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Here’s a scenario that will be familiar to every retail leader: Peak season is fast approaching, the schedules are filled, seasonal employees have been hired, and, on paper at least, the store looks ready as customer traffic begins to pick up.
Then a seasoned associate calls out on a Saturday 12-9 shift. A new hire needs more coaching than expected to meet performance expectations. Customer traffic unexpectantly spikes at exactly the wrong (or your weakest-staffed) time. A supervisor who performed well during slower periods struggles to lead under pressure.
Suddenly, being fully staffed doesn’t feel quite the same as being fully prepared. The big takeaway: Effective peak season talent planning is about more than simply filling open positions.
While people often think of the winter holiday season as the typical retail rush, depending on your specific niche, your peak season may hit at another time of the year. No matter when it arrives, the time to plan, assess, and prepare for it is well before you’re in the thick of it. And for those retailers gearing up for the holiday rush and Q4 traffic, that time is now!
Shift from Staffing Planning to Talent Planning
Because peak season has a way of revealing and amplifying both the strengths and the gaps that were already there, preparing for the rush should start with a talent plan, not just a staffing plan.
Before the pressure kicks in, take stock of the talent you already have to not only anticipate your holiday hiring needs but also make sure you have the right capabilities, leadership, and bench strength in place. This shift from a staffing to a talent planning focus may help you discover that some of the best people to address your needs are already right under your nose. Investing in their growth and development will deliver immediate returns and keep on paying off long after the peak season has ended, in the form of more skilled, engaged, and loyal store associates and leaders.
So before automatically looking outside the organization for additional people, take a fresh look at the talent you currently have inside it and how that aligns with the capabilities your stores will need most during peak season:
- Where are you strong?
- Where are you vulnerable?
- Who is ready to step up and take on more responsibility?
- What retail-ready development can you provide now that will make a difference when the pace accelerates?
How to Assess Your Talent for Retail’s Peak Seasons
Headcount tells you how many people you have. Talent readiness tells you whether they can deliver when it matters. Challenge your field and store leaders to focus on three areas:
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Hire: Where are the true staffing gaps? Are we hiring for more than availability? How can we be more strategic about the process?
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Assess: Who on the current team is ready for more responsibility, and where are the capability gaps?
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Develop: What skills need to be strengthened now so people are confident and capable when volume increases?
These last two areas underscore the fact that the best Q4 “hire” may already be on your team. And that means now is the time to be looking internally for signs of talent potential and growth opportunities that could align with your needs, before you search for someone on the outside to fill the gaps.
Use this quick Seasonal Talent Readiness Audit to help build a more strategic talent plan that will prepare you for peak seasons and beyond.
A simple mantra to follow: Don’t just staff the season; strengthen the team!
You may need more people for the peak seasons. But instead of focusing solely on how many people you need to hire, start by taking a closer look at the people you already have. Assess their strengths, identify the gaps, develop the potential, strengthen your leaders, and then hire strategically to complete the team.
You’ve got this! Here’s to a productive and successful holiday season!
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