2nd November, 2023
The holiday hiring season is a whirlwind for business owners.
Retailers deal with a huge spike in demand. Hospitality hits a high, manufacturers and logistics companies have orders streaming in — and that’s on top of normal end-of-year processes, employees being out on leave and other seasonal stresses.
Short-term holiday hiring is a good way to take the pressure off and ensure your customers get the expected experience.
However, finding staff isn’t as simple as it once was.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, vacancy rates are still high, at 35% in Hospitality and 21.5% in Retail.
Not only is it difficult to fill positions, but finding, hiring, and onboarding a large group of new people can be seriously time-consuming, which just adds to your already lengthy end-of-year task list.
Want to simplify the seasonal staffing process and find great employees? Here are our top tips:
Hiring takes time. That’s why it’s important to start your seasonal hiring well before the holiday period begins.
If you’re thinking about hiring now for the holiday period, get started today, don’t leave it another minute.
The whole hiring process and ensuring your new staff members are ready when you need them can be lengthy.
If it’s hard to pinpoint how many extra employees you’ll need , data and anecdotal evidence from past years are helpful.
Look at last year’s hiring patterns and talk to your existing employees about their experiences. Were they run off their feet?
Did they notice issues caused by low staff numbers? Did they struggle to take time off?
That information can help you work out whether you need to boost staffing levels this year or if similar numbers should be sufficient.
Want to draw in the right candidates instead of putting them off?
A clear, accurate, simple job description is a surprisingly helpful recruitment tool.
Too many businesses use vague language, long-winded requirement lists and qualifications that aren’t needed for the role.
Try to pare down your job description to fit the key requirements of the role.
Include details about hours, the employment period, and the pay rate or salary. One study shows that job listings with salary details get 30% more applications.
Another point to remember: temporary employees probably don’t need the high-level qualifications or experience you expect from permanent staff.
Seasonal job seekers tend to take a scattershot approach to job searching, applying for a wide range of roles.
Because they’re focused on volume rather than the job, they can be put off by a complex application process.
If your job listing requires a cover letter, CV and a long application form, they might move on.
Try to simplify the application experience as much as you can. This could mean using automated application tools, letting candidates apply by text, email or a questionnaire on your website.
The key is making the initial contact easy — from there, you can always ask for more information.
Sometimes, where you hire is just as important as how.
Seeking applications from a known talent pool is a good way to ensure that applicants are fit for the role.
Reach out to previous holiday staff, as these people are likely to have an interest in the work.
You can also encourage existing employees to refer friends or family for seasonal jobs. Some businesses use a small recruitment bonus as an incentive for this kind of referral.
Of course, finding applicants is just the beginning of the recruitment process.
Once you have a list of new hires, you also need to get onboarding and payroll details sorted so they can start work. If you’re dealing with hundreds of new employees, that adds up to a lot of time spent chasing and entering data.
That’s where MYOB’s self-onboarding feature comes in handy. Supported by Flare, the feature is designed to make onboarding easier for you and your new team members.
Instead of getting employees to submit a PDF or paper form, which then needs to be entered manually, self-onboarding is digital.
It saves time for your HR and Payroll teams and helps ensure pay and tax compliance from the start, reducing the risk of issues down the line.
Hiring seasonal staff can be a stressful, time-consuming part of running a business.
The hiring market is tough, and recruitment and onboarding can be slow, particularly if you rely on manual processes.
MYOB can’t do much about the job market, but we can help transform your onboarding process.
Our digital self-onboarding feature, free to most MYOB users, lets new employees provide their onboarding information from anywhere.
Instead of paperwork, missing details and a lot of back-and-forth with Payroll, you get the information you need.
This holiday hiring season, empower your business with MYOB Employee Benefits powered by Flare. Attract exceptional talent and boost retention by providing free employee benefits.
With cutting edge savings calculators, discounts at major retail outlets and automated novated leasing offers, our free benefits program helps enhance employee engagement while providing cost-effective budgeting solution to your workforce.
Elevate your business and secure a competitive edge in the job market with MYOB Employee Benefits powered by Flare.
Want to find staff and save time this holiday season? Get the details here.