Summer will soon be here. And for many small businesses, managers, supervisors, HR staff and support staff will soon be gone. As in gone on that annual summer vacation. Off on Friday to head to the cabin. Away earlier in the day to take the kids to nightly sporting events. Whatever the reason, summer is a time of year where people’s crazy personal schedules get even crazier, meaning in some cases, it’s not the right time for employers to hire.
That’s why companies need to analyze: Is the summer the right time to hire, or should you wait until fall to hire?
While there are always seasonal hiring trends to focus on, employers who plan to hire college graduates or need to add new team members to fill open positions or staff for growth need to fully understand when it’s time to hire to make sure new employees are oriented properly, trained correctly and given the tools to succeed from day one.
To help new employees start off on the right foot, more companies are offering enhanced onboarding programs. Many organizations have found that conducting a more thorough orientation process designed to both empower employees and put them at ease makes a positive and lasting impression on their workers. But this program takes staff to support and direct, and that can’t be done with key pieces missing from the office when new hires join the team.
Kara Babbitt, an HR Manager with SmartTeam (smartteam.com), a company that provides online business training and education solutions for small and medium-sized companies discussed this in a Star Tribune Ask Matt article titled Why don’t companies do more for new employees? Babbitt said those who have studied why certain companies fail to retain great new hires or find themselves with people who are a poor fit for their culture have discovered that the root of the problem can often be traced back to the onboarding process.
“Successfully plugging a new hire into your organization so that he or she can blend well with the team and contribute in a meaningful way takes much more than an a basic orientation,” said Babbitt. “Yet many companies still expect their new hires, with a minimum of training, to hit the ground running and be productive from the start. With expectations like that, it’s no wonder that many organizations have high turnover rates that cost them time, productivity and competitiveness.”
Even with the right orientation and onboarding program, it can’t be successful without people in place to lead new employees. Consider these 6 tips before deciding if summer is the time to hire, or if you should wait until fall:
1. Summer schedules: Summer is busy for staff, but also busy for certain industries. If this is your peak selling season and staff is already busy, or a time when people are traveling more than usual, it might not be a good time to hire. Combine business needs with busy summer vacation schedules and you could have a recipe for disaster if trying to fully orient and train a new employee. Know your busy seasons and plan well in advance.
2. Flood of college and entry-level graduates: With summer hiring comes a flood of college graduates entering the job market. If you are not staffed to handle, or prepared for, an increase in applications, phone calls or emails about job openings, it may be a good time to wait. Don’t burden busy HR staff with more administrative work. If you have job openings posted on your job site, expect those applications and inquiries to increase in the summer.
3. Delayed hiring process could hurt hiring key candidates: Job seekers are impatient. When job openings are posted, they are putting their hopes and dreams on getting hired – and hired fast. If you are hiring in the summer, don’t drag out the hiring process because decision makers are out of the office. There is nothing worse for employers to interview for a job, then have to sit and wait for a job offer because the hiring manager or key decision maker is out of the office and can’t discuss, or set up additional meetings, to further the interview/hiring process.
4. Skeleton teams: If a team depends on numerous people to complete projects and key members will be out, it might not be a good time to hire. No one wants to join a team that doesn’t seem to fully support key project initiatives. Make sure key pieces to every puzzle are in place, no matter if you are hiring entry-level, managers or executive positions. And if people are going to be out, be sure backups are well-trained to help keep projects running smoothly.
5. Schools in place: If you wait until fall, you could attract a different crop of job seekers – those who search for jobs based on location and opportunity and when school starts in the fall. By fall, school is set and families try are settled in if they are moving. Those who relocate or are searching for opportunities closer to home might be more apt to choose your company because the opportunity fits their work/life balance and commute needs. It’s not the company’s responsibility to plan hiring around people’s personal lives, but keep in mind when candidates search for jobs.
6. Job seekers are on vacation too: In addition, many talented professionals aren’t as serious about the job search (passive candidates) in the summer because they too are busy, so they may not actively be searching. Your candidate pool could only include aggressive job seekers, which isn’t always a negative, but understand that passive job seekers may take the summer off too, reducing your chance to attract top talent.
Research from Robert Half (RHI.com) found most workers who went through a formal orientation process said they felt the experience prepared them to succeed at their new company. To be effective, the onboarding process does not need to be overly time-consuming or costly. Following these tips for building a strong orientation and onboarding program from Robert Half can help your organization succeed when hiring new employees, whether it’s summer or fall:
1. Help relieve day-one pressure: On an employee’s first day of work, making him or her feel welcome should be a top priority for you and your staff. Use the first day to review office logistics, and schedule a special lunch to provide the new hire an opportunity to build rapport with colleagues.Company leadership also should participate early in the orientation process. Even if they cannot appear in person, their involvement will add credibility
2. Connect new hires with a support system: A valuable component to onboarding is providing new hires with opportunities to establish relationships with their colleagues. In addition to making introductions, be sure to follow up later to ensure regular communication between the employee and his or her key organizational contacts is occurring Consider creating a buddy system for staff members going through the onboarding process. Let them know which people in the department they should go to with questions – no matter how big or small.
3. Promote mentoring relationships: Assigning a mentor who can provide hands-on guidance and real-world advice to a new hire is good practice. These relationships also help build rapport among all staff and encourage knowledge-sharing within the team.
4. Don’t stop checking in: A key part of the onboarding process is following up – early and often. Meeting with staff members at regular intervals will help you reinforce what they’ve learned so far and provide timely feedback. These meetings also will allow you to work directly with employees to set goals for their performance and professional development. While your approach to the orientation process will depend on the unique needs of your organization, the end goals are always the same. A well-structured orientation program should help workers feel more comfortable, understand expectations, and connect with the resources and ongoing support they’ll need to deliver their best performance.
To hire successfully, organizations need to prepare to hire successfully. Even if summer isn’t the right time to hire, it’s still time to plan for potential fall hiring needs. Enjoy the summer vacations, but don’t forgot the fall hiring needs.
“While summer workdays can lend themselves to a slower pace due to so many employees taking vacations, HR professionals involved in recruiting may want to take some time now to prepare for a potentially busy fall recruiting season,” says Douglas V. Mure, Managing Director of HR Consulting and Outsourcing for Pinnacle Financial Group in an article titled Follow These Steps to Achieve Quantity and Quality in Your Hiring Pipeline. “Employers often return from summer realizing that successfully defining and filling positions with the right people before year end can be a long process and then they look to HR to be ready to jump on it post-Labor Day as a result.”
