Top things to consider when Hiring Christmas Temps

Leo Rolf

Posted 30/11/2018
by Leo Rolf

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Top things to consider when Hiring Christmas Temps

Retail businesses are now well into the final quarter of 2018. For many, this will be a key time to make as many sales as they can. With increased footfall into shops and retail outlets of all sizes, businesses need extra staff, often Christmas temps, to cope with the challenge of serving everyone. The same applies for businesses selling via the internet. Employing more staff can ease the workload and ensure everyone gets their orders on time. It’s not just retail either – delivery companies, the hospitality sector, and more will all be looking to hire Christmas temps people to help over the festive period. If you’re in the position of hiring Christmas temps, it’s vital to make sure you get it right first time. We’re down to the final few weeks before Christmas, with sales season stretching beyond. Hiring the wrong people could be disastrous; there would be little time to replace them and existing staff could be affected if they’re let down by temporary colleagues.  

Use pre-employment tests when hiring Christmas temps

It doesn’t matter whether you have a couple of vacancies or 200 – you may find yourself wading through dozens of CVs in your search for the ideal temporary workers. Finding a way to put this process on fast forward not only saves time, it also makes it easier to identify the best people for the job. Pre-employment tests can be conducted online, saving you time and filtering out those who wouldn’t thrive in the role. These tests can be tailored to suit as well. A test could be developed that would test peoples’ responses when faced with a demanding situation. This might involve dealing with queues, challenges, and various things going on around them. Situational judgement tests are invaluable in helping you weed out those who may not thrive in the roles you have available.  

Make it clear what you’re offering

There are countless tales of hired temps failing to show up for work for various reasons. This may be because they found out the job was only going to last a few weeks and they thought it was permanent. Another example might involve someone who was expecting a certain number of hours per week, only to discover upon turning up for their first shift that they’re on a zero hours contract. Be transparent about your offer from the beginning. This will ensure there is far less chance of one or more workers passing the interview with ease… only to let you down when you need them most.  

Find the right Christmas temps with online skills tests

People will always say what is expected of them at interview. It’s only when you see them in action in the job you’ve given them that cracks may begin to appear. Fortunately, you can avoid this as well by asking candidates to complete online skills tests prior to interview. Testing a person’s maths and English could be vital when you’re looking for someone to find and fulfil orders to be sent out from a busy warehouse environment.  

Make this festive season memorable for the right reasons

No one wants to recruit the wrong person for the job. Bringing the above elements into play when hiring festive temporary workers could make all the difference this year. Make Christmas recruitment faster and easier with the help of Skillsarena. We can provide all the tools you need to help you find the right people first time. Call our team today on +44 (0)203 693 2201 or email us to learn more.

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