With almost two months to go until Christmas, companies are increasing their Christmas hiring needs. Amazon, FedEx, UPS, Target, Macy’s, Kohl’s and USPS are among some of the companies hiring thousands of temporary workers this year.¹ PeopleReady, a division of TrueBlue Inc., reported that 19 million job openings have been posted. I work in the US between August and September as holiday hiring starts to heat up.²
However, as holiday hiring increases, labor shortages continue to be very present, and this holiday hiring season will be one of the most difficult yet. Of the 19 million jobs mentioned above, 14 million of those jobs are still active. PeopleReady also noted that some of the most in-demand jobs for the holiday season include: delivery drivers, retail associates, warehouse workers, servers and food service workers, hosts/hostesses, and cleaners/housekeepers.³
While hiring challenges will certainly be around this holiday season, it provides a opportunity for staffing companies Partner with companies that don’t normally turn to staffing companies for their hiring needs. Now is the time to reach out to potential clients who may have vacation recruitment needs and establish the benefits of working with your staffing company. An easy way to search for these potential customers is use your ATS to search for companies working in in-demand industries noted above. A simple email and call campaign can be put together to reach these potential customers. However, you will want to finalize your vacation requests early as it may take longer to fill positions this year.
Once you have your holiday requests, it will be essential to establish a strategy to fulfill these requests. Below are some tips to keep in mind when finding workers this holiday season.
Offer hiring incentives
A large part of hiring this holiday season will involve hiring incentives such as sign-on bonuses, referral bonuses, and more. Indeed noted that the last week of September showed that 3.2% of seasonal job postings on Indeed featured financial incentives, up from 0.6% during the same period in 2020 (4). Ways you can incorporate hiring incentives include:
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login bonuses
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Referral bonuses if a candidate you hire refers someone. A special referral bonus may also be offered to employees who work at the company you are hiring for.
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Incentives for returning seasonal workers
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Incentives may also be non-cash related: streaming subscription service, holiday dinner for the family, grocery coupon, monthly or yearly food subscription service, tickets to a sporting event or local attraction, etc.
However, what is important to keep in mind, when forming your incentive strategy, is that different generations have different values. What might appeal to a baby boomer might not appeal to a millennial. It is important to know your audience and what attracts them to work. As you offer incentives for each of your jobs, think about the ideal candidate and what they would value. They may value a non-cash related item against a bonus.
If you’re not sure what would appeal to your candidates, you can send a survey to the candidates you’re contacting and see what hiring incentives motivate them. Another option is to offer a number of hiring incentives of similar value and the candidate can choose which one they want. This might make it even a bit more fun when the candidate gets to choose their “hiring gift.”
Lastly, for jobs that may be less desirable, consider offering a better incentive. This could include jobs with non-traditional hours, labor intensive, etc. Less desirable jobs will be even more difficult to fill, but an added incentive may attract more people to pursue that job opportunity.
Incorporate Christmas cheer into your job description
Looking for ways to help your job description stand out? What better way than to incorporate the holiday cheer! Would you rather “help Santa deliver presents this holiday season” or “work in a warehouse”? Would you rather “help holiday shoppers find the perfect gift for their loved one” or “work in retail?” By being creative with your job description, you can immediately gain more traction and interest in the position. You want the job to sound appealing, and this is one way to achieve it.
Also, remember to incorporate hiring incentives into the job description. You can even tailor this to your vacation description by saying “our holiday gift to you is a $500 sign-on bonus” instead of “we offer a $500 sign-on bonus.” Be creative and have fun with your job description, otherwise you will be overlooked.
Promote your vacation jobs on your website
Whether you have a special landing page for your vacation jobs or a banner on your homepage promoting that you’re hiring temporary workers, make sure your vacation jobs have a presence on your website. Every time someone visits your website, you want them to know that you’re hiring for the holiday season. That way, you won’t miss out on a candidate applying. Someone who visits your site can also see it and recommend it to someone. Your website is an important place for promotion that you don’t want to miss.
