Boost Retail Client Interaction During Peak Periods: Put Employees First
Peak Season Strategies: Boosting Employee Experience for Unparalleled Customer Satisfaction
It's crunch time for retailers, and a flawless customer journey is crucially important as the retail industry surges forward. During this holiday season, analysts anticipate retail spending to increase between 3.5% and 4.6%, amounting to an estimated $1.56 trillion sales from November to January. To accommodate the demand, retail titans will onboard an impressive workforce of over 100,000 seasonal employees. Frontline staff are the cornerstone of the retail experience, and these new hires will play a pivotal role in creating a magical shopping experience during the busiest time of the year.
Operational issues may have slipped under the radar during calmer periods, but now that so many workers are flooding the scene, these hiccups can rapidly escalate into unhappy customers and dwindling profits. While they may become more perceptible during peak season, these operational concerns have a lasting impact on all employees. When team members lack the support they need to excel, both customer and employee satisfaction wane.
Retail leaders should seize this pivotal moment to analyze and upgrade the employee experience, in turn ratcheting up the customer experience. Here's how:
Cast a Glimpse into Residual Pandemic-era Processes
The pandemic precipitated a seismic shift in consumer behavior, such as the embrace of delivery and curbside pickup services, that appears to be permanent. However, many retailers have yet to update their technology and processes to accommodate these changes long-term. When increased in-store foot traffic collides with skyrocketing BOPIS orders, the result can be a headache for employees.
If a retailer hasn't implemented the permanent changes needed to optimize in-store order fulfillment, onboarding many new team members simultaneously will lead to fresh hires grappling with ad hoc systems and processes. Clarity and transparency are essential when it comes to expectations and processes to allow for quick learning. Before onboarding new hires, retailers should address inefficiencies by evaluating, streamlining, and optimizing everyday tasks. Gathering feedback from veterans on the evolution of day-to-day operations can provide valuable insights for leaders to modernize processes and make seasoned employees feel heard.
Probe How Technology Unburdens Retail Employees
Rectifying operational challenges starts with identifying inefficient business processes and adding value where possible. For instance, a renowned retail brand is harnessing process mining technology to oversee their logistics process from dock to stock to carrier performance. By accurately predicting arrival times, store managers can better forecast staffing needs.
Inflexible schedules are one of the greatest reasons employees choose to quit, and seasonal workers, with weaker ties to the company, may be more prone to walk away when faced with scheduling frustration. To lessen this pressure on other team members who may be called upon to cover unexpected shifts, leaders can offer more notice or consistency in shift allocations based on data-driven insights.
Front-facing technology can also elevate both the employee and customer experiences. For example, Reformation's dressing room technology enables patrons to choose alternate sizes or other items to try on with ease, allowing employees to efficiently gather fresh items and keep customers ensconced in dressing rooms longer, leading to increased sales.
Align Corporate Priorities with Frontline Realities
Even small adjustments made by corporate leaders can significantly impact frontline workers' experiences. Leaders should convey their objective of supporting field teams for success. For instance, Sephora's headquarters is keenly referred to as a Field Support Center, while Nike nominates store employees as athletes to foster a sense of camaraderie and loyalty. Such linguistic choices can go a long way in creating a supportive ambiance.
Participating in employee satisfaction surveys can help leaders stay ahead of burnout and turnover. If employee satisfaction lags, additional benefits and perks can help: Starbucks covers college tuition costs, while Amazon provides hourly wage payouts at the conclusion of every shift rather than the conventional two-week pay cycle. Even offering opportunities for in-store employees to rotate between customer-facing roles and operational jobs can engender engagement and satisfaction as employees can utilize their specialized skills.
Retail leaders must also recognize the significance of preparing employees for busy periods before peak season commences. Utilizing periods of lower demand to focus on employee training makes employees feel more equipped to welcome seasonal hires with open arms when the need arises. Since this year's peak season is in progress, leaders should closely monitor employee performance through the remainder of the year. By evaluating key KPIs, efficiency data, and soliciting feedback from employees, leaders can make informed decisions to improve future peak seasons.
The Road Ahead
A seamless, consistent customer experience hinges on employees feeling prepared, empowered, and supported in their roles. As retailers prepare for a bustling end-of-year, leaders should reflect on what both permanent and temporary employees need to succeed, ensuring their processes are as efficient and employee-friendly as possible. Companies that prioritize employee experience will reap the rewards in customer satisfaction during the holiday season.
- The pandemic has shifted consumer behavior towards delivery and curbside pickup services, but many retailers have yet to update their technology and processes to accommodate these changes permanently.
- Inadequate support for employees can lead to a decline in both employee and customer satisfaction.
- Retail titans will onboard over 100,000 seasonal employees during the holiday season, and these new hires will play a vital role in creating a magical shopping experience.
- Clarity and transparency are essential for new hires to learn effectively, and retailers should address inefficient processes before onboarding new employees.
- Innovative technology can streamline processes and elevate both the employee and customer experiences, such as Reformation's dressing room technology.
- Leaders should convey their commitment to supporting frontline workers for success, emulating examples like Sephora's Field Support Center or Nike's athlete nominations for store employees.
- Addressing burnout and turnover among employees is crucial, and companies can offer additional benefits and perks to maintain a motivated workforce, as Starbucks does by covering college tuition costs.
- Retail leaders must prepare employees for busy periods before peak season commences and focus on employee training during periods of lower demand.
- Companies that prioritize employee experience will reap the rewards in customer satisfaction during the holiday season.
- Data-driven insights can help leaders allocate shifts more effectively, reducing scheduling frustration among employees.
- Process mining technology can help retailers oversee their logistics process and predict arrival times more accurately.
- Prioritizing employee experience is essential for retail businesses in the AI-driven, tech-centric era, as it can optimize productivity, finance, retail, personal-finance, shopping, and general-news industries.
