Agility | Navigating the ups and downs of seasonal staffing

At this time of the year we see organisations struggling to match seasonal demands, just look at the current winter problems in the NHS. Clearly there is more than just the cyclical profile here, but dealing with seasonal work demands is a common problem for many and varied businesses throughout the UK.

Peak periods may see you relying on excessive and voluntary overtime from your permanent staff or the need for external staff. These may bring the associated costs of training and recruitment, whilst spreading your skilled, trusted permanent employees more thinly.

At other times of the year there may be troughs of demand, such as after the festive period for many retail and hospitality organisations. Here businesses may struggle to productively fill working time, may lay people off, or simply stop using non-permanent members of staff.

Delivering a guaranteed service level at peaks meant carrying spares or relying on ‘voluntary’ overtime. This has become less practical with labour shortages, rising costs and the requirement of improved productivity. In recent years an alternative option was to reduce the core workforce and the add hours, when needed, from a group of more flexible, often cheaper, agency workers. To employers it seemed win-win but often led to poor motivation and a “them and us” culture.