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The National Retail Federation is predicting a growth year for holiday sales for small businesses. Sales are expected to be somewhere between $727.9 billion and $730.7 billion. It’s not too early to start getting ready with your holiday hiring.

Holiday Hiring Tips

Here are 10 holiday hiring tips for small businesses so you’ll have the staff you need.

Offer A Training Class

Tara Wolckenhauer, DVP of Human Resources at ADP, offered the first suggestion.

“On the job training led by strong leaders – and if possible, on a team that is already doing the work, helps to quickly get them educated and learn.”

Use Video

She also says that video is a great tool to include in these classes. Mixing up the videos with interactive activities makes the lessons more memorable.

Measure Small Tasks

“Ensuring strong, short-term performance begins with a clear job description that includes “tasks” that can be measured objectively,” Wolckenhauer writes. Use benchmarks like knowledge retention to gauge how well the seasonal help is doing.

Talk Frequently

There’s not a lot of time to train seasonal workers. Having frequent conversations and check ins allows you to find areas that need to get better. This is a great way to boost morale and foster engagement for these short-term helpers.

Make Job Descriptions Clear

Wolckenhauer explains:

“Ensuring strong, short-term performance begins with a clear job description that includes “tasks” that can be measured objectively. Employers need to be upfront with the role so there is a mutual understanding of the job the employee is to fill.”

Make sure you include any educational requirements.

Know Where to Look

There are different places to get holiday staff. Recruiting agencies are great if you’ve got an early start. These are best when you start a few months early.  Posting your job opening is another option that works. Places like Indeed.com get great results.

Staffing agencies are another route.

Leverage Existing Staff

“Leverage existing staff and appoint strong leaders to help cross train hires and drive results,” Wolckenhauer writes.

Building a learning culture all year round helps. Make training sessions part of your small business workflow. That makes it familiar when you ask experienced staff to train seasonal workers.

Look to Retirees

Older people are quite often looking to make a few extra bucks during the holiday season. Post a notice at the local Seniors’ Center. You might even be able to get people who have retired from your industry. That way you’ll get holiday help that has industry knowledge.

Focus on Flexibility

You need to keep in mind that you’re looking for people to fill positions requiring some non regular hours. Retailers might need seasonal help that’s willing to work the overnight shift to stock shelves.

Be upfront about any scheduling changes. Hiring people who can switch a shift on a moments notice will make your holiday sales period easier.

Don’t Put Holiday Hiring Off

Some experts say you should start planning for the holiday season as soon as the previous one ends. Seasonal employees need a great work ethic but don’t forget to look for personality too. Your customers want to have a good experience and that starts with the frontline staff you hire.

Image: Depositphotos.com

This article, “10 Holiday Hiring Tips for Small Businesses” was first published on Small Business Trends