« Black Friday Countdown - 5 Days | Home | Last Minute Stocking Stuffers for Your Store »
Holidays & Retail - Keeping Your Employees Through the Season
By businessbroad | November 19, 2007
Whether you work in online retail or brick and mortar retail, one thing is certain: Thanksgiving is vital. Both Black Friday and “Cyber Monday” are huge for retailers, and unfortunately, it’s nearly impossible to offer the day off to any of your employees (although Internet retail may be able to pull this off in some situations). In fact, it’s tough to give off any of the best days for shopping, especially if your staff is very small. How is it, then, that you’re supposed to keep your best employees, most of whom could probably get some pretty nice perks over at the nearest big box competitor.
Here are a couple of ideas that may help keep your employees positive and upbeat through the season:
-Music: Instead of a single Christmas CD on repeat, encourage your employees to bring in their favorites to enjoy.
-Treats: Just as providing cookies, donuts, or candy can please your customers, it can also make your employees feel more welcome in your business.
-If space permits, consider allowing young mothers on your staff to bring their children to work and keep their playpens in the back. Yes, it could be difficult at times, but think of the joy you’ll bring both your customers and your employees. I remember being in a store once when a baby started crying in back. The mother rushed back to be with it, and the store owner answered a customer’s questioning look with a simple, “It’s tough sometimes, but she’s a great employee and it’s important to me that she’s able to spend more time with her new daughter.”
-Bonuses: No talk of the holidays is complete without bonuses. Make sure it’s cash or a gift card to somewhere extremely useful, because almost no one wants to get a ham. That’s especially true for people who work low-paid retail jobs. It won’t cost you a lot to give bonuses, but the costs of not giving them are extremely high in terms of morale.
There are tons of creative ways that you can keep your employees happy - much more than what I’ve posted here.
If you have more ideas, please feel free to add them in the comments.
Topics: General Business |