Many companies hire seasonal workers to help with the uptick in business the holidays tend to bring. If you had temporary help on board these past couple of months, you might be gearing up to let those seasonal workers go. But before you send them off, consider doing these things first.
1. Determine if your temp workers have staying power
It's sometimes the case that seasonal workers do the bare minimum to earn a paycheck, knowing full well that once that uptick in business starts to wind down, they'll inevitably be out of a job. But if you had one or two people on your temporary team who really shined this past season, it may be worth seeing whether there's room to carve out permanent positions for them at the company.
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Of course, this assumes that those temporary employees want to work full-time. If you hired students, for example, they might not have the capacity to sign on permanently. Still, it's worth having that conversation to gauge interest, because if you had a temp worker who did an outstanding job on a seasonal basis, imagine what that person might do for your business in the long run.
2. Ask your temp workers about their experience
As a business owner or manager, it's your job to ensure that your workers (both temporary and permanent) feel that they're treated well while they're on the clock. And while your full-timers might be hesitant to share their feedback for fear of potential backlash, your seasonal workers who are on their way out the door should have less of a problem being honest. Therefore, it pays to take the opportunity to evaluate your company from an employee perspective.
Maybe you'll hear that the hourly wage you paid wasn't up to par. Maybe your workers will state that they didn't have enough training or support from management to get up to speed quickly. Or maybe the feedback will be glowingly positive. The point, however, is to capitalize on the chance to get some unfiltered, truthful assessments of what it's like to work at your company.
3. Affirm your intentions to rehire your temporary staff next year
If you were impressed with the work your seasonal employees did but genuinely don't have the capacity to hire them full-time, or even on an ongoing part-time basis, it still pays to leave things on a positive note. The reason? If you needed extra hands on deck this past holiday season, chances are, the same thing will happen the next time around. And if you let your temps know that you're happy to rehire them later on in the year once the need arises, they might come to you in November or December and give you a chance to do just that before applying elsewhere. That, in turn, could save you a bunch of time and legwork during your company's busy period.
Seasonal workers can be a valuable asset to any business. Be smart about parting ways with your temporary employees, and you'll be thankful you did down the line.
