With Christmas fast approaching, employers could be forgiven for thinking in the here and now. Every business owner knows that the Festive period is one of the busiest times of the year, with increased staff turnover often causing a real headache. However, the same can be said of the New Year, as certain employees fall prey to the “New Year, New Career” bug and Christmas temps leave for pastures new. As such, it’s vital to begin planning your recruitment strategy as soon as possible to avoid a sudden shortfall of staff in January. Here are our top tips for employers.

Be responsive

Whilst not a hard and fast rule, it is to be expected that any temporary staff you take on to cope with the Christmas rush will no longer be part of your organisation by the time the tinsel has been packed away. If your business relies on a steady turnover of temps, you will already be fully aware of how important it is to develop a flexible and responsive recruitment strategy. Make sure your demands and expectations aren’t too rigid, as nobody wants to be caught short and suffer a damaging loss of revenue as a result. If you have relatively little experience in this area, however, give Frontline Recruitment a call today. We are experts in sourcing last minute staff – which is vital if you are turning over a high number of employees – and we can also help you plan your staffing rotas for the New Year.

Don’t wait ‘til January

Unfortunately it isn’t just temps who will leave your business in the New Year. Permanent staff will sometimes look to move on too. Therefore forward planning is absolutely crucial. Ideally, you will have planned your recruitment strategy months – even years – in advance, but it’s really a case of “better late than never” here. If you haven’t thought about your January plans already, do so today. Ensure that you have a pool of likely candidates on your radar, especially if you’re looking to appoint someone on a permanent contract. Who has the requisite skills and experience to suit the post? This will free you up to start thinking about how you’re going to grow your business in 2019. With the conundrum of Brexit uncertainty added to the mix, planning ahead is more important than ever.

Keep them onside

It might sound obvious, but one way to make your New Year less stressful is to put a carefully thought-out staff retention strategy in place. Sometimes even the most loyal employees will wake up and decide they need a new challenge, but instilling a friendly and supportive workplace culture where every employee feels valued can go a long way towards preventing this. While the impulse to seek a new career in January may simply be down to the vicissitudes of time, don’t discount the possibility that your employees may be leaving because they’re dissatisfied. Try to give people incentives to stay with your business. Be the employer people want to work for.

If you have any concerns about staffing up for the New Year, call Frontline today for a confidential consultation. Our experts will be more than happy to help.