to reduce barriers that might discourage applicants. Companies using ClearCompany’s Text-to-Apply report 3.5 times more candidates and 400% faster time-to-hire.

An ATS that offers virtual interviewing capabilities also speeds up the hiring process. Most of us are accustomed to video interviews due to their necessity during the pandemic. Now, even for in-person positions, companies and candidates still see the benefits of video interviews:

• Saves time and money
• Gauge candidate experience with technology and virtual work
• Reach larger, more diverse candidate pools

#4. Onboard Efficiently

Since seasonal employees are only short-term (and often part-time), onboarding often falls by the wayside in favor of faster ramping. But, it’s possible to maintain high standards and onboard quickly with the best HR software. HR software offers digital onboarding tools that simplify tedious processes. For example, bulk onboarding enables teams to quickly onboard large groups of candidates and send documents and other information digitally.

HR software ensures that new hires complete paperwork and review policies without creating a heavy workload for HR teams. In addition to digital onboarding, companies can pair new hires with longtime employees or conduct training in groups to bring new employees up to speed.

#5. Offer Competitive Incentives

Today’s labor market is still unusual: workers are quitting in record-high numbers and there are more available jobs than job seekers. As mentioned, companies expect to hire fewer seasonal workers this year, even as consumers are expected to increase their spending. The result? Companies are offering incentives to bring in more applicants:

• Walgreens, CVS, and Costco are raising their minimum wage to $15-$16 this year.
• Amazon is offering sign-on bonuses of up to $3,000 and even healthcare and tuition benefits for some workers.
• Target hopes to bring in seasonal employees with hourly wage increases for “peak” shifts and tuition assistance.

In order to stay competitive and bring in the seasonal employees you need, explore options for additional incentives. Be sure to include any incentives that are offered in your job posts. Jobs in retail and hospitality have higher turnover rates even in the best of times. In this unprecedented and unpredictable labor market, recruiters need to adopt creative and competitive strategies to hire seasonal employees.

ClearCompany’s Talent Acquisition Suite has the recruiting and onboarding tools you need to find and hire seasonal employees fast. Refine recruitment strategies, hire quickly, and onboard effectively with our powerful software solutions. You can post to several job boards, simplify the application process, create your own talent pipeline to find seasonal candidates, and then bulk onboard new hires.

You’re recruiting and hiring in a labor market unlike any other. Equip your recruiters and HR teams with up-to-date strategies and all the tools they need to be successful with seasonal hiring. See our robust solutions in action: get a demo from the ClearCompany experts today.