Summer is yet again fast approaching. With most college students out for the summer and high schoolers fast approaching their summer break, staffing needs will invariably increase for many storefront service businesses, camps, resorts and many other businesses. The following tips for hiring summer staff will help you hire the right people before they get snapped up by your competitors.
Go for the Swift Learners
Most often, you only have their resumes and references to go buy in order to determine just how quickly a potential staffer will be able to learn. You won’t have much time to train them, so don’t hire whomever walks through the door who seems like a good fit — make sure they’re capable by checking references.
Be Open to Hiring all Applicants
Don’t limit yourself to students just because you know they’ll leave willingly when the summer break is over. Consider adults of all ages too. They’ll typically take their work more seriously. Plus, you never know when you might need a reliable part or full-time adult employee throughout the year.
Be Specific and Clear with the Posting
Of course you’ll want to make the job duties and expectations very clear. As an employer, you’ve likely already learned how much time can be wasted when scheduling interviews with people who don’t have the skills you’re looking for. But also be clear about the timeline. If you’re looking for only summer employees that will definitely leave, make that crystal clear in the advertisement. If there’s a possibility for year round or occasional employment throughout the year, put that in the ad and you’ll likely see the quality of your candidate pool increase big time.
Jump on the Good Opportunities Quickly
People looking for summer work are looking for work now, not 2 weeks from now. Read each resume as they come in, or allot a block of time each morning to go over the resumes that came in the day before. Pick your possible winners and start trying to get them on the horn ASAP. Even if you’re hiring for 2 or 3 weeks out, interviewing and then guaranteeing a job to those you choose can go a long way toward an easy transition to the summer rush months.
Understand Employment Laws for Seasonal Young Workers
A big disadvantage to hiring seasonal students rather than adults is that all states and provinces have their own unique, yet similar laws for the type of work you’re allowed to assign to those summer students. These laws are in effect to protect both you and they from injuries and lawsuits that can arise from having a young inexperienced worker using dangerous equipment, working from heights, and other dangerous activities. Check with your state or provincial government for more details.
Don’t Just ‘Wing it’ with the Training Process
If you’re hiring seasonal help because you make a good portion of your income this time of year, the last thing you want to skimp on is proper training. Have a formal training procedure and timeline set out and stick to it to make sure they get it.
Make Sure Paperwork’s in Order
You’re in a hurry, but you have to make sure you have your bases covered. When you agree to hire someone, make sure you have their social security number (“social insurance” in Canada). Then file the appropriate paperwork (W-4, I-9) and ensure you’ve properly classified the workers on those forms (intern, independents, etc.)
Get Your Full-Timers Ready for the Hiring Rush
While you and/or your managers are sure to be stressed during this busy time, it’s your current employees that will have to deal with the brunt of the load: learning to work with new people, training, dealing with unhappy customers (when the new employee makes a mistake), and many other pitfalls that come when a few or several new employees enter the workplace all at once — in addition to the increase workload from customers or labor due to the increased contracts your business brings in. Let everyone know how much you appreciate their help and don’t forget to throw your regular staffers a little something extra with their pay — perhaps a small bonus of cash, movie tickets, amusement park tickets, free pizzas, etc. It’ll go a really long way toward making them happy when transition time comes.
Got any Great Tips of Your Own for Hiring Summer Staff?
If you have any of your own tips for hiring summer staff to integrate seamlessly into your business and keep the cash registers cha-chinging, please leave a comment down below and share
Main Image Credit: shaynabright/Flickr