Covering for Staff Holidays During Summer
We are more than ready for summer here at Red Seal!
With a lot of planning, our team is in a good position to take time off without putting too much extra workload on our hard-working team members.
Covering for Staff Holidays During the Summer
Over-Hiring
Going into the summer holidays we are fully staffed up having just hired two new team members.
Over-hiring for the summer is essential for our team! Like most employees out there, ours are working super hard and we understand that not being able to give time off, or having already busy employees cover for team members on leave, is a recipe for disaster.
Why do we overhire? With 30% of employees on average ready to quit their jobs, denying time off or piling the workload of colleagues onto them will drive people to look elsewhere for employment.
Recruiting someone without the perfect experience, an Intern, or a Co-Op Student
This summer we were fortunate enough to hire an intern with previous experience with finding skilled candidates and their contact information.
Having team members join who does not yet have all the skill and experience needed is a great help. It really points to why companies should consider hiring high-potential candidates, and not get fixated on finding someone with 10 years of experience!
For example, if a potential military leader candidate doesn’t have perfect private sector industry experience, they still have operations and leadership skills that might be greatly needed, while senior managers take well-deserved time off.
Pools of talent that we always need to consider for both covering summer holidays and permanent hires are recent college grads, people wanting to switch industries and of course the previously mentioned military veterans.
There are also many industries that are struggling, that have also overworked great people, that are now interested in trying new things. It’s amazing how many people in aviation, service industries, and others who are ready to look at opportunities in manufacturing or construction due to the challenges in their industries.
Contracting out or temporary hiring
With time off already booked and the challenges many companies are facing with hiring over the last few months, there are two other options that should be looked at for covering staff holidays during summer vacation coverage.
Contracting out work to other companies that may have the capacity to take on the work, or using a staffing firm.
While temp agencies or hiring a contractor come with increased hourly costs, there are reductions in recruitment, payroll and risk costs (workers comp and legal risk). The question of what we do with those hired when September rolls around and everyone is back at work is also avoided.
Although everyone is having difficulty finding talent, it is often worth overhiring or bringing temporary help in at a premium cost in order to keep existing team members happy, and production at a satisfactory level.
Asking employees to take on another employee’s entire list of duties while they take holidays just isn’t reasonable, nor is it productive.
These are the primary ways Red Seal ensures consistency in our work, maintains good client and candidate relationships, and very importantly, keeps our employees healthy and happy during the summer months.
Are you and your team ready for summer? What have you implemented to minimize negative impacts during the vacation season?
References:
Check out more Recruiting Tips and Resources on our blog here!
Red Seal Recruiting Solutions has a wide variety of services to help you find the best employees. See how we can help on our Recruiting Solutions page.