CHAPTER 5 3 MIN
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Onboarding and Training Seasonal Employees
Taking the appropriate amount of time to get temporary hires up to speed is so important to ensuring a smooth and successful season. 80% of employee turnover is due to a poor recruitment decision, according to a 2012 survey conducted by Harvard Business Review. Can you imagine the turmoil that would ensue if staff were to “no show” or walk out mid-season? Maybe you’ve already had this happen to you?
Unfortunately, training is an area where many retailers fall flat by making excuses for poor planning or organization. Research by Korn Ferry found that training is one of the top two areas retailers are focusing on to help reduce employee churn.
Blueday once quoted me on the subject:
Unfortunately, training is an area where many retailers fall flat by making excuses for poor planning or organization. Research by Korn Ferry found that training is one of the top two areas retailers are focusing on to help reduce employee churn.
Blueday once quoted me on the subject:
“Retailers should amend their current training to include explanations of why things should be done a certain way, instead of only focusing on what to do and how to do it. Storytelling, case studies, photos and customer feedback are multi-dimensional ways to train leaders and teach brand values. This deeper approach to recruiting, hiring, training and developing a store team will elevate every customer’s brand experience. By making active brand stewardship an all-staff responsibility through this adjustment in practices, retailers can ensure alignment between brand values and customer experience.”
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Let’s break down the different education mediums you can use to train and onboard seasonal staff:
● Storytelling
● Photos ● Role playing ● Video ● At-home ● 1:1 ● External training |
● Case studies
● Customer feedback ● Peer review ● Written ● In-person ● Shadowing ● Tests/quizzes |
Here’s an activity I like to recommend to my clients, in a program I call Retail Shift. Essentially, it consists of 32 sales floor activities you can try with staff, seasonal and permanent. You can use these scenarios to role-play key areas of focus. Here are a few of my favorites:
● A customer is shopping for a gift and asks for your help.
● A customer can’t find the item they’re looking for. ● You’re the only employee working, and there are several customers who need your help. ● A customer is ready to make a purchase but the POS isn’t working. ● A customer tells you they didn’t have a good shopping experience. |
Want to continue activating customers using your company’s mission and brand values? The Retail Shift training program is a helpful next step to build upon these training tactics. Visit RetailShift.co for more information.
NEXT CHAPTER 9 MIN
6. Managing and Motivating Your Team
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