How to Conquer Security’s Hiring Seasons
Whether you’re sourcing, recruiting, or hiring for security services, you know that demand fluctuates throughout the year. Holiday shopping, sporting events, concerts, or even tourism can generate a surge in hiring needs. However, finding qualified candidates on short notice and retaining them through the season can be tricky, especially in an industry known for high turnover rates. In this blog, we’ll cover some actionable tips and best practices to help you conquer hiring seasons in security.
Understand the Demand
Security hiring needs can be temporary or permanent. Permanent needs often include government buildings, office spaces, and critical infrastructure, while temporary needs can span a variety of different use cases. While some temporary needs are cyclical, like retail stores requiring additional staff for shopping seasons like back-to-school or the holidays, others may be a little more unpredictable.
Large sporting events, conventions like ComiCon, or even a trendy new restaurant that’s making a splash on TikTok may require additional hands for a short period of time. Understanding the demands of your clients, as well as their requirements for certifications or preferences for experience, can help you plan accordingly for the next surge.
Get Ahead of the Challenges
There are a few enduring challenges that face security recruiters like you:
- Long time-to-hire (averaging over 30 days)
- High turnover rates (over 200% in some cases)
- High number of applicants (over 850 million security guard openings nationwide)
Getting ahead of the challenges starts with understanding how they impact your organization. If time-to-hire is a problem, break it down into pieces: sourcing, outreach, engagement, and interviewing. If background checks and training are getting too expensive, look at how many applicants are converting to hires. You may be spending unnecessary budget on under-qualified or low-quality applicants.
Develop your Offseason Strategy
When it comes to seasonal hiring, especially for security roles, you don’t want to be scrambling at the last minute. A solid strategy can make all the difference, so let’s dive into how to build one that works.
Forecasting Needs
Think about what your busy seasons look like — whether it’s the holiday shopping rush, summer events, or something else. Use data and market intelligence to predict when and where you’ll need extra hands, and pay attention to industry trends and past hiring patterns. Align your staffing levels with your anticipated security needs, and make sure you’re not over or under-hiring.
Building a Talent Pipeline
Building a talent pipeline means keeping in touch with solid workers, even when you don’t have immediate openings. In fact, a recent survey by CareerBuilder revealed that 82% of employers believe developing a talent pipeline is critical for long-term success. Previous seasonal employees are a great resource — people who already know the job and are likely to return if they had a good experience. Referrals can also be gold here. Encourage your current staff to recommend reliable candidates, and you’ll save yourself a lot of recruiting time down the line.
Partnerships and Outsourcing
Sometimes, handling this in-house can be overwhelming, or you might simply not have the budget. That’s where staffing agencies or outsourcing services come in. Partnering with an agency that specializes in security staffing can give you access to pre-screened candidates who are ready to hit the ground running. If you need to move fast, services like Applicants on Demand can help you quickly fill roles without the hassle of endless screening processes.
Source Smarter with Optimized Recruiting
If you’re going to attract quality seasonal talent, you need to stand out from the crowd. Let’s look at some practical tactics for grabbing the attention of top security candidates.
Crafting Compelling Job Descriptions
You’d be surprised how much a well-written job description can do for your recruiting efforts. When crafting one, highlight the perks of the role — think flexible hours, opportunities to build experience, or even potential long-term employment if they perform well. Be clear about role expectations and the qualifications needed. Whether you’re looking for someone with prior experience or just a reliable attitude, transparency helps you attract the right candidates and cut down on mismatches.
Targeted Outreach and Advertising
Job boards and social media are go-to options, but don’t overlook local communities or groups that cater specifically to security personnel. For faster, more efficient hiring, AI tools like Arya Boost can really help. Arya uses advanced algorithms to source, screen, and rank candidates based on your specific needs, saving time while boosting quality. By automating the screening process, you can identify top talent quicker, helping you stay ahead of the seasonal hiring curve.
Leverage the Latest Technology
Nearly every recruiter these days relies on some form of tech to manage their recruiting processes: three in four use an ATS to track applications, in addition to other tools like job boards and sourcing solutions. Many are adding AI into their tech stack to drastically improve efficiency and output while keeping costs low, improving their recruiting efficiency by up to 30%. But when you’re on a tight deadline, you don’t always have time to implement, train, and ramp a new solution. That’s why services like Applicants on Demand can help you get the most out of AI without the fuss of IT.
Applicants on Demand is an AI-enhanced sourcing service that gives you a list of qualified, vetted, and high-quality applicants within hours of opening a job in your ATS. Best of all, AoD works on a pay-for-performance model, so you only pay for completed applications you receive. Because AoD relies on the power of Arya’s innovative AI technology, you’ll receive candidates who are thoroughly vetted for skills, certifications, and compliance. For security hiring, AoD can be the game changer you need to conquer seasonal hiring. To learn more about our solution,
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