The holiday season is an exciting time for small businesses that have prepared for an influx of sales and motivated shoppers. 

The keyword here? Prepared. 

Preparing for the holiday season requires careful thought and execution.

From making sure you have proper inventory levels, to equipping your team with the right tools and supplies, to having enough staff in the first place, you have your work cut out for you. 

Thankfully, in today’s article, we’re giving you a leg up on the latter by sharing some of our top tips for hiring the best employees during the holiday season. 

Ready to learn what they are?

Let’s get right into it.

1. Hire students with seasonal work experience

Students or college graduates are usually the easiest to hire as seasonal workers since they’re on break from school during the holidays and may even feel enthusiastic about earning extra cash. 

You can attract them to your business by sharing open positions with customers who pay using student debit cards. You can also advertise positions on student job boards or at your local colleges.

When reviewing their applications, be sure to vet them by checking in with their references or consider having them come in for a test run. 

You can also use a photo editing tool to make your job postings more appealing to potential student candidates, or you can ask your previous student employees to shoot short videos for social media showcasing why they enjoyed working for you.

2. Highlight what’s in it for them 

Why should job candidates work for you this holiday season? What’s in it for them? How can they benefit from short-term work? 

Be sure to highlight the answers to these questions in your job ads and postings. You should also share this information with your recruiters so they can better advocate for you.

Here are some examples of benefits you can highlight:

• “Get the opportunity to save for the new year!”
• “Enjoy increased holiday pay.”
• “Refer a friend and we’ll add a $200 bonus on your next check!” 
• “Take advantage of on-the-job perks, such as travel discounts, a free lunch, and free merch.” 
• “Learn new skills to add to your resume. We’ll train you!”

3. Ask for internal referrals 

Ask your most trusted employees if they know anyone they can refer to you for holiday work. 

When requesting internal referrals, make it easy by sending a questionnaire to all your existing full-time and part-time employees. In your questionnaire, include questions about people they may know (and don’t forget to ask if they’re available, too). 

Here’s an example of questions you might include:

• Have you previously worked with a coworker in our field who was engaged and respected at work? Would you mind passing their information to us?
• Do you know anyone interested in part-time holiday work? Can you please list their names and contact info here? (Provide a space for them to enter their names and contact details). 
• If we paid you a referral bonus, would you be able to refer reputable, job seekers for seasonal roles to us? 
• Are you available to work for us this holiday season as part of your existing hours?
• Are you available to work for us this holiday season in addition to your existing hours?
• Please list the dates and times you’re available to work with us this holiday season. (Provide a space for them to enter their availability).

4. Sweeten the deal with an opportunity for extended work 

If possible, consider opening up slots for extended work for temporary employees who work well during the holidays. 

This not only gives them something to hope for and work toward, but it can also help you build a team of happy, hard-working, and engaged employees you can rely on no matter what time of year it is. An employee scheduling software like Homebase can support this by making it easy for staff to see and swap overtime opportunities, helping you cover shifts while empowering your team.

5. Create a simple application, interview, and onboarding process 

There’s nothing that deters applicants from applying for work more than lengthy or complicated application, interview, and onboarding processes. Jobs quickly lose their appeal when an applicant knows they have to jump through hoops to land them.

To make hiring easy for both you and your job candidates, it’s essential to design quick and easy systems. 

One of the best ways to simplify the application process is to add an “easy apply” button made famous by Indeed and LinkedIn. 

With an “easy apply” button, applicants typically set up a profile on a job search platform, upload their resume and credentials, and then rely on the platform to populate that info into job applications they apply for. 

However, this method only works if the job board or website lists an “easy apply” button or notice that’s easy to spot.

It’s also important to make sure all systems are mobile and desktop-friendly so applicants can apply and navigate through them with ease, no matter what device they use. 

For the interview process, keep interviews to one or two sessions max. Applicants don’t appreciate needlessly drawn-out processes, and you may end up losing them altogether if you make them wait too long.

And finally, when it comes to onboarding, make sure you have software in place to make the transition as smooth as possible. If you use software for monitoring employees, be upfront about what’s tracked and focus it on schedules, timekeeping, and safety during the rush – not micromanagement.

Be sure to also set any onboarding expectations early on so new employees understand what’s expected of them before officially starting work. This may include attending additional meetings, completing training, or submitting new-hire paperwork.

6. Start the hiring and interviewing process early 

Don’t wait until October to start looking for holiday employees. 

Starting the recruitment process well in advance (think July or August) can help both you and your holiday workers prepare for the busy season before it’s too late. You can even leverage AI recruiting tools to forecast hiring needs and identify top candidates early, saving valuable time during the rush.

When starting the hiring and interviewing process, be super transparent about when new hires will begin and when their contracts with you will end. 

Be sure to also specify if there will be opportunities for additional work after the seasonal contract ends or if there’ll be opportunities for more holiday work next year. 

You might also consider offering freelance opportunities to seasonal employees interested in working with you on an as-needed basis after the holidays.

7. Reach out to previous holiday employees 

If this isn’t your first year hiring seasonal workers, why not use the old lead list so you can reach out to previous employees you enjoyed working with during the holidays? 

When reaching out to former holiday employees, be sure to express your enthusiasm and appreciation for their past work. 

Then, sweeten the deal by highlighting the perks and benefits they can enjoy if they agree to work with you again this holiday season. 

If they’re unavailable, no problem! See if they can refer you to other trustworthy friends or work peers that may be available to help you. Offer them a small bonus or token of gratitude in exchange for quality referrals.

8. Create a fun and engaging holiday training program 

Set your seasonal employees up for success by creating fun and engaging holiday training materials.

Extra emphasis on the “fun and engaging”. 

And for good reason.

The holidays are a festive time when people enjoy spending time with loved ones and celebrating beloved traditions. They could be anywhere, or even take time off. But they’re choosing to work with you instead. 

That’s important to recognize so you can strive to show your appreciation for them and work to design an onboarding and training experience that reflects that, too. 

When creating your program, consider hiring a trainer who has experience training employees for seasonal employment and knows how to make it fun. 

Some examples of fun and engaging training exercises include:

• Hosting ice breakers
• Hosting games 
• Providing hands-on workshops
• Divulging behind-the-scenes secrets 
• Partnering up and solving a work challenge
• Grouping up new hires into teams and asking each team to teach the rest of the groups something specific 

You can also up the ante by providing lunch and drinks, goody bags, or passing out sweets or candy during break time or as game prizes. 

Wrap up 

Preparing for an influx of sales and motivated shoppers during the holiday season can be challenging at best. 

That’s why curating a healthy holiday staff is essential. 

Are you ready to hire employees this holiday season?

In today’s article, we shared eight of our top tips for hiring the best employees during the holidays. 

We hope the tips we’ve shared have inspired you to create systems aimed at making your life (and your candidates’) lives easier and richer. 

And if you need more help with hiring employees or growing your small business, head to InvoiceBerry’s blog page for more tips and resources.