Seasonal Staff Retention: How to Keep Your Best Employees Year After Year

Hiring seasonal staff is challenging, but losing your best workers every year? That’s even more costly. Each time they leave, you spend more time, money, and effort training replacements. Save yourself the trouble. In today’s guide, we walk you through practical and proven strategies to retain top seasonal staff across multiple seasons. Let’s jump right into it!

Why Seasonal Staff Retention Matters

Seasonal staff retention is a common point of discussion in the staffing industry for all the good reasons. When you keep the right people, you cut down on expensive recruitment, build a team that’s reliable, consistent, and ready to perform, and create more efficient processes across the board.

Keep reading as we get into more detail about why seasonal staff retention matters. 

1. Hiring and Training New Staff Can Be Expensive

When experienced workers leave, you're left filling gaps with new hires who need onboarding, guidance, supplies, and time to ramp up. This not only drains productivity but also drives up operational costs season after season. Believe it or not, a recent report estimates it can cost around $2,000 to onboard a new employee through an in-house process, covering essentials like technology and office supplies. For some companies, those costs can range from $4,000 to $20,000. 

2. Bringing in New Staff May Cause Fluctuations in Service Quality

New employees can deliver varying levels of service, which affects consistency. While they might offer high-quality service, sometimes even better than before, there’s always a risk it could be worse. Customers will notice this change, and over time, it can harm your brand. Retaining experienced, trained staff ensures consistent service, boosts customer satisfaction, and builds trust, which are key elements for repeat business and positive word-of-mouth referrals.

3. Retaining Staff Offers More Efficiency and Productivity

Retained staff already understand the systems, expectations, and customers. There’s no need to spend time hiring and training new people or waiting for them to adjust. This allows you to maintain smooth service, boost efficiency, and strengthen team dynamics. Plus, it fosters a positive workplace culture and drives overall productivity.

Core Challenges in Seasonal Staff Retention

Understanding core challenges in seasonal staff retention helps you build more strategic plans. Read on as we dive deeper into the obstacles one by one.

1. Limited Contracts and Job Security

Did you know that job security is now more important to employees than pay? It’s true. Unfortunately, seasonal staffing doesn’t always provide that security. With limited contracts and uncertain futures, many seasonal staff are left feeling unsure about what comes next. Naturally, this can lead to frustration, especially for those who rely on steady work, causing many staff members to ultimately seek more stable opportunities.

2. Lack of Growth Opportunities

Growth opportunities within a company are a major motivator for staff to stay. In fact, over 90% of employees say they won’t quit if they have a chance for development. But in seasonal roles, there’s often no clear path for growth, learning, or recognition, which leads to disengagement. When staff don’t see a future beyond the current season, retention suffers.

3. Competition From Other Employers

One thing every staffing professional knows is that the best staff are always in high demand, and competition is constant. Beating this competition can be tough. If competitors offer better pay, perks, or a stronger culture, retaining seasonal staff can feel tricky.

How to Retain Quality Staff Across Multiple Seasons

Retaining quality staff across multiple seasons isn’t easy, but it’s absolutely manageable. Below, we outline eight practical strategies to help you keep your best people season after season.

1. Hire for Fit, Not Just Function

Better retention starts with recruitment. Focus on choosing people who align with your values, not just the job description. When employees feel connected to your company, engagement and culture improve, both of which are key indicators of retention. Plus, when staff fit in, they are more productive, efficient, and effective, which is great news for your business.

Look beyond just fitting into your workforce. Seek candidates who embody the traits of seasonal staff, those who are adaptable, team-oriented, and genuinely interested in returning next season. Remember, skills can be taught, but attitude and culture fit cannot.

2. Build a Pre-Season Onboarding Framework

Planning onboarding structure or processes shouldn't start on day one of the season. Develop a pre-season plan that includes training materials, team introductions, and clear expectations. This will streamline the onboarding process and provide a positive experience for staff, which is crucial for improving retention. If you haven’t heard, strong employee onboarding can improve retention by 82%.

3. Design Multi-Season Contracts and Incentives

It may be tough to offer stable jobs with fluctuating seasonal events, but you can design multi-season contracts and incentives to make up for it. As you likely already know, incentives can be a powerful motivator when used correctly. If possible, offer multi-season commitments, or priority rehire clauses. Include bonuses, housing support, health insurance, and other attractive perks for those who return. Incentivizing loyalty makes it an easy choice for your top performers to come back.

4. Offer Recognition and Real-Time Feedback Loops

When working with seasonal staff, make recognition part of your daily rhythm. Acknowledge wins in real time, and don’t wait for formal reviews to give feedback. This will help workers feel seen in the workplace, create a more positive work environment, and promote greater employee retention. Additionally, encourage two-way communication to ensure staff feel comfortable sharing their ideas, concerns, and feedback, which strengthens engagement and builds trust within the team.

5. Maintain Off-Season Communication

Communication is key to successfully deploying your team and plays a major role in retaining them for future seasons. Make sure to send updates, share new opportunities, and remind them they’re still a valuable part of the team. This ongoing connection keeps them engaged and encourages them to return when peak seasons roll around.

6. Create Alumni Talent Pools

Don’t let your top talent get lost in a mountain of paperwork. Create an alumni talent pool instead. Building a database of former high-performing staff keeps you connected and ready when you need them. As the next season approaches, you can easily reach out early and personally, saving time and strengthening relationships.

Looking to build your talent pool but not sure where to start? We’ve got you covered. Here’s a guide on how to establish a strong talent pool.

7. Promote Within Before Hiring Externally

As mentioned earlier, the lack of clear growth opportunities can hurt your efforts to retain quality staff across multiple seasons. One way to address this is by offering opportunities for growth through internal promotions. Show your team that there’s room to advance. Promote proven seasonal staff into leadership roles or provide training paths for long-term development. Internal mobility not only boosts motivation but also strengthens loyalty. According to a report, employees stick around 41% longer at companies that hire from within regularly.

8. Measure and Refine Your Retention Strategy

Retaining employees is an ongoing effort. Don’t settle once you have staff to call. Always be prepared to refine your retention strategy for seasonal workers. Continuously improving your approach will help you manage your team more effectively and boost retention.

To measure and refine your retention strategy, start by setting clear metrics to track. Focus on return rates, turnover costs, average tenure, and engagement scores. These metrics provide valuable insights into what’s truly working. Next, conduct structured feedback reviews with your staff. Ask them what worked, what didn’t, and what could be improved. Once feedback is in, analyze it carefully. Analyze retention trends across seasons to gain a broader perspective, such as identifying roles that are more difficult to fill or recognizing managers who are more successful at retaining staff. Use this data to identify patterns and make necessary adjustments.

Retain Top Talent Year-Round With StaffConnect

StaffConnect is the event management software that helps you keep your seasonal staff engaged and committed season after season. With easy scheduling, smooth onboarding, integrated payroll, and performance tracking tools, it simplifies staff management and improves the overall staff experience so your best people stay. But that's not all. StaffConnect ensures you stay connected even during the off-season with built-in communication features. Additionally, it keeps your top talent’s records organized in one centralized database, always ready when you need it. Book your free demo today to learn more!