The end of the year is fast approaching, and for many organisations that means preparing for the busiest period in the calendar. While customers are thinking about holidays, they’re also expecting fast, reliable service. For support teams, that means more enquiries, more pressure and less room for error.

So how do you scale your team quickly and cost effectively without compromising on quality?

Sourcing talent at scale

Every year, support and operations managers face the same challenge: how to find quality people, fast.

Whether you need 5 or 50 new team members, the process of advertising, screening, interviewing and onboarding takes time, and that’s time most internal teams don’t have.

What helps:

Partnering with a recruitment provider who already has pre-qualified talent pools ready to go. It means you can move quickly, reduce admin, and stay focused on delivering a great customer experience.

Planning for reliability

One of the biggest risks during peak periods is candidate fall-off. Even after all the effort of sourcing and interviewing, some candidates won’t make it to induction, and others won’t make it to day one.

What helps:

• Build in a buffer. If you need 10 people, consider hiring 12-15 to account for natural attrition.
• Prioritise reliability as a key behavioural trait during screening.
• Offer certainty. If you know you’ll need support from November to January communicate that clearly, it helps candidates commit.

Managing cost with compromising quality

Scaling up doesn’t have to mean blowing your budget. Yes, there’s a cost to servicing increased demand but there are smart ways to manage it

What helps:

• Use a flexible workforce model do you can scale up and down as needed
• Consider a blended team structure. For example, onshore staff for complex support, and offshore teams for high-volume, level 1 enquiries.

Timing is everything

The earlier you start planning, the smoother your ramp-up will be. Leave it too late, and you risk rushed hiring, underprepared staff, and missed service targets.

What helps:

Start now. Build your plan, secure your talent, and give your team time they need to get up to speed before the peak hits.

Make this season smoother

Scaling your support team for the holiday period doesn’t have to be stressful. With the right strategy and the right recruitment partner, you can build a team that’s ready to deliver when it matters most.

Ready to scale your support team for the holiday season?

Contact us to find out how we can help you hire qualified, job-ready talent, fast.