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Now that the holiday season has ended, many companies face the question of what to do with their temporary holiday hires. While some employees are only there for the season and are aware of this, organizations may have others eager to stay on long-term. The strategic management of these employees can greatly impact organizational success and employee satisfaction, making your approach to seasonal staffing an important one.  

In 2023, market growth continued – December marked the 36th consecutive month of job creation – but slowed. There were 2.7 million jobs added in 2023 vs. 4.8 million in 2022. The U.S. labor market ended the year strong, with 216,000 jobs added in December, far above the Dow Jones estimate of 170,000. Average hourly earnings rose 4.1% from 2022, higher than the 3.9% forecast. As we head into 2024, the market continues to look strong. Job openings still significantly outnumber the amount of people looking for a job.

Assessment, motivation to improve, and following through with on-target development experiences are critical.

In my September column, I shared research results showing that 67 percent of a manager’s overall effectiveness can be explained by how they are rated on the eight attributes that define an employee-centric manager. This means the best pathway for managers seeking to improve their overall effectiveness is to become more employee-centric.

The resilient labor market shows healthy job growth, lower unemployment and some wage growth. In November, the labor market added 199,000 jobs, higher than the Dow Jones estimate and ahead of October gains. The unemployment rate unexpectedly fell in November to 3.7% as the labor force participation rate increased to 62.8%. Average hourly earnings rose by 0.4%, up 4% from a year ago.