I have to start by articulating my jealousy of my home state of California. Have you ever watched the weather report in a SoCal city like San Diego or Los Angeles? I can remember turning on the television as a young boy and finding myself baffled as to why the weather person had a job. Rain might ruin some plans but generally things are just fine - over and over again.

Running a resort is not easy but it can be a little easier when the weather is "just fine" and you have reasonable occupancy (and revenue) twelve months a year. Vary your amenities/activities calendar and the guests will come.

Imagine running a resort where the weather is not so picturesque. Perhaps said resort is operating in Minnesota or Utah - the attraction is the spring/summer months. Perhaps the resort is in Arizona or New Mexico - stay away in August if you can. Such resorts are seasonal and most revenue is captured in a handful of months. When running such resorts, leaders must be "laser focused" on certain steps to ensure they are prepared for the months that make or break them. Such resorts can always "get by" but to optimize revenue and expense management, they must plan, prepare and execute. They must understand their small windows of opportunities and take them. At least in terms of "People" success depends upon deliberate execution of key steps. When most of the resort's annualized revenue is collected in three (3) to four (4) months, there is little opportunity for error.

Attracting Seasonal Staff

If the resort is year-round, no doubt you have a reliable core of employees who are with you full (or perhaps) part-time throughout the year. As the core, leaders can rely upon them and should take great care to retain them. However, the year-round core cannot do everything. In the high season, they need help and expect leadership to find it. The resort must strategically tailor their acquisition efforts to attract people looking to work in the season.

In order to attract such staff, it is imperative to understand where to find them and what they want. Your resort might be commuting distance from a metropolitan area; that creates typical recruiting opportunities. Often resorts, however, are located in "Resort Towns" that are far more isolated. This requires different and often creative approaches to finding and attracting people.

Where to Find Your Candidates

If your resort town is a desirable destination for vacationers, you may be able to capture the "kids". Adults with second homes might have children available for work in your seasonal months; should you have nearby organizations, homeowner associations, etc., actively advertise your openings. To that end, even smaller areas have high education - capture that audience through career centers and alliances with school counselors, clubs, activities. You might find the local football team has students who would love to work your grounds when not practicing.

The international labor pool can seem daunting to dive into but it is of extreme value. While "immigration" is a word invoking disdain or fear in many; immigration visas for the hospitality industry are essential.

"Work travel" visa student associates are priceless. Commonly referred to as "J1s", these international individuals work in the United States for a limited time period so they can "experience American culture". This is an exchange program with other nations. The individuals are students enrolled in international colleges/universities. Recruiting J1s for resorts is relatively inexpensive, though it is generally best to partner with a recruiting agency or law firm to secure them. The great thing about J1s is that they are plentiful, good, intelligent kids who want to make money and have fun.

The disadvantage about J1s is that they want to make money and have fun. Employers need to monitor their overtime, labor hours, etc., as they look to build up paychecks. Employers also need to avoid becoming the resort town's "party capital" as these fun-loving international kids are "experiencing" American culture and that often entails American parties. J1 visa requirements also require "cultural experiences" for the workers. In the summer months for example, such associates need exposure to the 4th of July holiday, Labor Day, picnics, beach days and other "American" activities.

With some investment, H2B and TN visas are of great benefit to resorts. These options are expensive, but they authorize "highly skilled" individuals to work at our companies. These visas require resorts to show that they are unable to fully fill open positions with domestic experts (in resort towns, this is not hard to prove). The "H2B" visa can be a challenge because there is a national "cap" as to how many of such visas will be allowed in any one year. The "TN" visa is used to secure candidates from Canada and Mexico, and are not subject to numerical restrictions.

Regardless of what visa you choose, tap into international labor if you can. Companies generally find such workers eager to put in the time and effort to earn money and take care of the guests.

What Do They Want?

As you look to attract local, regional or international candidates, you want to find out what they are looking for and what will peak their interest.

First and foremost, it is important to tailor the company's benefits package with the goal of attracting the seasonal or "gig" worker. Many companies prefer to reward their long-term, full-time associates. I completely understand and respect that philosophy. However, the company must understand its own needs. Seasonal resorts, for example, might ebb and flow its associate population by as much as fifty (50) percent. Such a company significantly depends on short-term, partial/seasonal associates.

