Seasonal work is common across North America, as many industries such as tourism and construction are unable to operate year round due to the weather.

Finding qualified seasonal staff and retaining them year after year is not always easy! Use the tips below and you will not only find the right staff, but will retain them as well!

Contact past staff

Rehiring your existing staff can significantly cut down your training costs. At the end of every season, make a note to talk to all of the employees you would like to retain and offer them a job for the following season. You can also create an incentive program that may include increased benefits or pay rises for staff that return.

Use staffing agencies

While you are busy preparing your business for the peak season, you can hire a staffing agency to take care of finding the right staff. Staffing agencies like TPD take care of the hiring process, payroll and provide employee replacement guarantees. This means that if an employee isn’t working out or if they don’t turn up, you don’t have to scramble to find someone new or deal with letting an employee go. 

Hiring a contingent workforce also provides you with enormous flexibility. If you are experiencing a slow season you can reduce your staffing order without issue in the same way that you can increase your order to meet demand.

Provide training

Training is essential if you want to have a high performing workplace. Just because a position is short term doesn’t mean that the employee shouldn’t receive the correct amount of training. By providing great training and opportunities for continued learning you will foster employee loyalty and increase your staff return rate.

Support growth

When you need permanent staff, the best place to look is in your pool of temporary staff. You can reward staff who show exemplary performance with full-time employment or part-time employment in different areas of the company during the off-season. You can also incentivize staff to return the following year by providing them with more senior roles.

Follow the rules

There are a lot of rules around employee classification. Considering that, you need to make sure that if you are hiring temporary staff, you have them on payroll unless they can clearly be defined as an independent contractor. The only way you can avoid putting temporary employees on your company’s payroll is to hire your team through a staffing agency. Following the rules and classifying temporary staff correctly can save you from experiencing a lot of grief from the CRA or IRS, and it will also help you build a trusting, fair relationship with your employees.

If you need help finding seasonal staff or replacing a seasonal employee who has not worked out - Contact TPD now for a free consultation & information package!

Related Articles: Bringing Temporary Workers Into Your Workplace: Tips for Success