With Thanksgiving around the corner, small businesses are gearing up for what many say is their peak time.
According to our recent Holiday Hiring guide, as much as 30 percent of a retailer’s annual sales can come in November and December. And with so many people out and about, running errands and doing their Holiday shopping, Quick-service restaurants (QSRs) can also experience an uptick in business during the holiday season.
With such a busy period to contend with, many small business owners might need an extra pair of hand to ensure operations run smoothly.
We teamed up with Square to create an ebook which covers how to hire solid seasonal workers, train them quickly, and manage your holiday payroll and cash flow. Download the ebook here.
Here’s what’s in it:
Hiring seasonal staff
Before bringing on seasonal employees, it’s important to map out your staffing needs. This guide helps you use your business data to make more informed staffing decisions. With not a lot of time to get new hires up to speed, we also share a few tips for attracting staff which won’t need a ton of training and include a list of interview questions that will help evaluate whether a candidate is the right fit for you.
Training your seasonal staff
Once you’ve hired the right seasonal staff, it’s important to get them trained up quickly so you can make the most of their time and ensure they add the most value to your business during the Holiday season. This guide includes training strategies for customer service, safety, inventory, and getting comfortable with your point-of-sale system.
Managing your seasonal staff
Once you’ve onboarded your Holiday crew, you need to ensure they’re managed properly. This includes legal obligations with the Affordable Care Act, for example. This section explains basic labor laws, insurance, adding seasonal workers to your payroll, full-time and part-time classifications, and benefits.
Managing back-office payroll
The holidays can be a complicated time for payroll, especially if you have additional staff, are open longer hours, or have more overtime than usual. We walk you through the entire process, including the important paperwork you need to fill out for seasonal workers. We also recommend tools and strategies (like payroll software or hiring a professional) that help make holiday payroll a breeze and cover some simple tips for improving cash flow.
This guide helps you get the right tools and practices in place for a successful, relatively stress-free holiday season.
Download the “Seasonal Hiring Guide for the 2016 Holidays” ebook here.