Businesses in all industries and of all sizes depend on seasonal workers to maximize revenues and meet customer expectations, especially during the holiday season.
Although seasonal hires are only temporary, it is still important to implement a formal onboarding process in order to ensure that all compliance obligations are met, standards are achieved and new hires are oriented.
Unfortunately, when you ignore the onboarding process, you increase your odds of running into performance issues as well as excessive turnover or worse. So, avoid common pitfalls, and take note of these best practices for onboarding seasonal hires:
Have a set orientation process – Seasonal workers have to transition into their positions very quickly. But, this doesn’t mean that you can overlook an orientation process. All workers, temporary or not, must be briefed on health and safety expectations, compliance obligations, reporting requirements and more in order to fully succeed on the job.
Engage new hires with first impressions – Because of the fast-paced nature of seasonal hiring, it’s easy to skip over certain “optional” elements of the onboarding process. This includes things like making proper introductions and giving company tours. But, this is still necessary to engage seasonal hires from the start.
Provide the necessary tools – Just like full-time employees, seasonal hires need to be given all of the proper and necessary tools in order to do their jobs. This includes any safety equipment, technology devices, login credentials, etc.
Pair seasonal hires with mentors - To optimize onboarding and to minimize risks and costs, assign all temporary hires a mentor. They can help new hires get the lay of the land faster, walk them through processes and answer any questions that they may have.
By following these onboarding best practices, your seasonal workers will be able to make a smooth transition, quickly, and you will have peace of mind in knowing that they are prepared to get the job done right.