Video transcript:
So there are several ways that firms do look at seasonal staffing and how they are going to address it. One is to hire local folks and bring them in part time during the busy season, or full time during the busy season. This can be a challenge. This can be a real challenge in how you find, attract, and retain those folks and get them to come back year after year. One of the most successful strategies we have seen is for both men and women that have left the workforce to deal with their families and to have families and enticing them to come back during busy season when you have got well-qualified trained individuals. The most critical component, whether it be experienced people that have left the workforce and you are bringing them back temporarily, or if you are going to colleges and universities and hiring interns or young staff, is the training element, bringing them in early enough, training them on your processes, how do they work, getting them comfortable with those elements, focusing on their workpaper preparation, focusing on the software that you are using, making sure that they do it your way and not the generic way or standard way, and now when busy season comes you are dealing with specific tax issues and you are not dealing with processes. So regardless of which method you use, my advice would always be focus on the training, bring them in early, and spend the time because you will get the value and the benefits from that.
Some of the most important traits to look at when you are hiring seasonal staff deals with work ethic, number one. You are going through the busiest time of your year, making sure that people have the right work ethic, that they are showing up, that they are attentive, that they are staying when you need them the most is absolutely critical. That one thing usually draws the others that matter such as attention to detail and just pure passion about what they are doing. If you have those three components, more often than not you are going to find yourself with quality people that you will bring back year after year.
