Performance Starts with Clarity: HR Tips for Small and Seasonal Workforces

Every workplace has its stories. When leaders don’t provide clarity, though, employees write those stories themselves, often based on gaps, assumptions, and guesswork. Left unchecked, these narratives can fuel rumors, misunderstandings, and anxiety. All of these factors can negatively impact trust and drain team energy, highlighting the urgent need for clear communication. 

Why Clarity Is Essential for Performance—Especially in Small and Seasonal Businesses

According to Gallup, globally, only half of employees strongly agree they know what’s expected of them at work. This lack of clarity creates stress, lower engagement, mistakes, and even higher turnover, impacting year-round and seasonal teams. 

Clarity becomes even more critical for small businesses and organizations relying on seasonal staff. Seasonal employees may come on board quickly and in large groups with limited training or context. Without a clear roadmap, these team members are left guessing at job duties, culture norms, priorities, and expectations.  The impact of this uncertainty on their performance and the business's overall success cannot be overstated.

What Happens When Clarity Is Missing?

When communication is infrequent or lacking, employees don’t just sit with the unknown. They tend to fill in the blank and make sense of the unknown. They tend to this by interpreting the situation based on what is available to them, including their own assumptions and the group’s “rumor mill.” In psychology, this is called “sensemaking.”

This human instinct once helped us survive, but in the workplace, it has side effects: 

• Workplace gossip and guesswork: Like a story told with little evidence, speculation thrives when information is lacking. Assumptions replace facts, creating tension, and negatively impacting morale. 

• Lost productivity: Confusion slows teams down, leading to wasted time and duplicated effort. One study found that up to 80% of employee time may be wasted on unproductive tasks, many stemming from unclear goals and communication.

• Seasonal staff struggle: Temporary employees, already short on context, make more mistakes and feel disconnected, impacting the customer experience and team dynamics.

• Performance suffers: Lack of clarity causes frustration, repeated conversations, misaligned efforts, and missed targets. Team energy gets diverted to speculation instead of productivity. 

• Mental health takes a hit: When employees don’t really know what’s going on, they spend more time and energy worrying, speculating, and “sensemaking” instead of focusing on their work. Persistent uncertainty can increase anxiety, elevate stress levels, and contribute to burnout. 

How Leaders Can “Write the Story” With Clarity

Clarity isn’t just kind. It is critical in every organization, especially in fast-moving seasonal businesses. Here’s how leaders can proactively write the workplace story:

• Trust immunizes against rumors: Employees know where they stand when leaders communicate openly and transparently. Over time, this builds trust and confidence in leadership. Leaders play a crucial role in preventing panic or belief in negative rumors if they communicate clearly and openly. They trust that the employer will keep them informed. Clear, direct communication helps to prevent confusion and helps teams filter fact from fiction so they can remain focused on their work.

• Encourage questions: Empower employees to ask about roles, goals, cultural norms, and expectations. Addressing uncertainties up front builds trust.

• Share regular updates: Effective, consistent communication helps keep everyone aligned regardless of whether they are remote, part-time, year-round, or seasonal. Communication needs to be ongoing, not just during crises. 

• Admit when you don’t have answers: Honesty builds trust and credibility. Let your team know when you’re still figuring things out, and provide updates as you learn answers.

• Set clear role expectations: Document responsibilities, provide onboarding checklists, and clarify how each role fits within your organization’s mission.

• Model transparency: Consistently open communication from leadership increases trust and accountability within the team..

• Provide feedback along the way: Frequent check-ins help to ensure everyone is aligned and supported. Kind, direct feedback helps to prevent confusion. 

Clarity Is the Foundation of Success

Whether someone is with your organization year-round or joins just for a season, clarity drives success. Employees are better set up to thrive when they know what’s expected of them, how their role fits into the bigger picture, and whom to turn to with questions. 

Seasonal employees, in particular,  are often thrown into fast-paced environments. Setting clear expectations during recruiting and onboarding, offering quick training, and establishing direct performance standards will maximize their productivity and engagement.

Simple actions, such as frequent, transparent updates and space for questions, ensure that no one has to “fill in the blanks” with the wrong assumptions, year-round or seasonal. When everyone is clear on the story, your whole team can focus its energy on meeting goals and growing your business together.