Understand Seasonal Employees

By The Mann Group

My mom always likes to say that once October hits, it’s practically Christmas. For me, that means pulling out the cinnamon-scented candles and boxes of seasonal decor. For outdoor retailers, that means prepping for the busiest season of the year.

As the days turn shorter and cooler, outdoor retailers face a peak season swept in by a series of big factors. Many outdoor sports and hobbies—camping, rock climbing, hiking, trail running—increase in popularity with the passing of the swelter of summer. Other sports, like skiing, snowboarding, and snow shoeing, are on the horizon. The shift in seasons can trigger a newfound dedication in outdoor enthusiasts, much like the new year. And, most importantly, the oncoming holidays drive people to brick and mortar stores in droves.

Fourth quarter often brings the highest earnings for outdoor retailers, but that also signals the greatest challenge. To cope with the uptick in guests and profits, many businesses turn to seasonal employees to help staunch the flood of visitors. It’s the perfect solution for outdoor retailers—but only when its deployed perfectly. Here’s how to do it:

Pull Seasonal Employees from Your Existing Applications.
Before you publish a post searching for seasonal employees, review the applications you have on file. These applicants aren’t just looking to earn some extra holiday cash; they already care about and are interested in your business, so they’ll be more invested in their position and the way it affects the company.

Consider Applicants Based on Your Usual Standards.
Even if they’re only temporary, it’s still important that seasonal employees match your usual employee criteria. If you hire an employee who’s not the right fit because you need to fill the slot fast, the implications could be even more detrimental than normal (after all, more customers = more room for error, and that bad seasonal hire could negatively impact the experience of a lot of customers for life).

Invest in Training.
Training can be costly, but that’s no reason to skimp on it when it comes to seasonal employees. As mentioned above, these employees will be interacting with more customers than your regular employees do in the slower months, so it’s even more important that they be prepared to handle those customers with a high level of customer service and product knowledge. Invest in their training so that they can not only sell your product well, but contribute to the larger picture of your company by turning seasonal customers into fans.

Don’t Work Anyone Too Hard (or Too Little).
The purpose of seasonal employees is to help distribute the extra work of the season across more staff. That means that your regular salespeople aren’t overworked, but it’s also important that no one is underworked—new and old employees alike. Giving extra hours to seasonal employees could rub your core staff the wrong way, but giving too few hours to seasonal staff removes the element of motivation and decreases their familiarity with the business and their position.

Continue the Relationship.
If you invest in your seasonal employees, they could easily transition into roles as part of your core staff. Even if you know things will slow down in January and you feel confident in your staff as it is today, don’t discount the possibility that these seasonal employees could become permanent additions to the team, whether after the busy season or further down the line. Build a relationship with them that will make them happy to join your team if the opportunity arises.

The greatest factor to keep in mind when considering seasonal employees is the word employees. Regardless of their tenure, position, or hours, these hires are still representatives of your business. The way they interact with customers and your brand is just as important as it is with your permanent employees, so hire your seasonal staff with the same mindfulness, intention, and training as you would anyone else.

About The Mann Group: We are The Mann Group, a charmingly incongruous and blatantly genuine group of big thinkers and list makers. Get us together, and our ideas bloom into vibrant, sky-high projects; take us apart, and we work methodically and assiduously to accomplish the goals we created together. We create and implement practical courses and curriculum to help businesses and individuals grow.