Hiring In The Summer
Summer often brings a tide of events to the workplace, including social gatherings, vacations, performance reviews, and sometimes a transition in employee allocation. For employers, the need for a new hire during the summertime is a challenge that affects the whole team and one which must be evaluated from many angles.
The Challenges of Summer Hiring
During summertime, most employed candidates are usually passive in their job search and goal setting. Most will wait until end of summer or early autumn before they begin to think about their next career steps. Why not hit the beach early and forget about the office while the sun is shining?
Candidates Are Passive in Their Job Search
This generally relaxed feel can be quite the debacle for employers who face the need for an immediate job fill. During the spring many employees make transitions in their careers and this often leaves positions open during the first month of summer. Some of these openings are also results of performance reviews conducted during the second quarter in June – some employees feeling unappreciated or upset when they do not receive an expected promotion and others receive the promotion and with a quick move leave a vacant opening. While some companies anticipate these turnovers, others are left bamboozled with little time to fill a role.
A vacancy always impacts a team – this could cause controversy for those who have planned vacation and if the company is left without a sufficient number of trained personnel, it can be detrimental to a company’s performance and production.
Hiring Decisions May Be Postponed
If high level executives or hiring managers are out of office for extended periods of time, hiring decisions will be postponed even longer which could develop into an even more harmful outcome.
Follow-up Strategy Is Needed
Recruiters are subject to the same controversy as people they have in mind may also be on vacation. According to Erin Engstrom, a Recruiterbox’s Outreach Manager, “candidates are also more likely to be away: Since they’re passive, they probably already have jobs, meaning they’re going to take their vacations during the summer as well. To maximize your chances of connecting with vacationing candidates, make sure you have a follow-up strategy that takes place over a longer period of time, so you can account for days if they’re inaccessible.”
The Benefit of Building a Team
Open availability is highly unlikely during summertime; therefore, close to 43 percent of employers plan to hire seasonal workers. While hiring seasonal workers may be mutually beneficial for both candidates and employers to “find the right match”, it’s ideal to plan ahead and have candidates in mind for such vacancies.
Job Searches Are Still Being Done
According to Henry Goldbeck, President of Goldbeck Recruiting Inc., the amount of job searches for clients during the summer months within the last couple of years have not slowed down, unlike in prior years. This indicates that there is an increasing need to fill job openings even through the summer months. He has, however, encountered the aforementioned challenges of summer hiring.
More Time to Train New Employees
On the other hand, the benefit of hiring in the summer may be that business is generally slower as clients are also on vacation. During these slower peaks and around preplanned vacation time, there is generally more time to invest in training new team members. If you plan to add on new employees at the beginning of the summer, you will be more than likely to hone their skills and knowledge of company procedures before the onset of September business re-reigns, and this preparation will benefit the whole team long-term.
References:
http://recruiterbox.com/blog/top-recruiting- challenges-for- summer-2015/
http://www.internqueen.com/blog/2016/02/make-most- out-your- summer-and- find-your- dream-career
Henry Goldbeck
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