Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is a summary of a current article from the Retail Doc blog.
With all the demands of the holiday season, including longer hours, co-workers calling in sick and returns, it's easy for retail staff to throw up their hands and become Grinches. But that comfortable old "grinchy" feeling will cost a retailer sales.
Here are seven tips to avoid it:
1) Embrace the idea of the holiday music: Instead of fighting it, retailers should look at it as a reminder these are the money weeks. Holiday music makes shoppers feel merry. And happy shoppers buy more than unhappy ones.
2) Make a schedule policy and stick to it: No one gets Christmas Eve off or the day after Christmas. If it is slow, associates can be let go early.
3) Offer shorter holiday shifts for your employees: Associates can become Grinches much quicker than store managers/owners. Give them a six-hour shift if possible. A split shift enables employees to work the opening four hours and the closing four hours with a break during the middle of the day for errands or shopping. Giving schedule choices ahead of time allows for much happier employees.
4) Set a daily goal for the store: Stores can also set a goal that by close of business Christmas Eve they'll have done X for the month and by close of business December 31, they'll have done Y. Progress should be tracked daily. Employees can be given incentives for achieving both daily and holiday goals.
5) Have short meetings with the staff: Set a goal for their shift of some of the store's most profitable products, and show associates how they can upsell.
6) Feed the sixth sense. Store managers/owners should always have their head up and looking around the store to see who has been waiting a long time, who has a question, which cashier is not up to it, etc. People are more stressed than ever with less time and they are going to punish those who make them wait.
7) Keep managers off the registers: They can most move the needle of sales on the sales floor. Save their skills for bigger decisions than a price check or a markdown to avoid additional stress.
Discussion Questions: What tips do you have for avoiding store associate burnout during the Christmas rush? What would you add to the recommendations suggested in the article?