With the constant ebb and flow of events, seasons and celebrations in hospitality and tourism sectors, “staffing up” at certain times of the year is critical, but often left to the bottom of the to-do list.
Being on the front lines of staffing and employment, I am often approached for help with HR needs at a point of urgency or confusion about where to look, how to hire and how to manage temporary or seasonal workers. All of this at the risk of spoiling best-laid plans, events or promotions due to a lack of the right team to represent or execute effectively.
There is no doubt about it – an essential ingredient of successful events, promotions or celebrations is the quality and management of the front-line staff. The importance of effective staffing strategy continues to grow within tourism and hospitality, as organizations discover that temp workers allow them to adjust easily and quickly to fluctuations and unexpected demands.
Staffing, especially on a temporary basis, however, can prove difficult due to the relatively short-term offer of employment.
Based on the increasing demand for temporary workers that we are seeing through our employment agency, I have recognized that those in seasonal or event-based businesses such as hospitality and tourism could use some tried, tested and true tips for hiring and managing staff during those times where they are faced with the task of staffing up.
First, determine the exact staffing requirement for your event or promotion and decide what percentage of the staff could be comprised of temporary workers. Can you bring in promotional staff, kitchen staff, administrative staff, etc., on a temporary-only basis? Will this actually save you time and money?
Remember to expand your estimate number of temporary workers (particularly event or promotional workers) by about 10% to account for no-shows, cancellations or unexpected issues.
Next, focus on the basics and consider the style of your event, promotion or seasonal need as well as your overall brand. How can you work to ensure staffing will also reflect this vision or feel? This may be as simple as uniforms for temp workers or as complex as putting together a desired personality profile or attitude to look for in workers.
Job descriptions provide clarity of mind for your management team and also for candidates. It is best that everyone be on the same page about expectations and duties from the outset. Even in a rush situation, time spent on a brief job description is well worth it.
Descriptions should include responsibilities, tasks, expectations, hours of work (including any overtime), dress code and necessary experience for recruitment purposes. Noting these details ahead of time will save you time in the long run and serve to attract the best-fitting candidates.
When examining the actual act of recruitment, staffing agencies can help delineate the line between temporary and permanent workers to avoid any legal issues. But ensure that you get to know the agency, its approach and culture, and allow it to do the same, acting as a joint employer to ensure a smooth working relationship. Job boards or other recruitment methods should be adhered to using the same careful approach.
Understand that even after you have rounded up job descriptions and posted the jobs or worked with a staffing agency to fill your temporary needs, your work in hiring and management is not complete. Particularly when time is an issue, we see companies hoping that employees will learn on the fly or jump into action as needed. It is better to be safe than sorry on this note and host an official orientation to communicate the details, goals, event branding, schedule and employee expectations to ensure smooth operation on event day or during peak season.
Beyond orientation, some training for temporary staff may still be required. During training, ensure you include all employees (even your 10% overflow staff), no matter how skilled and experienced, to ensure they can perform and meet your company or role-specific needs.
Provide temporary staff with as much structure as possible. Tools such as timesheets to document hours and checkout times provide materials for your records but also help keep staff organized, accountable and on track. Where possible, assign in-house managers to ensure workers are fulfilling specified job duties.
Peak season and special events in tourism and hospitality can be a trying time. All of the moving parts necessary to produce a memorable celebration or meet the demands of a certain time of year can be overwhelming. Easing the pain, implementing structure and ensuring smooth presentation of your brand can be executed through temporary staffing.