Use your ATS to find temporary workers from last year
If a candidate was a seasonal worker for you last year, they may be interested in becoming one this year. Reaching out to last year’s temporary workers is a good place to start your search. You can use your ATS to identify temporary workers from the past year and send an email campaign to these people about the openings you have available. This would be a good opportunity to mention the hiring incentives you have to offer, maybe you have a special incentive for returning temporary workers.
If you’re not sure what might attract these candidates to work, you could include a survey asking what incentive would entice them to return as temporary workers. This is a good way to gauge attractive hiring incentives for your candidate pool.
Use your ATS to contact other candidates
After reaching out to last year’s seasonal workers, you can use your database to find other candidates who worked in some of those industries in demand they are hiring for the holidays. You can also search for candidates whose work ended on vacation and candidates who worked on vacation in the past. These are just some of the search options you can use to find relevant candidates.
Reach out to local colleges and high schools
College kids fit the right demographic for a vacation job. College students have winter breaks of 3-4 weeks, making it the perfect opportunity for them to work during their break if they are interested. High school students may also qualify for some of the jobs you are hiring for, especially for retail and restaurant workers. College and high school students may not be the typical demographic you target for hiring needs, but a seasonal job may be perfect for them. This year, even more than ever, it can be useful to take advantage of this market as you try to fill positions.
If you’re reaching out to colleges and high schools, think about some hiring incentives you could offer this generation, since what they’ll be interested in will be very different than the baby boomer generation.
Launch social media campaign
The holidays are a special time when Christmas cheer is spread, chestnuts are roasted over an open fire, cookies are exchanged, trees are lit and more. It is a time of year that is very special and so are the seasonal jobs you are recruiting for. Social networks are the perfect place to have fun with them! Invite your followers to join in the holiday cheer by working on a holiday job. Create special holiday themes for your posts, create a custom hashtag for your business, maybe you can even encourage your followers to share your posts, and every time they share they can be entered into a raffle to win a special holiday gift. The social media campaign is also a good opportunity to discuss the benefits of working a seasonal job. You might catch the eye of someone who wouldn’t even think of working over the holidays.
Host a Christmas Job Fair
Hosting a holiday job fair is another opportunity where you can have fun promoting your seasonal jobs. Invite candidates to come to your “winter wonderland” holiday job fair where hot chocolate will be served. They can learn about their holiday job opportunities and the benefits of seasonal work while enjoying a freshly baked Christmas cookie. Maybe you can even offer an incentive to attend, such as having all attendees enter the “Frosty Gift Card Raffle Drawing.”
In general, the holiday job fair is a great opportunity to connect with potential workers and turn holiday jobs into an exciting opportunity to work.
Passing it could lead to a full-time position if applicable
If the job has the potential to lead to a full-time position, you’ll want to note that in the job description and when you’re promoting the job. Some may only be interested if there could be an opportunity for a full-time position later, so you don’t want to miss out on these candidates.
It’s hiring season
We reviewed just a few ideas to think about as you fill positions this holiday season. While finding workers for vacation jobs may be even more difficult this season, it presents an opportunity for staffing companies to tap into new markets and seek opportunities for new business. It is a time when staffing companies can provide support and expertise to businesses, they may not normally work with those who need to hire workers. Once the holiday job requests come your way, it will be critical to think about the right incentive for your target audience, as well as finding the right candidates to reach out to. Finally, have fun with it! Holidays are a happy time. Incorporate that holiday spirit into your job description, in your social media posts, and at your holiday job fair. If you were a candidate looking to work during the holidays, would you rather work for Santa at the North Pole or work for the Grinch in Mount Crumpit? I suppose you would like to work for a company that is warm, welcoming, and offers you a special gift for the holidays.
Sources
1. Hip2Save
2. and 3. Staffing Industry Analysts
4.Yahoo! Finance