What’s Your Hiring Game Plan for Fall?

As summer fades, now’s the perfect time to refresh your strategy and gear up for a winning hiring plan this Fall and Winter. The changing seasons often bring new challenges and opportunities, making it essential to have a robust hiring strategy in place to ensure your business is well-prepared. Just as a football coach uses X’s and O’s on a chalkboard to map out plays and position players for success, you can apply the same strategic thinking to your staffing plan.

1.Identify Your Offensive Players (O’s)

Typically, O’s represent offensive players, those who execute plays and score points. In your staffing plan, these key players are your star performers—the critical roles that drive your business forward. Identify who your key players are, whether they’re in leadership, sales, operations, or customer service and assess these thoughts:

• Executive-Level Openings: Do you foresee any executive-level openings or transitions that could impact your organization?
• Succession Planning: Ensure that critical roles have a succession plan in place. Who will step in if a key employee departs unexpectedly? Succession planning helps protect your business from potential disruptions.
• Knowledge Sharing: Build structured knowledge sharing processes to prevent having one person know all the information

2. Set Up Your Defensive Line (X’s)

X’s in football often represent defensive players, those who protect and support the team. In staffing, your X’s are the support roles—administrative staff, IT, accounting, HR, and others who ensure the business runs smoothly. These roles may not always be in the spotlight, but they’re crucial for maintaining stability and handling unexpected challenges.

• Assess Current Talent Requirements: Take a close look at your current team and determine if there are any skill gaps or shortfalls. Do you have the right talent in place to meet your business objectives for the coming months? Should you up-skill or fill these gaps with new hires?

• Onboarding Efficiency: Assess your current onboarding process. Is it efficient enough to handle an influx of new hires if needed? A streamlined onboarding process sets new employees up for success from day one.

3. Evaluate Your Bench Strength

Just like a coach needs a strong bench to substitute players during the game, you need a robust talent pipeline. Have you lined up potential candidates who can step in if a key player is out or if new roles open up? Succession planning and cross-training are essential to keeping your team adaptable and prepared.

• End-of-Year Events: Hosting special events for your employees or clients? Consider whether you’ll need extra hands to ensure everything runs smoothly, from event planning to execution.
• Employee Leaves: Plan for expected employee leaves, such as maternity or medical leave. How will you cover these absences to maintain productivity and morale? Build cross-training into your processes so teammates can cover unexpected absences and gain better whole-company knowledge. 
• Intern Development: Build a strong internship program to engage local students in your business and support their professional development goals.
• Growth opportunity: Have you built a strong mentoring program? Plan and develop training programs that provide growth opportunity to entry-level/junior candidates.

4. Design Your Plays (Strategic Moves)

In football, plays are carefully designed strategies to outmaneuver the opponent and score points. Similarly, your hiring plan should include strategic moves—whether it’s hiring for seasonal demand, expanding into new markets, or implementing new technology.

• Technology and Process Changes: Are you introducing new technologies or processes? If so, do you have the talent to implement and manage these changes? Specialized hires or training might be necessary.
• Business Expansion: If your business is growing, identify the areas that are likely to expand most rapidly. Are there departments that will require additional staff to keep up with increased demand?
• Location Expansion: If your business is growing into a new geographic market, will you need new in-person staff or can you offer remote work from headquarters? Do you need teammates in multiple timezones to provide adequate customer service coverage?

5. Anticipate the Blitz

In football, a blitz is a sudden rush by the defense to disrupt the offense. In business, unexpected challenges—such as sudden employee departures or market shifts—can feel like a blitz. Prepare your team by having contingency plans and relationships with staffing agencies like Matern Staffing in place to handle these pressures without losing momentum.

6. Don’t Forget About Special Teams

Special teams in football are responsible for the offensive and defensive sides of kicking plays. Sometimes overlooked or taken for granted, the players on the special teams have a great opportunity to swing the momentum of the game (Let’s Go Hokies) with one blocked kick or returned punt. In business, these strategic support units handle critical tasks or projects that require specialized skills. Prepare your team now by evaluating skills, gaps, availability, and budgets.

• Seasonal and Project-Based Staffing: Evaluate any upcoming projects or seasonal demands that may require temporary or contract staff. Being proactive ensures that you’re not left scrambling when the time comes.
• Year-End Processes: The end of the year often brings tasks like purges, inventory, and audits. Will you need additional temporary staff to manage these crucial but time-consuming processes effectively?

7. Review the Game Film (Analyze)

Coaches and players often review game footage to analyze what worked and what didn’t. Similarly, review your past hiring efforts and team performance. What positions have been hard to fill? What areas have high employee turnover? Use this analysis to refine your staffing strategy and make adjustments that will strengthen your team.

• Employee Turnover Rates: Review your turnover data to anticipate potential staffing gaps. Are there patterns that suggest a need for improved retention strategies or a focus on hiring replacements?
• Survey Employees: Meet with employees to review goals and interests to support career advancement and personal growth. It’s also a valuable tool for evaluating culture and business improvements.

As stated in a prior Matern blog post, according to BLS JOLTS data from 2014 to 2023, the months of October, November, and September rank in the top 1, 3, and 4 (respectively) in median non-farm job openings. Prepping now for the busy fall season allows employees to be fully trained when demand increases. 

Matern Staffing understands that people are the heart of your organization. Building from our fundamentals of quality service, commitment, trust, passion and innovation we’ll help to place people in the right positions for your organization. We also understand the busy needs of these seasons and the priorities that accompany year-end budgets. Whether your staffing needs are last minute, contract, or long-term we’re ready to work together!

For complete information on how your business can benefit from our personalized staffing services, call Matern Staffing at (540) 604-5000, fill out our Talent Request form, or schedule a FREE no-obligation staffing strategy session.