The holiday season is here again and with it comes the busiest time of year. Every year, businesses experience their highest sales volume during the holidays, which can present a challenge when it comes to staffing, especially the sales staff.
If you are going through peak season this year, take some time to prepare and try to hire as many sales professionals as you could. Because by the end of the peak season, what would matter is the volume of sales you did. Also, make sure that they are properly trained, maybe from an academy similar to Sandler (sandler.com), so that you do not have to spare any additional time training them.
That being said, this blog will highlight some ways that you can ensure your team has enough staff on hand so that they aren’t exhausted or overwhelmed when the rush hits:
Optimize Your Hiring Efforts
- Plan ahead. If you want to get the best people for your job openings, then you have to plan ahead. This means not only identifying what skills and experience are required for each role but also checking when each candidate will be available for interview (and if they might be unavailable at all given their other commitments). JobSource can help you with the candidates that fit best for the positions needed.
- Define roles clearly ahead of time too! It may seem counterintuitive at first glance but defining roles clearly from early stages means there aren’t any surprises later down line where additional tasks or responsibilities come up unexpectedly (and could potentially delay projects).
- Job Fairs are a great way to bring in candidates to apply for open jobs and allow you to focus on finding the best talent. We can help!
Check Your Timing
- Know when you need to staff up. Peak season is an opportunity for companies to hire new workers and temporarily expand their workforce. It’s important that your company be prepared for these hirings; this means having the proper infrastructure in place, such as a strong hiring process, a clear onboarding plan and an established training schedule.
- Know when you need to staff down. While it’s important for companies to grow during peak seasons, it’s equally important that they maintain their core operations throughout the year-especially if those operations are outside of sales and marketing activities like customer service or order fulfillment processes. During off-peak times, companies should consider cutting back on full-time employees unless they’re absolutely necessary for maintaining normal operations (like payroll management).
- Plan ahead by focusing on how you’ll function at different times of year-and make sure those plans actually match up with what’s happening in reality! For instance: If your company was experiencing high demand during winter months but no demand during summer months last year … then maybe try making more efforts toward expanding into other markets over time so as not to lose out on those seasonal opportunities entirely!
Prepare for Increased Demand
During peak season, increased demand can make it difficult to find and hire enough qualified employees and even more difficult to manage the new recruits, especially if technological solutions like m&a integration are not used to streamline business operations.
Keep in mind that if you’re not prepared, it could potentially lead to missed opportunities. To avoid this scenario, you should have a plan in place before the rush begins. The first step is identifying which positions are most important during peak season so that you can focus on finding workers who fit those roles. Once you’ve done that, begin recruiting early and often and don’t forget about your current employees! They may be able to help fill some of the gaps caused by an increase in customer demand by taking on additional responsibilities or working longer hours themselves.
Finally, once new hires are selected for their positions at your business, train them so that they know what’s expected of them when things get busy again; after all, training is an investment towards long-term success!
It’s important to be prepared for these situations so that you can handle everything that comes with this busy time of year. Be sure to read the tips above to help you succeed during peak season. If your company needs assistance hiring for peak season or any other time of year, email us at info@jobsource.com or call us at 1-888-401-JOBS. Fill out the form below, and someone from our team will get back to you.