Flexibility Matters: Why Traditional Hiring Cycles Won’t Cut it for Today’s Retailers

Seasonal spikes have long been a feature, not a bug, of running a modern retail business. In the U.S., sales in November and December average about a fifth of the year's total. With holiday sales in 2025 alone expected to exceed $1 trillion, hiring plans must sync accordingly. But it’s about more today than simply getting a few extra bodies in-store to staff checkout. In-demand seasonal roles can range from supply chain managers to digital marketers and call-center agents.

The challenge is finding the skills to meet these diverse and fast-changing requirements. Fortunately, there’s a global talent pool out there waiting to be tapped.

What Retailers Want

Whether based in San Francisco or Sydney, today’s retailers are increasingly seeking to deliver seamless omnichannel experiences to delight their customers — and that requires the talent to do so.

Yet the consistent, smartphone-centric shopping journeys digital-natives demand require new skills and technology platforms. Warehouse management, inventory planning, supply chain and logistics management are in demand, as are e-commerce website management and marketing. While brick-and-mortar stores will certainly require extra staff during seasonal spikes, many sought-after skills are remote, such as customer service managers.

It's difficult to overstate how important these are to brand reputation and the bottom line. Research reveals that 81 percent of millennials and Gen Z-ers (whose spending power is expected to grow to $12 trillion by 2030) have left a brand because of a poor customer care experience.

The challenge for retailers is that they often compete for these skills, especially on the digital side, with deep-pocketed rivals and tech giants. They must also plan months in advance of any anticipated demand spike, especially if relying on traditional hiring practices. IT and cybersecurity have perennial talent shortages, not helped by an aging workforce and a growing preference among candidates for work-life balance. In cyber, 59 percent of global firms polled recently admitted they have “critical or significant” skills shortages, up from 44 percent in 2024. Cloud and artificial intelligence-related skills also topped the list of most in-demand roles. Call enter turnover rates of up to 45 percent can also cause major hiring challenges.

Delays and Overheads

Traditional hiring cycles are no longer fit for purpose in a commercial retail environment characterized by economic uncertainty, volatile market conditions, and fierce competition. They can be frustratingly slow and bureaucratic, prioritizing process over speed and flexibility. This adds extra costs and delays, which may result in talent moving to more nimble competitors.

Yet what’s the alternative? Flexibility can also come with a cost attached if not managed properly. The global talent pool is an attractive option, especially when looking to hire for temporary contractor/freelance roles. But it can add a different kind of bureaucracy.

Labyrinthine local employment regulations add complexity and jeopardy. For example, classification laws vary across regions and change regularly. It means that a member of staff you classify correctly as an independent contractor may, according to the jurisdiction in which that individual lives, be more like a full-time employee. Getting this wrong could mean fines and/or unexpected extra financial commitments. Then there are the administrative headaches associated with payroll, onboarding, benefits, new market entry, data security, and fluctuating wage costs.

What Can Retailers Do?

So how can retailers access a larger talent pool without the attendant pitfalls? As is often the case, the modern-day tech stack can be very beneficial. An employer of record (EOR) offers a comprehensive solution, acting as an official employer, taking on full responsibility for employment compliance, managing tax obligations, and handling payroll affairs. With an EOR, the client retains authority over its employees’ day-to-day tasks and responsibilities, but it can also help streamline worker classification, contracts and payments on the retailer’s behalf, providing legal and administrative support to do much of the heavy lifting.

An EOR should be able to provide comprehensive coverage, allowing retail clients to hire temporary talent across jurisdictions and manage everything from a single, centralized platform. Retailers should look for a provider that uses their own entities to help hire local talent, as this will avoid delays or unexpected costs. Likewise, a strong global payroll solution, efficient onboarding, and robust data protection measures (e.g., SOC 2 certification) will be critical, particularly during high-volume times for the business.

Go Where the Work is

The truth is that talent isn't evenly spread across the globe. Beijing has one of the largest pools of specialized IT network professionals, for example, so accessing that talent makes more business sense than battling rivals at home in more competitive and expensive markets. Our own data confirms that this is the direction of travel for many businesses. Multiplier’s data platform recorded a gradual uptick in active contracts for freelancers and independent contractors over the three months to six months before the 2025 holiday period.

While the “golden quarter” in many Western countries is an obvious period of elevated consumer activity, it’s far from the only seasonality-driven period that challenges retailers’ ability to address talent shortages. Across the globe, similarly busy periods might include the Lunar New Year, Singles Day, Diwali, Ramadan, and Golden Week. Going global doesn’t just make financial sense; it’s an imperative next step to address yearly fluctuations. Additionally, a diverse, international workforce can also drive greater innovation and creativity while opening the door to connecting with new customers. If retailers can find the right partners, there’s nothing stopping them.

Sagar Khatri is the CEO and co-founder of Multiplier, a global employment solution empowering businesses to seamlessly hire, onboard, and compensate talent across 150-plus countries.