By now, retailers should have their Christmas temporary workforce firmly in place and working hard. Recruiting may have proved challenging in itself, but ensuring they commit, deliver top-quality customer service and understand the brand can be the biggest challenge of all.
So how do you motivate and engage those who are often only with you to earn some extra cash for the festive period?
One of the most vital steps to ensuring commitment is that your temporary staff feel as much a part of the business as their permanent comrades. But not everyone ensures this happens. Retail Performance Specialists managing director Dennis Reid says that only about 30 to 40 per cent of retailers put in the required effort and this shows in lost sales.
Vanessa Green, managing director of temping agency CVUK, says it finds that its temps are really motivated when they are made to feel like a full-timer. Bonmarché managing director Mark Tesseyman agrees. “You have to ensure they feel included and not like second-class citizens,” he says.
Asda gets around the problem of unmotivated temps by employing a seasonal squad – a permanent workforce of about 18,000 part-time workers who work a minimum of 10 weeks across the year – including the Christmas run-up. “They are treated exactly the same and get exactly the same benefits as full-time staff,” says a spokesman. “They are committed to working for the business, understand the culture and are rewarded as such.”
These benefits include the staff discount card, which can be used all year round – the advantage being that they continue to shop with, and therefore are familiar with, their local store throughout the year.
Likewise, Marks & Spencer temporary Christmas staff are entitled to a 20 per cent discount on clothes and food as well as an online discount code. Many retailers have a three- to 12-month service criteria that excludes temps from such discounts.
However motivated your Christmas workforce is by bonuses, though, staff won’t portray the brand at its best unless they understand the basics of the business. As such, they should still undergo the induction process – even if they are only going to be with you for a matter of weeks. Tesseyman says: “All our temporary staff will go through the induction process to understand their role. At many retailers that I’ve worked for in the past, you just gave them a badge and off they went.”
Reid says that temps should also receive regular coaching. “Make them part of a weekly sales performance coaching programme,” he advises.
M&S does just that. “Following on from induction training, new employees receive on-the-job coaching, so they understand what is expected of them and are not thrown in at the deep end,” says a spokeswoman.
Retention bonuses also help to ensure temps stay for the entire festive period. Bonmarché gives the majority of its Christmas temporary workforce retention bonuses at the end of their time spent with the retailer, which could be anything from six weeks to three months. Tesseyman says this is one of the most important elements of ensuring commitment from temporary staff and helps avoid the major problem of finding additional staff closer to Christmas when temps quit.
Pay can also play a part in performance. Bonmarché and M&S pay the same rate to under-18s as they do to over-18s. “It’s a calibre thing – you get a better calibre of staff,” explains Tesseyman.
Once on the shopfloor, games and competitions are an effective and easy way to motivate staff, drive sales and generate excitement and buzz in stores. Bonmarché, for example, runs a Christmas incentives scheme that kicks off in November. It includes Christmas staff and rewards challenges like driving up the average basket size with prizes such as weekends away.
“It’s about pumping them up,” says Reid. “Give them daily targets in operations, customer service and sales. Give them product-knowledge quizzes.”
Daily targets should also be set. “If you have start-up meetings – which you should – then tell them about the marketing, how to cover the floor and what you want them to do,” he adds. “Encourage their input and make them feel they are part of the team and you will get the best out of them.”
Getting the most out of temps is also about identifying where their skills lie. “If they are process-driven, give them the stockroom or, if they have a sales flair, give them a floor job,” says Reid. As point of sale can be easier for temps to manage, you might also want to consider switching roles with existing PoS staff and moving them onto the shopfloor.
Another tactic is to buddy temporary staff with permanent members – in particular, making temporary staff members assistants to top sales people. That way, the more senior staff’s time is freed up to deliver great sales and the temp is mentored on what makes a good sales assistant.
Putting such effort into staff who may only be with you for a few weeks may sound like added hassle for store managers when the business is already stretched. But getting it right will ease this pressure and help ensure you outperform rivals. “It’s up to the manager of each branch to encourage and get the most out of their temps,” says Green.
“For some retailers, this is the only chance they get to make real money,” says Reid. “You are either going to put in the money and effort to get them up to speed and trained, or you will pay the price because they aren’t getting the sales and are causing problems on the shopfloor. In some cases, they can make or break Christmas.”
TOP 10 TIPS FOR MOTIVATING STAFF
1 Recruit the right staff
Recruit staff who enjoy working in a customer-facing industry and interacting. Look for staff who demonstrate the same behavioural characteristics as your best people.
2 Train them on the basics
Design a fast-track induction programme. If staff have knowledge of your processes and systems in addition to product knowledge, they will feel confident, be more productive and provide better customer service.
3 Create clear job descriptions
Give them work that matters. Explain how they contribute to the team’s success by doing their job correctly.
4 Communicate rules of engagement
Explain the company’s brand values in simple terms and what they must do to ensure the customer experience reflects that.
5 Include temps in the Christmas bonus scheme
This will create a shared goal and sense of purpose on the shopfloor.
6 Make temps personal assistants to the top sales staff
This will enable the top sales people to serve more customers and help the company make more money.
7 Offer flexible hours
Discuss your willingness to make the arrangement work for them. They will appreciate the flexible approach and this will motivate them to be more loyal.
8 Encourage staff input
Temps might only be with you for a short period of time, but they will see things with a fresh pair of eyes. Have some fun with a creative brainstorming session that puts everyone’s ideas to work.
9 Create an element of fun with games and contests
These help focus staff on store key performance indicators and standards and encourage everyone to work to the same objectives.
10 Give regular feedback
Make sure that you have formal weekly coaching to review individuals’ performances against their targets. Provide constructive feedback, explaining what they need to do to improve and praising their efforts.
Source: Retail Performance Specialists
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