As the holiday season approaches, many companies prepare to boost their workforce. Seasonal upswings in demand make bringing in additional employees necessary, at least for a period of a few months.

While hiring temporary workers is the go-to approach, keeping them on board can be tricky. Seasonal workers may not have the same inherent sense of loyalty as your permanent staff does, so you have to go the extra mile if you want to keep your best and brightest on-staff. If you don’t know where to begin, here are some tips.

Offer Highly Competitive Compensation

One of the easiest ways to keep short-term hires on board is to ensure that you offer them top dollar. This can make your positions stand out from other seasonal opportunities, bolstering your recruitment process. Plus, it decreases the odds that any temporary workers you hire will search for a better deal, as they know they can’t find higher compensation elsewhere.

Along with solid base wages, consider sweetening the pot with performance bonuses. That way, your top performers are rewarded with pay boosts, a move that can enhance engagement, morale, and loyalty.

Improve the Seasonal Employee Experience

Some companies fail to focus on the seasonal employee experience. This can include not incorporating them into the company’s culture, failing to effectively mesh them with permanent teams, not providing them with adequate training, or not offering proper recognition for their efforts.

If you want to retain exceptional seasonal employees, you need to make sure their day-to-day experience is outstanding. Make sure they understand how they contribute to the bigger picture, a step that can make their work more meaningful. Pair them with a permanent employee who can act as a buddy, giving them support and a connection to your long-term staff. Create useful and robust training options, allowing them to hone their skills. Additionally, express gratitude for their hard work, rewarding it when possible.

Make Them Permanent

If you want to keep your best temporary employees around, the easiest way to do that is to offer them a permanent position. While it’s true that some seasonal hires only want a job near the holidays, many others are looking for long-term employment.

Now, this doesn’t mean you should dangle the possibility of a permanent position if you can’t genuinely offer one. If you use that approach and fail to live up to your promise, word will get out. Then, not only may you lose your best seasonal workers, you may permanently damage your reputation. And, when next year rolls around, you may struggle to find the temporary workers you need to handle the uptick in demand.

When you identify a top performer, speak with them, and inquire about their career goals. See if they are searching for something permanent. If that is the case, see if there is a way to add them to your team after the holidays. Then, present them with an offer as soon as you know that’s an option.

Ultimately, all of the tips above can increase the odds that your best seasonal employees will stick around. If you’d like to learn more about how you can improve retention or need assistance with augmenting your workforce this year, the team at CPS Recruitment can help. Contact us today.