#clopening

As stressful as this time of year is for storeowners, it can be just as challenging for retail workers who deal with the annual rush. Taking better care of the workforce has become more of a priority in retail lately, with New York City’s recent ban of “clopening” (when the same employee works consecutive closing and opening shifts) offering a prime example.

Quit “Clopening” And Plan Better To Avoid “Call-In” Practices

Keeping workers on such tight schedules can be tempting when stores are packed from dawn to dusk, but the practice has real negative effects on efficiency and productivity. Not only is it better for an employee’s health to get a full night’s rest, but it improves the company’s reputation and lowers the risk of a bad customer experience.

We have all seen the press lately on retailers defending class action suits for “call-in” practices that flout state labor laws and result in significant monetary relief. These seasonal and permanent non-exempt hourly employees need predictability through better planning.

The last thing an employer needs during back-to-school season, when reputation among parents can be so critical, is a bad review because an employee didn’t get the requisite work-life balance that we all deserve, desire, want and need.

Stop Turnover In Its Tracks

If there were something that could be used to better engage employees in the business processes of workforce and improve communication, productivity and retention would soar. Luckily, modern tools can now help retailers improve mobile communication and work-life balance, while they also prepare for the daunting task of organizing their staffs during the back-to-school and holiday seasons. Turnover can be devastating during this time of year — no retailer wants to take hours out of the day to interview new candidates and then invest time in training sessions.

To combat that problem, companies have developed new software that provides mobile solutions to prevent disengagement. These solutions can identify the first warning signs of employee unrest and offer tangible solutions for employers to manage flight risk. And while potential turnover can be even more damaging if the employees leaving are the company’s most talented, these predictive analytics can help retailers offer a better working environment and stop those departures before they happen.

Plan Better And Schedule Smarter

As shoppers search for back-to-school essentials, knowing when unified commerce crowds will hit poses a challenge of its own. Fortunately, retailers can look for trends in their unified sales, and then staff properly for the shifts in-store and online.

Another benefit of these scheduling tools is their extensive analysis of seasonality and peak customer demand periods, with those results often sortable by channel and merchandise zone. Now, retailers can achieve better visibility into peak power hours by channel, and optimize the curves such that low volume times in-store could be filled with unified commerce work — thereby leveling out work demands and providing improved predictability in work for its staff.

With that insight in hand, stores can adjust their workforce allocation accordingly and be ready for what’s to come. Having the right team ready at the right time helps make retailers more efficient at a time when efficiency is hard to come by.

Train Your Team

Of course, even the best-prepared retailers will face challenges when faced with crowds and high demand. To ensure they’re set up for success, retailers should train their employees for the stresses of school shopping season. While retailers may face crowds, lines and even stockouts during busy times, training employees old and new for the busy season will give workers the tools they need to support customers and keep stores working smoothly even when things get crazy.

It pays to invest early in these educational activities — things may still be quiet now, but as back-to-school season rolls right into the holiday rush, newer employees may have little time to get up to speed. Those who aren’t prepared will get left behind, leading employers back to the same turnover problems mentioned earlier.

Back-to-school season is one of the most lucrative times of the year for retailers, making it more important to handle things right. Studies have shown that retailers get 2.3 strikes and they are out. These magic moments of service quality between associate and customer define whether the service quality is a home run or a whiff.

There are no third chances, and one bad school cycle can snowball into a down holiday season. The bottom line is that companies seeking an edge should invest in their workforces — they’ll see dividends with every sale and each happy customer.