Seasonal Hiring Cycles: the Perfect Opportunity to Increase Employee Listening

As summer nears an end, we also see the end of another cycle in seasonal hiring, consisting of summer employees. Forty-one percent of employers planned to hire seasonal help this summer, up from 29 percent last year. With 79 percent of employers saying it’s possible some summer hires will turn into permanent employees, every hiring decision must be made with care. 

McDonald’s is among the many companies with a need to bolster their summer staff. In a creative move, the burger chain took to Snapchat to recruit the 250,000 seasonal employees needed for summer. In advertising on Snapchat to attract a millennial/Gen Z demographic of young adults on summer break, McDonald’s is already showing a close consideration of where this group spends their time. 

I hope this indication of listening on McDonald’s part extends to its workplace as well. In this uptick of hiring, it’s the perfect time to ensure its employee-listening abilities are honed to handle an influx of new workers. Permanent or not, all new hires are a valuable source of feedback to any organization, as are the existing employees who work with them. Here are a few specific points to listen for: 

1. How existing employees are feeling: An influx of new employees all at once can be alarming for current staff. From the added training it requires to the changes in culture so many new faces can create, seasonal hires take a toll on the prior workforce 

It’s important to have an ear to the ground when a workplace is undergoing this level of change. Don’t leave current employees feeling forgotten in the excitement and whirlwind of onboarding new groups. Older team members hold an important perspective and can provide frontline feedback regarding whether this hiring influx is actually achieving the goals it was intended to. Otherwise, why are you hiring? 

1. Fresh perspective of brand new employees: Temporary summer hires can be a very different type of employee than your permanent ones. That means some likely have a unique perspective to share in terms of how workplace processes best function. 

The insights new employees surface can prove invaluable to your organization. Onboarding is the perfect time to ask employees what their ideal workplace environment looks like, or if training adequately prepared them to do their new jobs. Plus, this gives the right impression off the bat —  your organization prioritizes and respects insight provided by all employees. 

1. Feedback for future planning: If onboarding summer help is an annual process for your organization, the feedback of these employees is a huge resource to hone the process year after year. Keeping close tabs on seasonal feedback creates a beneficial record for trends in pain points and strengths in company processes. These insights help shape next summer’s hiring efforts, from the timing of new hires to the type of training provided.

In tracking the insights provided by employees, both new and experienced, turning to technology in the process is crucial. Implementing a systematized and methodical approach to garnering feedback, especially in an organization made up of hundreds or thousands, is key to leveraging their invaluable insights to ensure future execution is best aligned to organizational goals – hiring included.

A seasonal shift shouldn’t be the only reason your organization pays more attention to employees – that should be your everyday. But it doesn’t hurt to use summer hiring as a reason to kick listening up a notch as everyone adjusts to the changes. Use the summer hiring season as an excuse to bring your best to the table for your employees’ sake and your customers’.

Read more about Employee Surveys.