What Businesses Need to Know About Seasonal Staffing

The holidays will be here before you know it along with a tidal wave of seasonal jobs and openings that will flood job boards and hiring sites. Adia took to the streets (sent out a survey) to see how our workers felt about seasonal work opportunities, what factors influence their decisions to work a seasonal job, and how employers might use this information to better approach seasonal hiring. 

Here’s what we learned.

Insight 1  |  Find a Differentiator

Seasonal roles are in high demand. 93% of respondents expressed interest in working a seasonal job this year. However, seasonal positions are in high supply making the competition for quality workers fierce. Job availability levels are already at a record surplus before adding seasonal openings into the mix. Employers must set themselves apart if they want to attract quality workers. 

Higher pay is the simplest way. Pay expectations are soaring in unison with the cost of living. 86% of respondents expect to be paid at or beyond $15.50 an hour for a seasonal position. If your business can’t afford this, differentiate your listing in other ways. When asked what benefits would supplement a lower-than-expected pay rate, 60% of respondents listed flexible scheduling. Even seemingly underwhelming perks such as free snacks & coffee, public transportation reimbursement, or product/service discounts can work wonders for making a job listing pop off the page.

Insight 2  |  Embrace Work Flexibility

Most employers who hire hourly staff have been slow to adopt flexible and on-demand work concepts leading to strained relationships with their workers and high churn rates. For hourly or salaried workers, it is more important than ever to diversify income by working multiple jobs simultaneously. 77% of respondents say they plan to work multiple seasonal jobs this year. Not to mention, 52% of respondents are currently working full or part-time before adding on seasonal gigs. 

Expecting exclusivity from your seasonal or hourly employees is no longer the norm. When asked how many hours survey participants would like to work per week at a seasonal job, the results were divided. Nearly the same amount answered 40+ hours as did those who answered 21-30 hours. Similarly, 31-40 hours received similar results to 11-20 hours. Simply put, working alongside your staff to build a schedule that is accommodating to their life and the life of the business is the best receipt for happy and hardworking employees. For example, splitting one 8-hour shift into two 4-hour shifts filled by different workers could offer more flexibility to workers with time commitments like children, other jobs, etc. On-demand staffing apps like Adia make it easy and cost-effective for businesses to operate this way. 

Insight 3  |  The Early Bird Gets The Worm

Getting the hiring process started early is the most effective approach for bringing on quality workers before they get a chance to seek higher pay, benefits, or perks. When asked which month workers begin seeking seasonal roles, respondents shared the following. 65% said September, 27% said October, 5% said November, and only 3% said December. This is another way on-demand worker apps like Adia can give employers an edge. Using a standard job board puts the employer in a reactionary position as they have to wait for workers to apply. Adia has a base of on-demand workers ready for the employer and all their seasonal needs, especially if they are looking to hire in a pinch. Additionally, oversaturated job boards and posting sites throw employers into a pool with thousands of other companies, ensuring their listings will never stand out.

If your business needs help with seasonal staffing, give Adia a try!  Our on-demand staffing solution is an online service that connects employers to qualified workers looking for open positions. Adia can help you find an experienced, hard worker in your area to fill your retail merchandiser role. That means instead of choosing a staffing agency in Atlanta or a staffing agency in Houston, you can simply use Adia and select your location to find available job seekers in your area. Also, all of the workers on Adia are pre-vetted, and the platform takes care of onboarding tasks to take the trouble out of recruiting. So, what are you waiting for? Visit https://adia.works/ to see how the Adia on-demand staffing platform can help your business succeed!