Is your travel agency experiencing seasonal fluctuations? Hiring temporary or casual staff can help you get through busy periods and avoid paying extra wages during quiet time, but it can also be challenging to find the right person for your team. Because your new staff is not going to be with you permanently, you'd prefer not to go through a lengthy recruitment process and spend time on training, yet you want someone reliable who can do the work and get along with the rest of the team. Here are two ways you can make hiring someone on a temporary or casual basis as smooth and easy as possible.

Keep in touch with former employees

You've probably had good employees that have left your agency to study, raise children or start their own business. If you were pleased with their performance, don't write them off as a possibility only because they've resigned; give them a call. While they may not be available full time, they could be happy to do some work during busy time if their schedules allow it. Keep records of good temp and casual staff you've worked with in the past, too. You will eliminate a lot of recruitment-related tasks if you hire someone that has already proven they can do the job.

Go through a recruitment agency

Do you feel reluctant to pay recruitment agency fees to hire temporary or casual staff? Take into consideration all the time you will spend marketing the position, reading resumes, screening, interviewing and checking references. In most cases, you will get a better return on your time working on your business.

Before approaching recruitment agencies, get clear on the skills the candidate needs to start working immediately or with minimal training. Ideally, you want a temp who is already experienced with Sabre, Galileo or any other global distribution system (GDS) you may be using and has good knowledge of your top selling travel destinations. The recruitment agency will screen the candidates for you and even test their knowledge. Then they'll shortlist only the ones that are a good fit for your requirements.

If the staff member is hired as a temp, the agency will also eliminate payroll tasks on your end because the temp is usually employed by the agency. Once the assignment is over, or at agreed intervals, the agency will send you an invoice. You don't need to worry about taxes or super for temp staff; all this will be done by the agency.