By Novo Constare, CEO and Cofounder, Indeed Flex.
For a number of businesses worldwide, the demand for their services is often seasonal. It could be that they have a rush of customers across the summer, or it could be that demand hits a peak across the winter months.
Let’s look at the retail and hospitality sector, for example: In my experience, demand typically spikes in the run-up from September to Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Then there’s usually another spike across the summer. For hospitality, this is generally due to the influx of tourists and their need to dine out; for retail, it’s consumers looking to buy swimwear, beach equipment, gardening supplies, etc.
But it’s one thing knowing that these peaks and troughs are coming up; it’s another dealing with them in a way that allows you to keep functioning as a business, that keeps customers happy at all times, and that doesn’t eat into your profit margins. So, to make this article nice and simple and—more importantly—useful, I’m going to focus on five main ways you can look to deal with fluctuations in demand when planning your recruiting strategy.
1. Cross-train/upskill employees.
Cross-training employees allows them to fill multiple roles, providing flexibility in staffing during peak periods. You can do this by offering specific training programs (free of charge, as it will be to your company’s benefit); online learning and development courses; mentorship programs, where those from different departments train colleagues up in what they do; and/or offering “a week in the life of” opportunities, where employees from one department shadow employees from another department, learning all about what they do.
In my experience, cross-training can ultimately enhance the existing skills of employees and lead to greater career development opportunities, which, in turn, should lead to greater job satisfaction. More importantly, though, is that it should reduce the need to hire externally when demand is high (and so reduce costs), as your current employees can be placed where they’re needed most.
2. Hire temporary staff.
Of course I would say this, given the temp worker solution my company offers, but taking on temporary workers can be an effective way to deal with increased demand. Using temporary staff is a common solution, as shown by the size of the temporary staffing sector, and can be a cost-effective solution for short-term needs, allowing you to adjust staffing levels as and when you need to.
This can also help you mitigate the risks associated with permanent hiring during uncertain times, i.e. when you’re not entirely sure when customer demand will suddenly fall again. If you’re having trouble hiring locally, you can find temporary staff through reliable agencies or platforms that offer access to a marketplace of pre-vetted, verified workers.
3. Be adaptable.
Be prepared to offer a mix of different types of working patterns or arrangements to employees that suit the “up-and-down” nature of demand within your business. For example, you could offer part-time or contractual positions in response to fluctuating customer demand, calling on employees as and when you need them.
On the flip side of this, when there’s higher than usual demand, consider offering employees overtime to help you deal with the sudden spike. Many will likely be happy for the opportunity to earn a little extra, and the sudden rush of customers will be taken care of. Or you could allow employees the freedom to swap shifts with colleagues to suit both their personal needs and business demands. This could help to avoid potential burnouts if employees are booked in to work successive shifts.
4. Attract new employees.
If you do need to hire externally—if your existing employees can’t quite cover the workload when demand increases—then you want to ensure you’re an attractive proposition to candidates. Work on continuously building a pipeline of talent for your future needs, rather than just focusing on getting new people in when the situation is urgent. You can do this by investing in your employer branding, to appear as that one company people want to work for, and by creating a positive candidate experience.
Build on your employer branding by having a strong careers page on your company website and a strong presence on social media channels, and by cultivating good online employee reviews on sites like Glassdoor. It can also pay to have an employee referral program in place to encourage and incentivize existing employees to refer qualified candidates, increasing your pool of potential trusted workers.
5. Use technology to highlight key trends.
Utilize technology to analyze your workforce and recruitment data and spot key trends. If you can see, from previous seasons, where you had spikes in demand, where you had gaps in fulfillment, what your staff turnover was like, where you needed to turn to agencies, etc., then you can accurately forecast your future needs. Or you can look at real-time data and make similar decisions based on sound logic and key metrics. Doing so should enable you to adjust staffing levels to suit the time of year and avoid being overstaffed or understaffed.
If you don’t have preexisting in-house systems for analyzing this type of data, consider using an external platform that can give you a complete workforce overview. There are a number of different options available on the market, so it’s worth doing your homework to see which one best suits your needs.
Fluctuations in demand affect different types of business at different times of year. However, with the right plans in place, you can cope with this and keep both employees and customers happy.
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