A Yeti, a Unicorn and a Seasonal Team Member Walk into an Article

As summer fades toward autumn, seasonal workers are on the move. From college students back in class to resort hoppers heading from summer resorts to the ski slopes or warm seaside locales.

It reminds me of the effort and training that went into developing their talents for their summer roles and what happens now that they’re gone—how their summer employers might be able to regain some of their investment in those team members in the future.

After all, a great leadership team is about having great people, training them on the best practices for success and mentoring them to be achievers. You select promising people, integrate them into a cohesive, functional unit with your long-term team, work on building appreciation for your mission, then—poof!—they’re gone.

There are, of course, motivated interns who make every effort to stay connected. That’s a wonderful position for a leader, especially if those involved made a significant, positive impression on the team. A friend took a short-term job that ended up lasting almost 30 years.

For other seasonal team members it might be more difficult to keep those connections in place. Some folks like to use their college summer to travel the world—a summer restaurant server on Mackinac Island, Mich., might want to spend their next summer wrangling lines at a roller coaster in a European amusement park.

That doesn’t mean they—and the investment that was made in incorporating them into your team—is lost forever. Sometimes a bright prospect can be retained by making an early offer of return employment during the next season. Keeping communications open can pay dividends too. A discussion about the prospect of shifting from seasonal to permanent staff could bring some people back. If you’ve found a great candidate for your team, make an effort to keep in contact. It’s worth it for a good team member.

(And not that rejection letter “we’ll keep your information on file” kind of keeping in touch—really do it. By the way, if you, or anyone you know, ever received a job offer after getting one of those rejections, I’d love to hear from you, because that’s as rare as a yeti riding a unicorn.)  

Business leaders can’t forget the wisdom of Rear Adm. Grace Hopper: “Leadership is a two-way street, loyalty up and loyalty down.”

So just because departures were planned and expected at the end of summer, it doesn’t mean that you need to start from Square 1 next spring.