Do you need more workers at a particular season of the year? It is not fun taking your chances with strangers. Maybe it is better having an overseas agency who can find you outsourced workers. If you find a reliable company or a few companies, you might have a channel to reliable work!
If you hire in-house workers for a few months, consider the following. You will have strangers in your office which will alter the chemistry or your work force’s delicate equilibrium in its ecosystem. What if those new people don’t get along with your existing staff? What if they take up too much room? What if you like them so much that you miss them when they are gone. You will not have this problem if you outsource your task to some foreign destination like the Philippines, India or Romania.
Additionally, hiring people in a hurry has its consequences. Having an agency in some other country that specializes in a particular type of work ensures that they can get you an unlimited quantity of suitable workers in a snap of a finger. Okay — I exaggerate. But, they already have people on staff which takes the mystery out of hiring. If you don’t like them, you can always find another agency or fire them without any legal consequences.
If you do seasonal hires in India, be aware that monsoon season is the wrong season to do this. They might have to take an inflatable raft to work. If you hire people in the Philippines during tsunami season, their call center might become a mud flat when you really need them. Use common sense and caution if outsourcing seasonal work. Their seasons are considerably different from your seasons.
Interesting factoid:
By the way Summer comes in India at the same time that Spring comes in the USA, and Autumn comes in Australia — March for all three seasons.
Speaking of seasonal hires.
Here is a section of a menu at an upscale Chinese restaurant that I found interesting:
Maine Lobster — $40 (choice of sauce)
Fresh Atlantic Salmon Steak — $25 (w/ginger soy sauce)
Spring Rolls — Seasonal