3 Seasonal Hiring Strategies That Will Crush the Competition

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There’s a lot riding on your seasonal hiring. Can your process deliver the quality and quantity of hires your organization needs to make goal?

In the last 12 months, the hiring landscape for hourly workers has changed. Unemployment in the US fell to an 18-year low in May. While thousands of brick-and-mortar stores have closed, there’s new growth in call centers, warehouses, and delivery services. Demand for talent is driving wages up, and companies are engaging candidates faster than ever through modern technology.

If you’re looking for innovative ways to respond to this changed market, here are three strategies you can implement to build a faster, better seasonal hiring process this year:

1. Accelerate the Experience

This season’s candidates will get multiple job offers. To make sure top candidates receive yours first, integrate automated scheduling and on-demand text interviewing into your seasonal hiring workflow. Available in many purpose-built video interviewing platforms, these applications are specifically designed to cut time from your hiring cycle and engage candidates via mobile platforms.

Many companies are replacing traditional phone screens with on-demand text and voice interviews to access candidates more quickly and reduce lag time between application submission and contact with a recruiter. Automated scheduling increases efficiency and speed when coordinating interviews, while automated reminders keep hiring managers timely with their feedback.

2. Exceed Candidates’ Expectations

With so many competitors vying for the same talent, your hiring experience needs to capture candidates’ minds and hearts from the get-go. If they’ve worked seasonally in the past, they may be expecting the same process as last year. Exceed their expectations with a modern hiring experience that’s fast, simple and convenient, thanks to technology. By using technology to reduce the time needed for administrative recruiting tasks such as scheduling, you can also be more strategic in engaging candidates and your business units.

Your employer brand message differentiates your hiring experience and engages candidates by building an emotional connection. Make sure your message helps candidates understand why your organization is their best choice for seasonal work. The more the message resonates with your candidates’ priorities, the more value it can drive for your hiring process.

Push your message forward consistently into the talent market on your careers site, in job descriptions, on social sites, and at every step in your hiring process. Share the information candidates are looking for: details on the hiring process timeline and the scope of your positions, as well as what they can expect from working for your organization.

3. Elevate Your Onboarding Strategy

The period between a candidate’s acceptance of your job offer and their first day is high risk. You can protect against poaching by stepping up your onboarding strategy to maintain close connection with your new hires throughout the process. Leverage on-demand video technology at this stage by:

– Asking new hires to record introductory “about me” videos. Then, share those videos with the team in advance to ensure a warm welcome when the employee arrives.

– Recording and sharing a “what to expect” video to help ease the new hire’s first-day jitters.

Look for opportunities to get new hires feeling comfortable quickly, as this will make them more likely to stick with you for the duration of the season.

Better candidates and faster speeds matter in seasonal hiring. For your organization to really gain a competitive edge, look to modern hiring technologies to help you balance speed, quality, and efficiency, all wrapped in an innovative candidate experience.

Kurt Heikkinen is CEO and president of Montage.

By Kurt Heikkinen