Retaining top seasonal talent: tips for encouraging return hires

Seasonal turnover is often dreaded by lots of businesses, mainly because fellow competition makes it so tricky to recruit new talent.

As most seasonal hiring periods draw to a close, it's a good time to start focusing on retaining valuable employees and encouraging return hires. Making sure your company keeps as much talent as possible means you won't have to worry about filling the shoes of vacant roles with new candidates during seasonal turnovers.

"By keeping seasonal employees, your company will foster a powerful workforce of well-practiced professionals, giving you a major competitive advantage."

Keep reading to understand just how important retaining seasonal talent is, and follow our helpful top tips to ensure that you keep your most valuable employees.

The importance of retaining seasonal talent

Retaining seasonal talent will save your company a significant amount of money, as reports have shown that hiring a replacement for a vacant role costs 33% of an employee's salary. For example, if a previous employee was earning an annual salary of $45,000, it would cost your business around $15,000 to hire a replacement in addition to the $45,000 you're already spending.

While the financial drawbacks are certainly problematic, the true cost of seasonal talent turnover is the loss of valuable professionals who understand your company's culture and have taken time to establish in-depth knowledge of your operations.

By keeping seasonal employees, your company can foster a powerful workforce of well-practiced professionals, giving you a major competitive advantage. Here are some more benefits your business can experience by retaining seasonal talent.

Reduced training

By maintaining your current workforce, your business is already equipped with experienced professionals who understand their roles and your company as a whole. Retaining talent can save your business the extensive time and money that onboarding and training new people entails, paving the way for a variety of extra advantages. Thanks to your existing team of experienced employees, you may need less managerial supervision and can develop a quicker onboarding process for newcomers.

Enhanced efficiency and productivity

Returning seasonal employees are equipped with the essential skills and knowledge they need for their jobs, and they can get back into the swing of their roles quickly. With a good amount of pre-existing expertise and familiarity with the company culture, returning seasonal talent can fit right in and make a positive contribution to your organization. This can mean minimal mishaps and misunderstandings, which typically translates to enhanced productivity among your workforce and ensures smoother, more efficient operations.

Boosted employee morale

Because returning seasonal employees may have already established relationships with colleagues and developed a good grasp of your company's culture, they can feel a sense of belonging. This environment can uplift morale within the workplace and support stronger teamwork between employees. It can also encourage returning employees to commit to their roles and strive to succeed.

Improved employer brand

A toxic company quickly disregards employees and fails to retain its workforce. By inviting seasonal employees back and going the extra mile to ensure that they want to stay, you can successfully foster a positive workplace culture, greater employee retention rates, and an overall solid employer brand.

Keeping returning employees happy can ensure they'll be more inclined to show enthusiasm about your company and refer it positively to others. Such endorsements can enhance your business's reputation and attract new talent. In turn, this may make stakeholders more invested in the growth of your company and give you a competitive edge in the job market, allowing you to compete with other businesses seeking similar talent.

Cost savings on recruitment

Recruitment is an expensive endeavor. It involves paying for job advertisements, job listings, recruitment agency fees, interview expenses, onboarding, training costs, and more. By keeping the talent at your company, you'll save the hassle and expense needed to hire new people.

Top tips for retaining seasonal talent

Here are some pointers for retaining seasonal talent. Be sure to follow these top tips.

Offer competitive compensation

The best way to keep seasonal talent interested in your company is through incentives. Provide attractive compensation, such as market-competitive salaries, that beat your fellow competitors' offers. Consider return bonuses to say thank you to returning talent, performance bonuses that reward hard work and good results, and exclusive company perks, such as coffee vouchers, travel allowances, or premium health insurance.

Provide opportunities for professional growth

No one wants to stay in a dead-end job with no room to grow. Entice potentially returning talent with opportunities to progress within their career and advance their skills through initiatives such as mentorship programs, training sessions, and workshops. Not only will this excite and empower your returning workforce, but it will also equip them with additional useful skills, transforming them into even more valuable assets for your company.

Foster a positive workplace culture

Make your company a joyful and inviting space by prioritizing your workplace culture. You can do this by celebrating achievements and milestones, providing personalized acknowledgments, offering extra support, welcoming employee feedback, inviting employees to partake in team-building exercises, hosting regular work parties, and enforcing inclusion and equal opportunities for everyone.

Maintain transparent communication

Transparency is the key to developing an inclusive and trustworthy employer brand. Clear and regular communication keeps employees engaged and ensures that your workforce feels valued and respected. Open your door to two-way communication to ensure employees feel heard and comfortable enough to voice their perspectives. Set clear and fair expectations, including performance goals and responsibilities. You can also provide daily or weekly company updates to ensure everyone is completely on board with the latest news, challenges, and changes that are taking place.

Be more flexible

Ensuring that you accommodate the needs of returning seasonal talent will help employees feel respected and at home in your workplace, which can increase their loyalty and overall enthusiasm for your company. Consider offering adjustable schedules, remote working options, personalized break time, and other arrangements that will help your employees feel comfortable and cared for.

Gather feedback at the end of each season

There's no better way to fine-tune your company than by using feedback from employees to inform company developments and adjustments. Hold exit interviews during the end of each seasonal employee's term to gather valuable feedback about the company and pinpoint areas for improvement. You can also encourage employees to complete seasonal surveys or to share feedback in your internal company forums. This feedback can help you successfully tailor your company to meet the needs and preferences of your employees, which in turn helps you demonstrate your commitment to your workforce and enhance your employer brand.