As with each year, 2015’s holiday season is expected to bring in an influx of seasonal workers, meaning human resources departments across the globe are in for a mighty task. Even if workers are not expected to be brought on permanently, the surge in part-time and seasonal workers through the holidays can make day-to-day operations difficult for HR professionals, especially in retail.

RELATED: 7 Ways to Handle With A Difficult Employee

How to Find Seasonal Workers

In the past, posting to a newspaper or local circular classifieds was the answer to attracting seasonal workers, but today, the Internet is the most-searched and best option to find qualified candidates. Many job board sites these days handle a lot of the detail work, such as screening out candidates based on keywords within a resume or application. This can save you time, but it can also result in missing out on the right people. As a result, you and your HR department need to come up with a strategy that allows for qualified applicants to be found, even if a job board site doesn’t send on applications and resumes that include specific keywords.

The Power of Local

Local job boards and newspapers can often be the best place to find quality seasonal workers. Often, these potential employees consult the newspaper job boards for just this kind of employment, as it is where they expect to find it. Furthermore, the local job board online is key, since so many seasonal opportunities are hired by locally owned companies.

Have a Permanent Plan in Place

One of the key issues with hiring seasonal workers is the potential for bringing professionals on full time. Never promise seasonal workers a full time position, especially if you know for a fact that your company either doesn’t have openings or it potentially expects to. In doing so, you waste the time and energy of the seasonal hire, and you also come across as uncaring. This latter point could end up hurting your brand when seasonal workers who promised full time hire positions after the season take to the Internet to voice their experiences.

Retail vs. Online Sales

In recent years, online sales have begun to decimate retail sales, and this means that companies are often turning more toward the warehouse, packaging, and shipping side of things when it comes to sales. Retail is still a large player when it comes to seasonal sales, but digital is quickly creeping up and causing retail giants, such as Walmart, to turn their seasonal hiring efforts toward logistics instead of stocking. When you think about your specific business and industry, which way are the winds blowing? Knowing this information will help you to find the best recruiting strategy for seasonal workers in 2015.

Watch for Standouts

Finally, your company needs to watch for standouts. Seasonal workers may seem like a dime a dozen, but by and large, these are competent professionals who are auditioning for a permanent placement solution. As a result, your team needs to be watching for workers who stand out in case permanent opportunities open up. A standout is someone who not only works hard and gets the job done, but who demonstrates a real passion for moving your brand forward. These are the people who need to be recognized, praised, and rewarded. Keep this in mind throughout the hiring process as well as it may lead you to finding the next CEO of the company.

Andrew Rusnak is an author who writes on topics that include business development and human resources recruiting.