Leadership & Management

Coping with Summer Staffing Shortages

Chinyere Byrne · 30 Jul 2026

Demand has outrun us, because our summer internship program has just ended and many of our full-time staff are on holiday, we do not have enough cover to handle our current workload. We have a few critical projects that need to be completed by the end of August, but I am worried that we will not be able to meet these deadlines with our current staffing levels. As someone who has to manage a team and also report to our board, I want to know how others are coping with similar summer staffing shortages, what strategies are you using to manage your workload during this period. Are you bringing in temporary staff or outsourcing certain tasks to freelancers to get through this challenging time?

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4 replies

Miles Lane · 30 Jul 2026

I learned the hard way last year that not having a contingency plan in place can be disastrous, we cannot afford to make the same mistake this summer so I'm looking at bringing in some freelance support to plug the gaps.

Ann Cole · 30 Jul 2026

I've found that outsourcing some tasks to freelancers on Upwork has helped us plug gaps when our team's on leave, so I'm not convinced summer staffing shortages have to be a major headache.

Lori Jones · 30 Jul 2026

Honestly I think you should be looking at freelancers or agencies to plug the gaps, we've had success with Upwork in the past and it's saved us from missing deadlines.

Carlos Perry · 30 Jul 2026

We've had some success by bringing in freelancers through platforms like Upwork to help with specific projects, which has allowed us to temporarily fill the gaps and meet our deadlines. I've found that having a pool of trusted freelancers we can call upon during busy periods has been a lifesaver.