Article

Conducting a post-peak review

How to identify mistakes and plan for 2026

5 minutes

January 14, 2026

Group of office employees during a meeting in a boardroom.

When your peak season wraps up, it can be easy to take a sigh of relief and move on to the next big project. However, it is important to take the opportunity to look back and review how your team performed.

Identify actionable takeaways

If you have the right tools or staffing provider , it’s easy to pull up your performance metrics for peak. But, don’t stop there. Take a look at the insights the data provides: Did a supply chain issue hold you back? Or maybe that revamped orientation program did work its magic? More often than not, this is why having the right staffing solutions provider can make all the difference.

Follow up with workers

One simple – and often skipped – step is to reach out to your temporary workers.

At Adecco, we follow up with associates at the end of each assignment to confirm their contact information and keep them informed about new temporary or permanent opportunities. This is also the time to ask about their work experience, the highlights of their assignment, as well as the downsides.

Don’t make knee-jerk decisions

One other major benefit of a post-season debrief: It gives you the opportunity to think about changes that need to be made well in advance, and then look into the downstream consequences.

Even if you’re making the right call, it could still have a negative impact. For example, changing shift schedules might make business sense, but if it conflicts with school start times, you could end up losing your regular seasonal workers.

Define a successful program

Attendance, performance, and other rewards programs are a hallmark of peak season. They’re a great way to recognize hard work and celebrate associates – but also be clear on what your goals are and what measures success.

It might just be that your annual raffle isn’t improving attendance, but if your program is engaging and rewarding top associates, that’s perfect – as long as you know that’s the primary goal.

Review your wage rates

Whether turnover, attendance, or application rates are your challenge, one of the best ways to address the persistent challenges of peak season is to review pay. Do it early, because the worst time to realize you misjudged pay rates is three weeks in. Why? Most candidates aren’t going to give your opening a second look, so wage rates need to be on point from the start.

Keeping an eye on market trends, the latest research, and pay rates is critical. That’s why, at Adecco, we provide our clients with tools and data proactively to make smarter decisions.

Learn more by downloading Adecco Insights, our new monthly magazine covering the top issues for the start of 2026.