Whether your contact center’s busy season comes around the holidays, in the summer, or any time in between, at some point in the year, a spike in call volume will probably necessitate the hiring of some seasonal staff.

But how do you find the right employees to take those all-important peak season calls? And just as importantly, how do you find enough of them? It’s one thing to go through a careful hiring process to find one or two promising new long-term employees, but finding multiple solid short-term workers at once can be tricky, so we’ve put together a list of seasonal staffing tips to help you find sources of peak season help.

1. Returning Staff: Who were your best seasonal hires last year? Give them a call to see if they’re free again this time around. They just might be looking for extra work again. And find out from all of your seasonal employees this year whether they’d be willing to come back again the next time they’re needed – making extra sure you have all their contact information. One benefit of returning staff is the fact that they’ll be able to hit the ground running, with only a minimal training period to refresh their memories. Another? You’ve already seen them in action, so you know exactly what you’re getting.

2. Part-time, Not Full-Time: If you advertise the fact that you’re hiring – but only for full-time positions – you may not get as large a pool of applicants to choose from. Many seasonal workers, such as housewives or students, are only looking for a part-time way to make some extra money, and can’t commit to a full-time position. The larger your pool of applicants, the better choices will be available to you – and if it turns out that your flexible scheduling does allow them to come on full-time after all, it’ll be a win-win situation.

3. Staff Sharing: Look at the businesses in your community – and not just the other contact centers. Which ones have their slow season during your busy season? You could contact them and discuss a deal where you hire their temporary employees when they’re no longer needed at that business, and vice versa. That way, both of you are assured a steady stream of quality seasonal workers without having to reinvent the wheel each year - and the workers themselves will have another income they can count on when each job is over, as well.

4. Local Temp Agencies: Rather than spending time recruiting and interviewing potential new hires, it might be a smart idea to go through a temporary staffing agency to find your seasonal workforce. Their area of expertise is matching the right candidate to the job, and they’ve got hundreds, if not thousands, of employees just waiting for that phone call asking them to come in.

5. Virtual Staffing Agencies: If you want an even larger pool of candidates to choose from, and you don’t mind working with remote agents, you could look into using an online staffing agency. This option might cause the least amount of upheaval and change in the contact center itself, since all new hires would only be present virtually, rather than in person.

6. Outsourcing: If you’d rather avoid the hiring process altogether, consider outsourcing just your seasonal overflow calls to another contact center. That way you know they’re being handled in a professional manner, without your having to deal with any of the hassle of hiring and training new agents each year.

If you’re already overwhelmed with seasonal hiring demands, it can be extra stressful to have to work out your new workforce’s schedules, as well. Give KOVA a call, and we can customize a flexible workforce management solution to fit your needs today!