Every year the same pattern repeats. Employers who brief us in early autumn get a genuine choice of candidates for their Christmas peak. Employers who ring in mid November get whoever is still available.
The peak itself is not the problem. The lead time is.
Twelve weeks out: agree the numbers
Work back from your busiest week, not from the start of the season. Decide how many people you need at full tilt, how many you need in the ramp up, and what the shift pattern actually looks like. Rough numbers are fine at this stage. A range beats a guess.
This is also the point to set the rate. Seasonal work competes with every other seasonal employer in your town, and the rate you paid last year is not automatically the rate that fills the shift this year.
Eight weeks out: start recruiting
Screening, right to work checks and any certification take time. Starting eight weeks out means the shortlist is ready before the pressure arrives, not during it.
Where one town cannot supply the numbers, we draw from neighbouring branches. That works well, but only if there is enough notice to arrange it.
Four weeks out: induct in groups
Site rules, PPE, shift times, break arrangements and who to ring if someone cannot make it in. Covering this in a group induction before the season starts is the single biggest difference between a seasonal intake that is productive in week one and one that is still finding its feet in week three.
During the peak: keep one line of contact
One named contact at the branch, one named contact at your site. Cover requests, absence and rate queries all go through the same route. It sounds obvious, and it is the thing that breaks first when everyone is busy.
After the peak: decide who you want to keep
A seasonal intake is the cheapest recruitment exercise you will run all year, because you have watched every one of them work. Any seasonal worker you want to keep can move onto your payroll through a temp to perm transfer.
The ones you do not keep simply finish on the agreed end date, with the payroll, holiday pay and paperwork handled by us.
Sectors we cover for seasonal peaks
Warehouse and picking teams, food production and packing, retail and stockroom, multi drop delivery drivers, hospitality and event staff, and seasonal supervisors, across all 18 of our Northern Ireland branches.