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This time of year, especially for gift retailers, hiring is top of mind. They’re focused on staffing up and onboarding new associates for the busy holiday season ahead.
We’ve written previously about the importance of optimizing your recruiting, interviewing, and selection strategies to better serve your business year round. But when it comes to seasonal hires, retailers often think in temporary terms. Someone to fill the gap, just for the time being.
I’d like to suggest a mindset shift. Hiring is top of mind right now, but what might you do to keep these new team members?
Many retailers today are short-staffed, and their associates are feeling frustrated, spread thin, and overworked. As one associate put it, “One call-out kills our front end and creates chaos. We never have enough people and the whole store suffers because of it.”
Store leaders, meanwhile, are having to manage the floor and navigate scheduling without sufficient coverage in all areas as they struggle to keep morale up and burnout at bay. It goes without saying that customers are feeling the effects of this staffing crisis as well. When there’s no one to help and the staff is exhausted, stressed out, and dreading every day, the customer experience inevitably suffers — and so does the business.
When hiring ramps up, whether it’s for the winter holidays, summer season, or other key times, retailers do the work to recruit, select, and bring in new team members, getting them up to speed and equipped to delight customers and deliver on the brand experience. This is an investment. Why not get more from it? One way to do it is to stop thinking in temporary terms and start looking at it as a strategic opportunity.
Let’s take a look at what you can do right now to not just recruit and hire but also retain and grow great retail associates. And scroll down for additional “stay” strategies your leaders can implement, day in and day out.
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