10 Fall Hiring Strategies to Keep in Mind

September 5, 2025

“Time spent on hiring is time well spent.” — Robert Half

During the summer months, many decision makers are absent, taking much-deserved time off. As the season winds down, and the leaves start to turn, it makes sense to sit down and assess your needs for the remainder of the year. It’s time to get back to business.

Fall hiring is crucial, as this will set the tone for your business as you roll into the holiday season. It might seem like that’s a long way off, but you need to plan for it, as you move into Q4.

To help you get back into the swing of things this fall, we’re going to share some insights into things you should consider when making your hiring decisions, highlighting areas where we can help.

10 Fall Hiring Strategies to Consider:

Review Summer Attrition and Turnover Trends

Take a look at your summer turnover. Who retired? Who moved on? And who moved internally. This will help you find the gaps that you will need to fill in the fall.

Summer turnover rates rise compared to other seasons: According to ADP Research (2025), the average turnover rate jumps to 3.56% in summer months versus 3.14% the rest of the year.

In Canada, 11.9% is the national average turnover rate; January and summer months are peak times for departures.

Forecast End-of-Year Workload

Start thinking about your hiring needs for the end of the year. Many industries have specific needs for the end of the year, which will drive a spike in hiring. Now is the time to assess those needs and start making moves to ensure the workload can be managed.

HR and business leaders cite “new projects” (41%) and “company growth” (47%) as top drivers for increasing hiring activity toward the close of the year, along with turnover forecasting (44%). Look at your specific needs and start the hiring process.

If you require temporary seasonal help, Staff Shop has you covered. Our staffing and payrolling services allow you to hire for your specific needs.

Engage Passive Candidates Early

Passive candidates are typically reliable, skilled and high quality – they are gold when it comes to formulating your hiring strategy. They’re not actively looking for work, but when presented with a unique opportunity, they will consider making the change. Ensure you are aiming for the very best by building relationships, and tailoring your outreach.

With 40% of employees reporting plans to look for work in the coming months, proactive outreach to passive candidates is crucial to stay ahead of turnover and market competition.

Talent shortage continues in sectors like healthcare, transportation, and logistics; 47.2% of organizations report hiring difficulties in hard-to-fill roles.

Audit Job Descriptions

What your job descriptions say will ultimately impact the types of people you attract.To attract top talent amid high turnover after the summer, companies will update job descriptions to reflect skills-based requirements and hybrid work arrangements.

Performing regular audits help reduce misalignment and improve candidate fit, impacting long-term retention and engagement.

Tap into Back-to-School Momentum

Back-to-school doesn’t just apply to students! This season is a prime time to attract early-career talent and parents re-entering the workforce, particularly in retail and customer-facing roles where staffing needs rise in autumn. Remember how we mentioned seasonal, holiday hiring – early fall is when you need to get that process going in order to be fully staffed when November and December come around.

Align with Budget Planning

Ensure hiring plans align with Q4 budgets and any anticipated increases for Q1 of the following year. Get your approvals done ahead of time, so you have a better idea of what you have to work with.

66% of HR executives name retention as their top 2025 workforce priority, prompting a greater share of the HR budget to be allocated to retention programs and reskilling/upskilling efforts.

The cost of employee replacement can reach 20% of salary for typical roles and as high as 213% for executive positions. So, consider this when planning your hiring this fall.

Partner with Staff Shop with our unique Search Solutions service to find the best candidates for leadership roles within your organization.

Strengthen Employer Branding

Showcase your company as a great employer. Do this by updating your careers page, highlighting fall team-building events, or showcasing employee success stories on your website and social media. Quality candidates are looking for culture fit as much as compensation. Show them how you will meet their needs.

Nearly 87% of HR leaders say strengthening employer branding is now a key retention and talent attraction strategy.

Emphasis is placed on company culture, values, and flexible working arrangements in branding efforts to combat turnover spikes.

Streamline the Hiring Process

Don’t lose your best candidates to a slow hiring process! Reduce your hiring time by setting clear timelines, using pre-screening tools, and scheduling interviews in blocks.

Candidates want to know where they stand, or else they could move on to another opportunity.

Leverage Campus Recruiting

Campus recruiting surges during the back-to-school timeframe, with organizations attending more career fairs and internships filling early-talent pipelines before year-end.

Look into setting up a booth at a campus career fair to attract young talent looking to get a jump start on their careers. You can also look into co-op programs offered by departments related to your business.

Plan for Holiday Gaps

Employers report December and early January as months with increased unplanned absences and vacation-related short staffing, so advanced planning for holiday gaps is common practice. Many people use their paid time off (PTO) during the holidays, so plan ahead if extra staff are needed to cover.

Strategic workforce planning during the holidays includes upskilling part-time/temporary hires and sharing resources across teams. Again, this is an area that Staff Shop can assist with.

Hire Us

Staff Shop has three service lines to act as an extension of your HR team with an Indigenous lens. We can help you get set up for fall and guide you into the new year.