A crop of good temporary staff can be the answer to retailer’s Christmas prayers. Equally, a bad bunch can spark more problems than they solve and turn the festive period into a nightmare.
Last month, Marks & Spencer launched a mammoth nationwide recruitment campaign to find 18,000 staff for its stores to cover the festive period. Even when recruiting on that scale, it is imperative that standards are maintained.
Marks & Spencer retail director Guy Farrant says: “We want to make sure that at whichever Marks & Spencer store our customers choose to shop in this Christmas, they have a great experience. We look to our customer assistants, warehouse assistants and Café Revive assistants to keep things running smoothly and provide the first-class service that our customers expect.”
Cosmetics retailer Lush generates 60 per cent of its sales in the run-up to Christmas and needs to double its shopfloor staff as a result. To get that volume of staff ready to go before the Christmas rush, the initial recruitment process begins early, with posters going up in Lush windows in September. Similarly, at M&S, the process can start as early as September, depending on the store.
Lush talent spotter Amanda Layzell says: “Always bear in mind that timing is crucial. If you do it too late, you will end up getting people who have tried and failed elsewhere.”
Similarly, it is good practice to recruit more staff than you think you will need, because a some will always fall by the wayside as Christmas partying takes its toll and the cold and flu season gets into full swing.
Quest Search and Selection commercial director Tom Irwin says the task of getting the right number of recruits with the right skills should not be underestimated. “Retail temps need to be reliable, adaptable and customer-focused. And it’s difficult to get people with the right sort of skills in the right volumes.”
Crosshead: don’t cut corners
Borders retail HR manager Anna Lloyd says it is imperative that retailers do not cut corners in the recruitment process. At Borders, each applicant goes through the standard process – application, interview and a full induction. “Retailers can make the mistake of just getting people in – just hiring a body as a short-term thing. But, with the volume of customers, there is a real necessity to get the right people in,” says Lloyd.
At Lush, all store managers have complete ownership of the recruitment process. Each manager follows their own recruitment method, usually choosing between holding open days, interviewing candidates in a group or on a one-to-one basis, depending on the size of the store.
However, a common feature of the process is giving applicants tests to see if they can work under pressure and in teams. Typically, they may be asked to give a presentation and carry out a task, such as wrapping gift boxes, in a team.
Managing expectations is crucial. “Laying out expectations at the beginning is key,” Layzell says. “Then you don’t have problems with people dropping out when the going gets tough, as it invariably does.”
Aside from ensuring candidates with the right skills and attitudes are recruited, it is imperative that new employees are aware of the days and hours they will be required to work and that they are prepared to do them. Increasingly, Christmas Sales also last longer, meaning more temps are needed in the post-Christmas period.
The cost of recruitment is something that always needs to be borne in mind. Overheads are an omnipresent issue for retailers and so a cost-effective and efficient way to find staff is to keep a database of temporary employees and maintain detailed records of people who have applied for jobs in the past. Lloyd says Borders asks its staff to ask friends and family if they are looking for temporary work. “It’s a smart use of the recruitment budget,” she explains.
But hiring is just one part of the battle. How do you get the best out of temps and ensure they increase sales, rather than drag down the standard of customer service?
There is a consensus among retailers and recruiters that just because staff are temporary does not mean you can skimp on training. “We do it the other way round and give them a lot of training,” says Layzell. Temps attend introduction and training days, as well as receive in-store training and a selection of products to try.
At M&S, all temporary staff take part in a two-day induction training session, as well as on-the-job coaching. The recruits also receive their own benefits package to engage them and provide incentives to make them perform. Irwin agrees that training is essential. “When there is none, it can often be an excuse for not bothering.”
Irwin adds that when temps have a good experience at a company, it may often be their first port of call for graduate schemes. Equally, if temps have a good experience and return to do temporary work again, then the training has a greater value per pound.
Both M&S and Lush have found full-time employees, including senior managers, among Christmas recruits. Layzell says: “We really look for our future managers. Many of the senior management started as Christmas temps and I’ll be talent-spotting at the training days.”
Farrant says that previous work as a Christmas temp can make future full-time applicants stand out. “At the end of a season, those who have worked with us through the Christmas rush are not only armed with expert product knowledge, but have had a valuable insight into our business. We view this experience as a real advantage when it comes to short-listing candidates.”
Retailers need to devote serious attention to their temporary Christmas recruitment strategy. Not only will a good temp help minimise operational headaches during the Christmas period, but they may be an asset in future.
No comments yet