By Natalie Dopp, Chief People Officer at HireVue
For many hiring teams, the stress of seasonal hiring can take away the joy of the summer season—with excitement swallowed by the impending doom of filling shifts. And the economic expectations don’t ease any of the nerves.
With the hospitality and restaurant industries expecting to see a boost this summer, employers are expected to add over a million summer jobs for teens this year. But there is hope. The strongest hiring tools are made to withstand economic surges (and lulls), and with the right ones in place, teams can create a strategy that runs off automation (instead of manual efforts). Below are 3 strategies to ensure your seasonal hiring is quickly marked off your to-do list.
Keep passive candidates engaged.
One of the advantages that seasonal hiring teams have is access to a qualified candidate base year-round. Who knows your business and the ins and outs of operations more than your previous employees?
Engaging with candidates via text is not only their preferred method, but it’s also a lot more effective. Keep previous employees in the loop on hiring needs and business updates throughout the year—helping you establish relationships with people beyond just last-minute hiring needs.
Hiring technologies allow you to send automated text reminders and create solid feedback loops with candidates. You can message them from the platform (not your personal phone), and they can engage as easily as sending a text.
Don’t start each hiring season with a blank slate. Engage your previous employees and start filling your shifts fast with qualified talent you trust.
Evaluate skills—not resumes.
Resumes don’t predict success.
When you’re looking to hire for a season, you can’t waste time wondering if you made the right hire—and you can’t just hope for the best.
Consider candidates who show potential. Look for transferable skills instead of relying on candidates with specific experience or skills.
There is potential in every candidate. Assessments are a great way to find potential in candidates and pinpoint the skills that better predict success—not factors like alma maters or experience. Our 2023 Global Trends Report found that in the past year 58% of companies have implemented standardized assessments, and 32% have implemented game-based assessments.
And when time is of the essence, your hiring experience needs to be fast and engaging so you can start making offers before your shifts get busy.
Make sure your chatbot is actually smart.
Chatbots may not be people, but they should be able to have human-like conversations. Candidates shouldn’t have to input specific language to hopefully get a match or response.
Many seasonal jobs aren’t “normal,” meaning they may not be simply labeled as “cashier” or “marketing manager.” Some roles may be titled “crew member” or “warehouse stocker,” so candidates may need help determining how to search for them.
If your chatbot can help candidates based on skills, it can give them access to all the roles available. A smart chatbot can search based on the skills needed for a position, so the burden of responsibility is no longer on candidates to ensure they are searching for a specific title.
Seasonal hiring teams have to hire fast or risk their business losing money from understaffed teams and high customer expectations.
Natalie Dopp is Chief People Officer at HireVue, the global leader in video interviewing, assessments, and text-enabled recruiting solutions. HireVue’s conversational AI widens the recruiting funnel with smart, chat-based job matching, so your candidate experience is not only primed for success but hiring teams don’t miss out on top talent.
