Help Wanted! (But Only Temporarily)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Jeff Platt, CEO of Sky Zone Indoor Trampoline Park, knows the value of hiring summer staff.  

After all, Sky Zone's vice president of operations was once a seasonal staffer.  

Small businesses need to know how to hire for their seasonal needs.

 

Businesses including resorts, camps restaurants, and retailers look to young employees and abroad for seasonal help during their busy season, whether that's summer or during the holidays, in exchange for experience and (possibly) an employee's long-term commitment.  

During the school year, the six Sky Zones across the U.S. are open roughly 50 hours per week; during its peak season, those hours are extended to up to 80 hours a week. Each Sky Zone typically hires between five and 10 temporary employees and/or interns.  

Sky Zone hires primarily college-aged and high school students, looking mainly for fun candidates who will interact eagerly with customers and contribute the energy needed to run a place such as Sky Zone, especially during the busy summer season.

"Our brand is all about having fun, so someone can be qualified [with] credentials and experience in recreation management, but if they are not screaming fun, we're not really interested," Platt says.

That still requires experience in a retail-type environment and people who understand how to offer good customer service, are able to multitask and can work a significant amount of hours during the summer season, he adds.  

"The main demographic for our business is kids. Our hours are catered to when kids are not in school," Platt says. "It does require us to hire more employees. We increase our base by about 20%."  

But the hiring of seasonal staff fulfills another purpose: to find qualified candidates who may be a permanent fit, working their way up the chain of command, Platt says.  

Sky Zone's vice president started as an intern who moved up to full-time assistant manager, then manager and finally to the corporate level.  

"We have another individual who is following the same path," Platt says.  

Platt prefers to promote from within, molding hires "into hopefully a full-time employee," he says. "So far it's worked out pretty well."