Candidates for such positions tend to be attracted by quicker gratification and compensation. This is not an environment where long term incentive plans flourish; such companies should consider offerings such as "daily pay" or perhaps weekly pay cycles. Deep amenity discounts at their workplaces are of great value to such individuals. Retirees, students, short-term candidates might be attracted to reduced-cost ski discounts at winter resorts or low-cost golf rounds at the summer resorts.

When looking to attract qualified candidates for seasonal roles in a resort environment, be prepared to invest in viable housing options. Associates require places to stay if they are only intending to work for a limited period. Such housing should be attractive; think in terms of college dormitory quality. Depending upon your space and available units, it is fine to "bunk" associates together. Keep in mind that just as benefit offerings are important attractions for candidates, so, too, is housing. Create a positive, memorable experience and these associates will enjoy themselves, take care of your guests and potentially wish to return.

Hiring/On-Boarding Your New Staff

No human resources job is easy. Supporting a seasonal employer, however, is uniquely challenging. The human resources team has to be efficient at accurately and consistently on-boarding all new seasonal staff members. In order to "hold" candidates and transition them into associates, it is essential to keep the process streamlined and efficient. Despite the many words in this article, there are only four that matter most to every new hire - "correct pay to me". Human Resources needs to ensure that new associates turn in all necessary forms in a timely manner, are properly reviewed and the associate is in the system. Once in the system, pay needs to be scrutinized, correct and ready to be provided.

On-boarding works best when the candidates receive communications early and often. Candidates need messaging immediately after their offer as to what the subsequent process will involve and what they will need to do.

Communication is not just essential to candidates; hiring/operational managers need to know what they need to help their incoming associates with. Further, they need to be able to answer routine, on-boarding questions such as payday, the nearest bathroom, etc. These managers also need to clearly understand that it is not just human resources' job to bring candidates in and turn them into successful associates. Human resources plays a definite role, but the direct operational manager critically introduces the work environment to the candidates and ensures they have the tools they need to properly transition to "employee".

Training in the Seasonal Environment

When trying to prepare new staff for the season, the training program needs to be proactive, planned and strategic. How do those doing the training quickly teach the business, compliance topics and guest service, in a way that is of value and is sustainable for those few months?

Just as on-boarding has to be efficient, consistent and strategic, training must be the same. Companies should begin with orientation to the company, its vision, mission and values. History of the organization needs to be part of this. In that orientation, trainers ought to provide general expectations. Shortly thereafter, organizations need to move towards individual positional training plans.

For example, a front desk attendant needs specific positional expectations. With so abbreviated a time period, it is critical to focus on necessary standards for creating the correct operational and guest journey. Set the expectation that there will be assessment of operational/guest service delivery. A seasonal population is not the one that you invest time or dollars into advanced, organizational training (interpersonal relationships, succession, etc.); this population necessitates laser focus on operational and guest service standards required within each department by each specific position.

Off-Board Them

a) Send Them on Their Way Correctly

The fundamental cog in the associate engagement wheel is correct payroll. Making sure every paycheck is correct becomes a complicated goal when your associates are leaving the geographic area. Complications climb when associates are leaving the country. Prior to departure, the easiest way to ensure appropriate payout, communication and closure is collecting accurate contact information. Know how to get hold of the departing associate, as direct contact typically solves all problems.

b) Preserve Loyalty

Seasonal associates may leave for the season but they often are willing to come back. Recognize their interest and hold on to the connection. Have your HR team send periodic e-mails and/or continue any social media communication to ensure folks remain linked and want to spend time with the resort next season.

As an added resource both to you and the departing associate, implement some kind of review system. People generally like feedback - they want to know where they stand. Documented feedback is beneficial to the person receiving it; documented feedback is equally as important to the organization. Such feedback may determine whether or not the resort would want the departing worker back for another season.

Seasonal business is a huge challenge. However, with diligent effort to attract staff with strong on-boarding, training and work environment, companies can fill their gaps with talent. If the effort is there, these people will return thus ensuring that your resort can deliver the highest levels of guest service season after season.

Reprinted from the Hotel Business Review with permission from http://www.hotelexecutive.com/.