Now hiring: Seasonal workers who can become full-time staff

Why should employers invite seasonal workers to available full-time roles?

Now hiring: Seasonal workers who can become full-time staff

The peak seasons for many industries in New Zealand usually drive employers to hire seasonal employees to temporarily work for them to meet operational demands.

But with skilled talent being hard to come by, organisations can also tap into this talent pool to address shortages in their workforce.

John Scott, Head of Learning Design and Strategy at MasterClass at Work, said onboarding seasonal workers begins on the first day of their temporary roles.

"You want to set upfront the expectation and the opportunity that as a temporary worker, this is the pathway that you can follow and be really clear in what are some of the milestones and goals that the employee can work towards in order to make that transition successful," Scott told HRD in an interview.

He stressed that giving seasonal workers a bigger and clearer picture of the opportunity is critical.

"That happens really at day one, and then it happens during that onboarding time, during the hiring process," he said.

Benefits of taking in seasonal workers

Taking in seasonal workers will give employers a good reputation in providing career advancement opportunities, according to Scott.

"That's really key because I think temp employees are looking for an opportunity," he said.

It will also be cost-effective for organisations to onboard seasonal workers into permanent roles because of their experience in the job.

"I think that you have made some level of investment onboarding these seasonal workers, getting them upskilled very likely in a lot of the technology or tools they need to operate in that particular context," Scott said.

"So, you've made an investment in them and then if you're just going to let them churn out, you're going to have to make that investment again."

Onboarding seasonal workers

One of the challenges that employers should consider in onboarding seasonal talent for full-time roles is their compatibility with the rest of the team.

"One of the things you really want to think about is now they are going to become embedded in the team, right? They're going to be embedded in the culture of the organisation," Scott said.

Employers can address this by fostering a sense of belonging in the workplace.

"A big thing is giving people opportunities to connect and form community among their coworkers," Scott said. "And I think a great way to do that is when people are learning. Because when there's learning, there's culture happening and people love to share about things that they're learning, things that they're experiencing."

Employers also need to ensure that seasonal workers feel like they're part of a strong culture as they join the full-time workforce.

"Organisations need to show they have a strong mission that you can get behind," Scott said. "Like, 'We have a culture, and these are the values that we uphold and that we expect from our employees.' That's important."

Ultimately, Scott said employers need to show that they care for employees.

"That is reflected when they invest in their learning and development. But it's also reflected in caring for their wellness," he said.

"When they see that the company really cares — not just that I can get my job done, but that they want me to thrive as a human being. I think that is a place that people feel really proud and excited to work on."