Companies Hiring Seasonal Temps

It is common for companies to hire seasonal employees around the holidays, when stores extend their hours and experience an increased number of shoppers. Employers must look for candidates that are reliable throughout the holiday season, since there isn't often a lot of time to prep and test an employee. Companies hiring seasonal temps should look for the following characteristics in applicants.

Reliable

It would be awful to be short-staffed on the busiest shopping days of the year, which can happen if unreliable employees are hired. It’s important to check references and past employers to see if the person being considered for the position is as reliable as he claims to be, and to know he will be at work on time every day. Even though the employee may only be working for a few months during the holiday season, he will be an important part of the team and he needs to be dependable.

Fast Learning Ability

It’s essential to hire employees that are able to learn things quickly, because they’ll need to learn the store procedures, computer software programs and more in a short amount of time. They need to know all job responsibilities, and they need to be able to apply it at work every day.

It’s very important to take the time to train all employees properly, even if it costs money, because it will affect business if the seasonal employee isn't trained the right way. If it takes the employee months to learn what to do each day, he won’t be any use during the busy season, and he could slow down the business.

Personable

A seasonal employee must be personable for a few different reasons. She needs to be easy for the managers to manage, because she may get shifted around to different areas throughout the season. The employee needs to be able to work as a team member, and be able to work well with others. The seasonal employee could be working with different people every day.

The employee must have a kind and patient personality to deal with customers during the chaos of holiday shopping and to deal with the aggravation of shoppers who are tired of waiting or the crowds. If the employee isn’t able to be flexible and perform her job with the business all around, she won’t be a great seasonal employee that you can trust to interact on the floor with customers.

Hiring temporary seasonal employees is a great way to meet staffing needs when the holiday rush is about to begin, but it's important to be picky when choosing employees. Employees that make good seasonal hires may prove to be worth keeping on staff even after the busiest time of year is over.

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