Seasonal hiring: What to expect during the 2022 holiday season

In 2022, temp job seekers have increased and seasonal employee hiring has been down. This means you should prepare for an increase in applicants who want to work with you!

Indeed Hiring Lab, an international team of economists and researchers, reports a 33% increase in searches for seasonal work on their job search engine. This is the highest search rate since 2019.

Workers want to log extra hours this holiday season, so now is the time to focus on polishing your temp hiring processes, launching those seasonal-hiring promotions, and ensuring your current technology can manage the influx of holiday sales and staff.

How the recession is impacting temp workers

Although workers are looking to boost their income, employers aren’t posting as much need for temp help in the 2022 holiday season. Seasonal worker help ads are down 8.2% from last year on Indeed. So, who is hiring?

ZipRecruiter, an American employment marketplace for job seekers and employers, shared in November 2022 that since the pandemic, seasonal hiring is up in e-commerce, trucking, and warehousing roles. The top five job titles for the 2022 holiday season include Class A Truck Driver, Delivery Driver, Driver, Warehouse Associate, and Warehouse Worker, according to the company’s internal data.

Typically, you’ll see a boost in applications in your inbox between early September through November. But if you’re not getting many bites, offer a hiring incentive, like a cash sign-on bonus, to pique the interest of potential temporary employees. ZipRecruiter also suggests streamlining the hiring process by reducing the number and length of interviews and making on-the-spot job offers.

Where businesses stand on seasonal hiring

Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., a global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm, predicts retailers will add 680,000 seasonal workers to the payroll for the 2022 holiday season. This is down a bit from the 701,400 seasonal jobs retailers hired for in 2021. With layoffs making headlines more often, and consumer buying typically decreasing during a recession, employers are being cautious of adding extra expenses to their bottom lines. But, some businesses depend on seasonal workers to handle the spike in shoppers and will stay the course despite today’s economy.

ZipRecruiter shares how other businesses are changing the way they find and process new applicants. For example, Bass Pro Shops is hosting hiring events, complete with same-day interviews and immediate hiring. UPS is reviewing applications, making offers, and forgoing interviews for 80% of their seasonal roles. Some are even providing perks, like signing bonuses and scheduling flexibility. The way big businesses are hiring now are changing applicants’ expectations when it comes to their hiring and onboarding experience. This is a good indicator of what smaller businesses should consider when changing up their hiring game.

Planning for your new temporary employees

If your small business is adding temporary employees to the sales floor or customer service desk, review your hiring strategies ASAP. This might include learning how to target your ideal employee, establishing a referral incentive program, creating holiday marketing campaigns or signage, and reviewing your new hire onboarding process. Goal: You want to bring on the most qualified and aligned individuals to keep your customers and co-workers happy this holiday season.

Take a moment to review your technology

On the backend, is your POS system ready to handle an influx of shoppers? Or, does it need an upgrade? Card-carrying consumers love options beyond swiping. During the busy holiday shopping season, customers want fast, efficient payment processing. Will your current system also accept chip cards, tap-to-pay, and online payments? Not to mention, your employees may appreciate an updated POS as well.

Is your small business payroll easy to update and use for seasonal workers? It should be! Roll by ADP is a chat-based payroll app that startups, entrepreneurs, and small business owners rely on. No desktop needed. Roll by ADP offers same-day direct deposit, off-cycle payments, and instant bonuses with the tap of a few buttons on an app on your phone. Slick, right? Saving time on admin tasks is a gift in itself!

Current Clover customers can enjoy the first 3 months free* of Roll. After that, pay just $24/mo + $5/employee. Learn more about this offer here.

Be sure to browse more of the Clover blog where we share insights and ideas to help grow your business, including accounting tips, partner solutions, money management, eCommerce topics, and so much more.

Happy holidays!

*Free payroll applies to clients that have not previously purchased Roll by ADP and are located in the United States. When your promo ends, you will be charged $24 per month starting with the next monthly billing cycle (base fee) plus $5 per employee per month. ADP reserves the right to withdraw this limited time offer at any time. This offer is not transferable and excludes any other ADP payroll or non-payroll services and requires the use of direct debit of fees as the payment method.

Editorial Team

Clover app partners, Clover partner solutions, Holiday, Retail, Staffing

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