Is Your Team Ready For The Holiday Rush?

Are you hiring seasonal employees?

Every holiday season we see many companies hire seasonal employees and sometimes at the end of the season decide to offer these same people a full-time position. This is always great to see because working through the holidays is always the most stressful time of the year.

Of course, the big problem is that these people aren't in training as long as other full-time employees. They aren't shown how to deal with problems or irate customers therefore leading to more upset/frustrated customers. Remember that customers are more stressed at this time of year so when employees don't have good training this can lead to long-term effects on a company. Customer experience is important year around with every company.

Let's look at some areas where better training can be applied:

• Hire only people who have some customer service training and can handle stress.
• Make sure that a trainer or supervisor is available if needed.
• Let the new hires know that when they don't have an answer it's okay to ask someone, don't guess.
• Don't give them a job that requires more skills than they have been trained for.
• Make sure they know their job duties before they are in a customer-facing position.
• Let them know that speed and accuracy are most important during the holidays.
• Everyone should have breaks to give them a chance to get away/regroup.
• Communication is the key for all employees and management.
• Make sure all sales, discounts, or deals are reviewed with everyone and that all employees understand and know how to promote them.
• Most importantly is that all employees are told to be friendly, empathetic, and smile.

Holidays are stressful for everyone and when employees aren't prepared to handle the stress it affects the customers. Remember many customers are coming to your business for the first time and if they have a bad experience their chances of returning are probably not good. Seasonal customers can always be regular customers if they are treated correctly. Not every customer comes in for deals some just want a good experience and good value.

We at The Hart Experience can help you train your employees to be prepared for the holiday rush this season. It's best to start hiring early so you have enough employees on hand the day after Thanksgiving. Let The Hart Experience help you win over those seasonal shoppers. Contact Debbie at 602.717.3271 or [email protected]

PS. Through the month of November, we are offering a complimentary shop/evaluation to help you see where more employee training is needed.