Among U.S. retailers, holiday hiring is projected to grow from last year as more consumer spending is expected, according to a new survey from Aon Hewitt, the global human resources solutions business of Aon, and HireVue, an on-demand digital interviewing platform provider.
In fact, 53 percent of respondents report that they believe customers will spend more in 2012, and because of this, 48 percent of respondents say they anticipate bringing in more seasonal workers than they did in 2011. These hires could also lead to permanent work as more than 80 percent of respondents say fulfilling full-time roles is best done with seasonal hires while 28 percent of respondents plan to offer permanent positions to at least half of this year's seasonal employees.
"As the American economy improves, retailers anticipate a busier holiday season than last year, and hiring qualified talent to address this expected demand will be just one of many competing priorities for them," says Melissa Mounce, senior director and global operations leader at Aon Hewitt. "Finding and keeping qualified talent requires having both short- and long-term strategies in place that enable retail managers to easily connect with the right pool of candidates and make more informed hiring decisions based on personality, cultural fit and capability."
Recommended For You
The survey also finds that more than 85 percent of respondents say mistakes have been made regarding seasonal staff hires in previous years. Respondents cite the top mistakes as not interviewing enough candidates at 53 percent, hiring the first person that walks in the store at 19 percent and managing the entire hiring process alone at 14 percent. Another 55 percent of respondents report hiring sub-par seasonal help simply to fill positions, which makes bringing in the appropriate talent more challenging during the busiest time of year.
"As everyone ramps up for the holiday selling season, many retail managers don't have enough time to dedicate to the all-important hiring process, which is particularly true during a year when they're expecting an increase in consumer spending," says David Bradford, CEO at HireVue. "But there are some relatively easy steps employers can take to get the right people in the right positions. Hiring managers should branch out from traditional hiring methods and consider new and emerging strategies like prescreening applicants through video submissions. Our survey showed that 57 percent of retail mangers think it would be easier to hire for seasonal help if they could preview the candidates through pre-recorded video responses."
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
