Every fall brings cooler temperatures, changing leaves and the start of the holiday buying season. As retailers start preparing for the throngs of people looking to buy gifts, many call centers are also gearing up to handle an increase in inbound calls from prospective customers. As you start turning up your thermostat, it’s time to turn up the heat on your holiday hiring, as well.
Bringing aboard short-term employees to help with your increased call needs during the holiday season requires a good deal of planning to ensure that you have a both sufficient staffing level and enough time into your training schedule to give these new hires time to get familiar with your products or services, as well as your organization’s specific systems and processes. By starting your search early, you also have access to a greater pool of candidates as many other organizations are looking for the same type of help – qualified, experienced and knowledgeable team players who can jump in to help manage the seasonal rush.
Holiday hiring season puts a rush on the hiring pool nationwide as companies locally, regionally and nationally increase their ranks significantly to handle the rise in shopper volume. For instance, Macy’s last year hired 86,000 people to help both in physical, brick-and-mortar locations as well as phone service and support, according to a Forbes report from last fall. With companies large and small clamoring to round out their ranks, being ahead of the seasonal hiring curve ensures that you can hire and train with enough time to get these temporary staffers up to speed.
Another option you can consider, as well, is bringing aboard on-call phone agents. A popular option if your organization can handle work-from-home staff or if your office is easily reached by prospective hires, these staffers can be brought in on an as-needed basis to help handle a large influx of callers who need assistance with placing orders or troubleshooting problems they may have with purchasing. These staffers provide your organization with an ideal balance for the holiday months – an increase in production and productivity without needing to pay for additional staff when they aren’t needed.
Bringing aboard short-term employees can provide a boost at other times of year, as well.
For example, if your organization is having a major marketing push that is increasing your call volume, bringing on a few extra staffers to help handle the influx of calls can allow your organization to take full advantage of the marketing team’s successful campaign by handling calls in a timely and professional fashion, and not leaving customers on hold due to staffing shortages. You can also use temporary hires to test new sales strategies or approaches. Train these temporary hires on a new approach while your existing sales and phone service teams continue working and use the new employees to A/B test results. If your test campaign goes well, these originally short-term hires could prove integral full-time employees as part of your new operation – and already know the ins and outs of your strategy!
At CSS, we specialize in connecting vetted and qualified candidates with leading companies looking for seasonal, temporary or permanent hires to join their team. With an extensive candidate pool, we can help find the perfect new hire that has the experience and knowledge that you’re looking for to help your organization achieve success. Contact CSS today and find the perfect candidates for your company.