Want to a smooth swim season? Hire better this spring. Make your summer more manageable with these proactive strategies for hiring a better seasonal staff.
Step 1 – Start Early – Seasonal staff hiring is a long process. To secure the best talent, you need to get off to a quick start. Early spring is a great time to begin. Start by writing and posting strong job descriptions for each position you’ll be hiring for.
Step 2 – Pay for the Talent – Hiring staff at minimum wage is a short-sighted strategy. At the very least, you narrow your applicant pool significantly. When it comes to seasonal teams, higher rates can pay big dividends in the long run. Your training costs will decrease, employee turnover will go down and your program revenue will go up. Think long-term and be willing to pay more for the best talent.
Step 3 – Finding the Fish – The old adage of “casting a big net” works well here. The more places you post your job description, the more candidates you’ll find. Not finding the keepers? Look to your most successful current staff members. Incentivize them to recruit their friends. Your best people are a great source for new talent.
Step 4 – Group Think – If you’ve run a successful recruitment campaign, you’ll have a lot of candidates. Narrowing down your choices can be tough. Start your selection process with group interviews. Bring in applicants for open group discussions with you and a handful of your key hiring managers. These sessions make it easy to see who is confident and well prepared… and who is clearly not a good fit for your team. Your top candidates will stand out. Schedule them for individual interviews.
Step 5 – Above and Beyond – Here’s a hard truth. If you start with 20 aquatic employees in June, you’ll have 15 in July, and 10 in August. By Labor Day you’ll find yourself short staffed and stressed out. You need to over-hire now, anticipating some folks will just not work out.
Step 6 – Slow to Hire, Quick to Fire – Take the time to get your hiring process right. Rushing to hire “bodies” always turns out poorly. On the other hand, when someone needs to be let go, be sure to pull the trigger quickly. Ending the relationship is tough, but they’ll learn a life lesson and you’ll be better off post-separation.
Step 7 – Spring Training – Got yourself a great team? Make sure they’re well trained. Here’s where you can start: