As the festive season approaches, businesses across sectors are witnessing a surge in recruitment, with companies bolstering their workforce to meet the increasing demand during this peak shopping period. The months leading up to major holidays like Diwali, Christmas, and New Year typically see a dramatic spike in consumer activity, both in-store and online, driving companies to ramp up their hiring efforts.
With the rise of quick commerce and online shopping platforms, companies are not only hiring temporary staff for frontline positions such as cashiers, delivery personnel, and warehouse workers, but also for roles in digital marketing, customer support, and data analysis to ensure seamless operations during the festive frenzy.
“Reports claim that this year’s festive season has sparked a significant surge in demand for gig workers, with a notable 30% increase in hiring, particularly in Tier 2 and 3 cities,” states Ashok Vashist, Founder and CEO, WTiCabs.
A report by Spectrum talent Management also claims, “This growth is particularly strong in e-commerce, which is seeing a 35% rise in demand for seasonal roles. Businesses are rapidly expanding their workforce, especially in essential roles like delivery executives, warehouse staff, logistics coordinators, and in-store sales assistants, ensuring that the festive rush is handled seamlessly.”
Scaling & Strategizing To Meet Surging Demand
Scaling the workforce involves quickly onboarding temporary staff while leveraging gig workers or part-time employees for flexibility. This requires streamlined training processes to ensure temporary hires can maintain high performance in customer service and delivery.
When spoken with Ajay Rao, CEO & Founder Emiza, he explained how their hiring process is streamlined since June of every year. “In June, we begin hiring and onboarding our operational workforce, focusing on roles like warehouse operators and executive management. These hires are critical for maintaining service excellence, especially during peak periods.”
Businesses today are required to also strategize inventory management, ensuring adequate stock levels while preventing overstocking. By enhancing logistics, automating key processes, and utilizing data-driven insights to predict consumer behavior, companies can meet demand efficiently.
“We Initiate resource planning 2-3 months in advance to effectively manage the surge in demand. For example, for one of our e-commerce clients, we have deployed around 800 employees throughout the year, and during the festive season, we bring in over 1,000 additional contractual blue-collar workers. These hires are managed through multiple third-party companies across various locations to ensure swift recruitment and deployment,” states Indrani Chatterjee, group CHRO, Allcargo Group.
Also, not to forget how important is deployment of high-level technological tools in streamlining such processes. Companies across sectors are turning to technology to streamline these processes, enabling them to meet workforce demands while maintaining high standards of performance and efficiency.
Rao further explains, “with our in-house Warehouse Management System (WMS), many processes have become easier to execute, leading to improved productivity and accuracy. Even when workers have lower skill levels, our system ensures that we maintain high standards of both efficiency and precision.”
Such tech-driven approaches not only speed up onboarding but also ensures seamless management of gig workers, allowing companies to deliver with precision during the festive rush.
“At Zypp Electric, we employ AI-driven platforms to optimize our recruitment process, matching candidates to roles faster and more accurately. Additionally, our workforce management systems ensure real-time tracking of rider performance, automated scheduling, and dynamic route optimisation, making operations more efficient,” states Tushar Mehta, COO & Co-Founder Zypp Electric.
Training Temp. Hires For Peak Performance
Supervisors are key to most operations, especially during the festive season. All supervisors undergo cross-training across various accounts, which enhances company’s flexibility during such surge.
Rao explains their festive hire training plan, “during the night shift, when manpower is reduced, we allocate 60 per cent of supervisors to ensure maximum productivity and accuracy. In the morning shift, 40 per cent of supervisors are assigned, as the higher manpower in this shift requires fewer supervisors for smooth operations. Additionally, we rotate supervisors across shifts to maintain efficiency and prevent fatigue.”
This strategic approach ensures seamless operations throughout the day, with supervisors playing a vital role in maintaining accuracy and productivity across all shifts.
According to Spectrum Report “while e-commerce leads the charge, industries such as logistics and quick commerce are also expanding their workforces in preparation for the festive period. With a 15% increase in hiring, logistics companies are gearing up to manage the transportation and distribution of goods.”
Further, Swati Mor, CHRO, Ecom Express states how their company employs a scalable asset-light business model which can be adapted based on varying customer requirements. Ecom Express has 317 leased and rented large facilities (including sorting hubs, processing and return centers, and fulfilment centers) and leased 3,421 delivery centers.
“It has also grown our pool of gig delivery executives and for the Financial Year 2024, 71.42% of the company’s deliveries were completed by the gig workforce. This asset-light business model allows the company to optimize the network infrastructure and workforce depending on delivery volumes.”
Ensuring Compliance With Labor Laws And Safety Standards
Ensuring compliance with labor laws and safety standards during festive hiring is crucial for businesses to avoid legal risks and protect their workforce. The festive season often brings a surge in hiring, especially temporary and gig workers, and maintaining compliance becomes challenging but essential.
“At Zypp Electric, compliance with labor laws and safety standards is paramount, regardless of whether the workers are full-time or gig. We ensure that all hires receive proper contracts that comply with local regulations, including minimum wage requirements and safety provisions. Additionally, we provide extensive safety training, including EV-specific precautions and first-aid awareness. All gig workers are also insured under our group insurance plan, ensuring their well-being as they carry out their duties,” asserts Mehta.
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), companies are obligated to ensure that temporary staff have the same protections under safety laws as permanent employees. However, during periods of rapid festive hiring, safety training is often rushed or neglected. Studies indicate that 35% of workplace accidents involve temporary workers, often due to insufficient safety training.
Chatterjee also adds, “We comply with safety norms, work hours, and workplace conditions, maintaining necessary documentation for every temporary hire. This dual approach ensures that both labor laws and safety standards are met, even when managing large numbers of temporary employees during the festive season.”
In the competitive and fast-moving business environment, technology has become a vital enabler for bulk hiring and training. By leveraging AI, automation, VR, and mobile learning, companies can scale their workforce efficiently, ensuring that new employees are well-trained and ready to contribute to high-performance environments. As businesses continue to evolve, the role of technology in hiring and training will only grow, driving further innovation and efficiency in workforce management.
