Need Holiday Help for Your Small Business? Start Looking Now

Seasonal workers could be tough to come by.

We may be in the early stages of November, and you may be at a point where you're not quite ready to start hiring extra staff for the holidays. But if you expect an uptick in business later this month or early next, you don't want to hold off on finding seasonal workers. In fact, it pays to blast out your job listing ASAP if your goal is to staff for the 2022 holiday season.

Labor is getting harder to find

These days, the gig economy is booming, and that means a lot of people who want side jobs already have them. As such, it could end up taking you several weeks to find workers to staff your small business for the holidays. The sooner you put out that request, the more likely you'll be to find yourself adequately staffed by late November or early December. 

How to find seasonal workers

The problem with hiring seasonal help is that your employees may not be all that invested in doing the best job. After all, how motivated are they supposed to be knowing they'll be out of a job once the holiday season wraps up?

You may want to try to advertise your openings locally -- and aim to hire locally. If you post your openings on your town's social media page, for example, you may get responses from applicants who are prompted to do a good job because they want to maintain a good reputation in the community. 

At the same time, you may have to take some extra steps to attract seasonal workers this year. That could mean:

• Offering a more generous hourly wage
• Offering a bonus that's partially paid upfront, with the remainder to be paid after the holiday season
• Offering flexible scheduling

Also, don't hesitate to use your existing employees as resources. They may know people who are looking for extra work during the holidays to pad their savings, so let it be known that you want extra help. In fact, you may even want to consider starting a referral program, where your current workers get a modest bonus if they find people to work during the holiday rush. 

Get moving on that listing

If you wait until mid-November to start hiring for the holidays, you might end up struggling to staff your small business. Instead, get that listing up now, and make it as clear and uncomplicated as possible. 

Rather than simply say "generous wages," list what the wage is so applicants know whether the role is a fit for them. Also, be clear about the number of hours you're looking for each week and what the work entails.

The job market is healthy today in general, and while that's clearly a good thing, it means you could face hiring challenges. The sooner you get moving, the more likely you'll be to find the right people for the job this holiday season -- and perhaps establish relationships that allow you to call on them for backup during the year as needed.