How Spherion Staffing Prepares For The Busiest Hiring Season

As an established leading brand in the staffing industry, we understand the boost seasonal employees provide companies of all sizes. One of the many reasons clients work with a staffing agency like Spherion is to help with adding strong seasonal talent to end the year. 

A recent survey of businesses in North America by Staffing Industry Analysts found that on average, temporary employees account for 22% of respondents’ workforce. Although the Department of Labor doesn’t define how long “seasonal employment” lasts, it’s typically around 3 to 4 months. Seasonal employment spans industries like retail, but also call centers, distribution, food manufacturing, hospitality, insurance, supply chain, and utility companies.

Seasonal employees provide greater labor flexibility by letting businesses scale up their workforce to meet higher demand for products and services at the end of the year. Additional temporary seasonal employees are needed to fulfill and ship orders, restock inventory and serve customers. The end of the year is also a busy time for call centers as their employees respond to customers about pending orders, product shipments and returns. It is also a popular open enrollment time for many companies’ insurance plans, and call center employees are needed to handle increased call volume regarding those plans. 

Furthermore, partnering with a staffing agency allows companies to trial their employees through a seasonal role. If they are a great fit, opportunities for permanent placement may open up!

Large companies like Kohls hired more than 90,000 seasonal employees in 2021, but businesses of all sizes hire additional employees to be able to serve their customers seamlessly and efficiently during the Q4 peak season of shopping, shipping, celebrating, traveling, and wrapping up the year with a bow. As a result, many are making plans to hire temporary employees now. 

“We place 400 or more seasonal employees at a beauty product distribution center in Fresno, California every 4th quarter, plus 50 to 100 people in seasonal roles at an electronic merchandising distribution center in Visalia,” said Glenna Gates, owner of Spherion’s Bakersfield, Fresno, and Visalia (California) locations. “In addition, many food production and packaging facilities ramp up by 50 to 60 employees starting in August or September and run at this rate through the end of the year,” she continued.

This busy season is also a major boost to a franchisee’s revenue. Here’s how Spherion helps franchisees prepare to support their clients for peak season, no matter their industry focus.

How to Help Employers Plan for Peak Season Now

The first step in helping employers plan for the busy season is to understand your clients’ needs during peak season, and if they experience a peak or busy season at all. We coach our franchisees to become familiar with the industries that typically have a peak season where businesses increase staff. Our franchisees target these companies, and when getting to know their needs, ask questions such as: 

• Is there a time (or times) of year during which your business is busier than usual? 
• How long does it last? 
• How have you handled peak season staffing in the past?
• By how much do you typically need to increase headcount to meet peak season demand?

Next, prompt them to review their current staffing needs. We coach our franchisees and their staff to help clients prepare by asking the following questions:

• What are their Q4 business goals? Knowing what the goals are helps you, the franchisee, provide the right workforce solution. 
• How many additional people will the client need to reach their revenue or volume goals? 
• By when will you need to increase headcount? Knowing the client’s desired hiring timeline for seasonal help, including how long training typically takes, is important when working with them to set them up for a successful production or service schedule.
• What schedules can the client offer? Seasonal employees are often looking for flexibility so they can earn some extra income while balancing their primary job or family responsibilities.
• How competitive is the  pay rate? Competitive wages and perks will attract more candidates, and retention incentives will help keep them working through the peak.

Knowing the answers to these questions about peak hiring season sets you, the franchisee, up to become a valued business partner. Understanding your client’s business and peak season needs will give you the ability to develop the right workforce solution and the most effective recruiting strategy to deliver the candidates they need to thrive during peak season. 

Why Spherion is a Reliable Staffing Partner

Staffing companies are a useful resource for businesses looking to supplement their staff during peak season and throughout the year. Staffing professionals are able to respond to unexpected labor demand in real time because we are always hiring new talent. Our active network of pre-qualified candidates means you, the franchisee, can be efficient and effective at filling roles for temporary projects, temp-to-hire, and permanent openings. Once you help a client fill these roles, Spherion provides engagement and retention strategies designed to help you and the client work together to retain the contingent workforce. 

As a franchisee, you’ll position yourself as a staffing partner who specializes in finding seasonal employees for a variety of retail, light industrial, hospitality, and customer service roles that take on increased importance during the end of the year when people are spending, traveling, and going out for entertainment more often. Our corporate team supports franchisees as they find and retain labor through our emphasis on building one-to-one relationships with contingent employees. It’s this innovative and market-responsive support that sets Spherion apart as both an employer and a franchising business. 

If you’ve been looking for a franchise organization that helps you capitalize on market trends, talk with our franchise development team! They can share plenty more about our dynamic approach to supporting franchisees as you support your local business community. For more details and to schedule a chat with our team, visit our franchising website.