3 tips for bulk recruiting holiday staff 

It's September, and it's time to start planning and implementing holiday recruitment.

The QSR industry is no stranger to bulk recruiting. One can say that it is a regular occurrence for foodservice companies to start looking for seasonal workers as early as September or October—especially for the holiday season. But more often than not, this approach leads to poor quality hires (because of minimal screening), in turn leading to low employee retention rates and high turnover.

So, this is where the problem lies. The QSR industry is in dire need of a better approach to bulk hiring that would not only increase employee satisfaction and retention rates but also reduce turnover costs.

While planning to hire seasonal staff during the holiday season, some essential steps need to be considered. In this article, we'll outline how QSRs can improve their bulk recruiting holiday staff by incorporating these tips into their recruitment process.

Implement a hiring plan that will help you staff up quickly.

The holiday season is a busy time for all businesses, and QSRs are no exception. As part of your holiday-season staffing strategy, you may want to develop a plan for hiring a large number of employees.

A hiring plan will allow you to build up an applicant pool and hire qualified people who are ready to start working when needed. You'll want to start by identifying the positions that need to be filled. You may find that you have a variety of needs, from cashiers and counter help to managers and leadership staff. Once you've identified these roles, you can begin recruiting for them.

By implementing a hiring plan that will help you quickly staff up during this time of year, you'll be able to focus on keeping your business running smoothly while also making sure that customers have the best possible experience.

Start bulk recruiting early.

If you're hiring a large number of seasonal employees, it's best to start your recruiting efforts as soon as possible. You can't afford to wait until the last minute, as this will only cause stress and frustration.

When looking for cashiers, for example, start your recruiting process as soon as you know that you'll need them. This will give you time to find the right people who are qualified and ready to work during the busy season. 

But if you wait until the last minute, it will be more difficult to find qualified applicants because many of your best employees have already accepted positions elsewhere. You'll also have a smaller pool of candidates to choose from, which could mean that you end up rushing through the hiring process and making mistakes. 

Develop an excellent onboarding program.

The first forty-five days of employment are critical for new hires. Forbes reports that 20% of staff turnover occurs within this period. Therefore it is critical to ensure a smooth training and onboarding process.

Onboarding employees is challenging in any industry including the QSR. The process needs to encompass getting to know the coworkers, understanding company purpose and policies, getting oriented to the workspace, training on business SOPs, and more. With a robust onboarding experience, you not only create a positive beginning for your new hires but also create a sense of loyalty to the company.

If you don't get the onboarding right, there's a chance things won't go well for the business. Op Central offers amazing onboarding workflows with a simple drag-and-drop interface. QSR owners or managers can create their own beautiful onboarding programs that can capture personal information, deliver training, sign contracts and even deliver welcome surveys.

Bulk recruitment is made easier with Op Central

Aside from onboarding modules, Op Central offers customisable job boards that can be hosted on your very own website. The hiring team can post new jobs, manage candidates and issue employment contracts with secure digital signing.

In conjunction with Op Central, QSR businesses of all sizes can more efficiently and proactively recruit during peak holiday periods, which will lead to improved retention rates in the long term. Find out more about Op Central here.