If your business cycle ebbs and flows predictably with the seasons, then you probably handle most of your temp hiring responsibilities during the summer and the winter holidays. But you’re also in the minority. Most companies can’t perfectly predict when they might go through a growth spurt or a contraction, and managers don’t always know when they might suddenly need extra hands to handle a rush of orders or an accelerated client deadline.
But as an experienced staffing firm, we work with temporary employees all the time and we’ve learned to recognize certain patterns, including a contingency staffing peak that tends to occur in the fall. If the statements below apply to you, consider supporting your labor force with temporary help in the months ahead.
1. Your current employees tend to take their vacations during this time.
If the summer is busy and the winters are cold, your employees probably pile their vacation time in during the still-balmy months of September and October. This is especially likely if they aren’t beholden to academic calendars. Get ready to run your office with a skeleton crew during the entire season…or better, hire a few extra pairs of hands to keep things moving.
2. Your employees are distracted during this time.
School starts in the fall, which means your younger employees are resuming their class schedules, and the parents on your team are being pulled from the office by school and after-school demands. Even when they’re there, they sometimes aren’t. Back them up with contingency staff.
3. Your consumer demand shifts in the fall.
Your product or service may experience a spike or a dip as the seasons change. Get ready to stay lean while you ride out the highs and lows. You’ll need enough employees on the floor to handle the job, but you won’t make money with too many people standing around empty handed. Contingency staffing can even out the rough spots in your workflow and talent distribution.
4. Your client projects gear up during this time.
The fall of the year often feels like the first few hours of the morning—this is the time to buckle down, tune out the noise, and get things done. The biggest and most complex challenges are often tackled during this season, and if your clients are taking on big roll-outs, implementations, upgrades, mergers, and development efforts, then so are you. Keep up by taking on help that you can relinquish when your projects end and the season changes.
For help launching your temporary and contingency staffing program, reach out to the MA staffing pros at Techneeds.