Holiday Staffing Now

– Doug Fleener

It's about three months until Christmas and those days will pass in the blink of an eye. I can't stress enough that store managers and owners should be finding their seasonal staffing NOW. Here are the people to hire for seasonal help, in the order to seek them out.

1. Former employees who left in good standing. Store employees leave for many different reasons. Sometimes the employee who left still enjoyed and was good at her job, but might have tired of retail hours or just have had a better opportunity came along. These folks are great holiday hires. They already know the store products, processes, and staff, so they can produce as well as a regular employee. Many of them would love the opportunity to make some extra money over the holidays as well as reconnect with the store. All you have to do is reach out and ask if they're available to work a night or a weekend day during the holiday season. Many of them may not be thinking of working an extra job for the season but will still be receptive to your call.
2. Last year's seasonal hires. Again, they know the products and processes and with a refresher training will be up to speed in no time. These employees are usually more productive than your new seasonal hires and should be compensated as such. They will appreciate that you thought so highly of them you've invited them back. If for some reason they can't or don't want to work in your store this season, be sure to ask if they can refer someone.
3. People your staff refer. As I've written before, I'm in favor of hiring friends of the staff. My opinion is that the staff ends up becoming friends anyway, so you might as well tap into their network of friends and acquaintances. I have always found that that the best employees provide the best referrals. Some of my worst holiday hires came from employees I should have moved out before the holiday season got underway. I always asked people to refer someone whose primary job slowed down in December. One of my best seasonal hires was a man who sold pharmaceutical products but told me that in December his clients were so distracted that he could take the month off and no one would even notice. This guy was awesome. He loved working in the store and was more productive than the regular employees. He made too much money selling drugs (legally) to recruit for the store permanently but he was a godsend for several holiday seasons in a row. Be sure to pay a referral bonus to your staff for their holiday referrals. I like to pay it out after the holidays and then only if the seasonal employee stayed on and met their obligations.
4. Recruit your customers. Put up a sign inside the store that communicates the benefits of working in your store over the holidays. Your customers can make great seasonal hires as they already know some of the products and are usually passionate about both the store and the products.

Some holiday staffing tips:

• I'm personally not in favor of putting a "Seasonal Help Wanted" sign in the front window since every other retailer around you is going to be doing the same thing. If the suggestions above don't fill your staff needs then you might consider it, but usually you can fill out your staff by having your staff help recruit.
• If you're in an extremely tough market for hiring seasonal staff you might need to go above and beyond the norm to get your staff. Some suggestions include extending a seasonal hire's employee discount beyond the holidays. What if a seasonal employee could get a discount for the first three months of the New Year or even for the entire year? That might help you recruit someone who wouldn't normally work the holidays. Pay at or above market. There is too much riding on the holidays to nickel and dime employees.
• Finally, include all your seasonal employees in store contests. I don't understand retailers who exclude the seasonal staff from holiday contests. I'm sure it is often recommended for legal reasons by the Human Resources department but I believe there are ways around it. You can either award a lesser prize or, at the very least, run a parallel contest for seasonal staffers at the same time you're running one for your permanent employees. Remember, your customers never know who is and isn't a seasonal employee, they only know if they had a good experience in the store or not.