Effective Recruitment Methods for Seasonal Workers

When ramping up for your holiday rush, try some of the following tips employed by Katie Camardo, director of operations for Vermont Teddy Bear catalog company.

Recruit students from local colleges.

Contact any local companies that have opposite peak seasons to yours to see if they have any excess labor you can share with them.

Maintain a "do-not-hire" list from year to year. Keep it updated with previous seasonal employees whom you wouldn't want to see brought on board again. The list will help your new managers know whom they should steer clear of when hiring season begins.

For those temporary employees you would hire again, send "we want you back" postcards when recruiting season begins anew.

Treat seasonal staffers like gold. Emphasize to your year-round employees the value of your temporary staff so seasonal workers will feel like valued members of the team. This will help ensure that the good employees will want to come back next year.

—Donna Loyle, editor, Catalog Success magazine