Summer Seasonal Hiring is a Hot Topic

Summer is approaching and lots of businesses are taking steps to cope with the influx of customers that is already occurring. Tourist hot spots around the country are definitely getting ready for the peak season. However, closer to home there are also retailers staffing up. Workforce.com points out that warm weather brings out the DIY home improvement crowd in droves. This means industry leaders like Home Depot and Lowe’s are in the market for lots of new talent. These companies have been planning for the big spring and summer hiring push since last fall. The process of hiring tens of thousands of part time workers began in March and is still ongoing.


Quality as Important as Quantity

Customers who go to a home improvement store are usually not there just to browse. They have at least a general idea of what they need – but not necessarily where to find it and which item will work best for their project. New hires in these stores have to learn very quickly how to assist customers. It’s not good enough to have dozens of employees on the floor if only one or two have the knowledge and experience to actually locate products and help customers make smart selections. Home Depot in particular is taking steps to standardize and improve training for new hires. That way, they can fulfill their role without the customer ever realizing they are talking to a “newbie”.

Online Learning Helps

Virtual training tools are making a huge difference in the efficiency and speed of training. Home Depot claims a 90% decrease in the number of training hours required per seasonal employee since implementing its own customized e-learning program. New hires can access their training materials via the web at home or at work and become proficient in basic job skills (like product knowledge and store layout) faster.

Emerald Software Understands Speed

Our Acculturation Portal and Universal Onboarding modules are designed to achieve greater speed to productivity for new hires. These tools make HR’s job easier – especially during peak hiring seasons when getting part time employees up to speed is critical for capturing seasonal revenue. Fortunately, our products are easily adaptable to any business large or small with pricing that makes it affordable for every client.