How to manage staff during festive seasons

An efficient system to manage staff working hours will keep you on top of things, especially with the festive holidays, and the upcoming Lunar New Year right around the corner.

Consumers’ habits have changed from exclusively shopping online over the past two years, back to having both e-commerce and physical shopping options. If your business had to pivot and downsize during the pandemic, you might experience a workforce crunch now that it’s time to ramp up staff numbers. But the surge of crowds can bring on low staff morale if they’re stressed from the sudden change in pace, so plan well to ward off the blues.

Here are some things you can do to ensure you have enough staff when shop footfall increases in the coming weeks:

1. Forecast your sales numbers

Knowing how your sales change during the peak period will help you plan forward. Businesses should review data over the past 12 months, especially during times like public holidays over 3-day weekends. Look at all factors that contribute to sales. For example, if you are a restaurant, look at delivery orders vs dine-in orders. Compare to see if take-outs or dine-in orders peak and by how much, and plan around it. You can use your inventory management system to find sold-out popular items and forecast your holiday sales. If you find sales are similar, you might not need to look for extra staff. 

2. Manage holiday shifts

If you do not require extra staff, you’ll still need to check if your key teams are available to work over the year-end holidays. Ensure you check staff availability and vacation requests before creating a schedule. If you hire part-time staff to manage your brick-and-mortar shops, check in with them on their flexibility – they might be unable to extend their hours at short notice if you realise you have to keep your shop open longer than usual.

3. Hire more staff

Often staffing up will help you to deliver a better customer experience. Staff up if you have a sale in-store or know you will get more orders than usual. And remember to begin hiring in advance! Get a clear idea of employees’ demands, availability and the number of part-time hires you can schedule.

4. Manage and incentivise staff

Managing staff attendance can be stressful when the sales season is upon us. A digital solution to track employee attendance, allowing staff to clock their attendance quickly, can eliminate the frustration of manually clocking in and out. In addition, it will help you to ensure that hours are correctly recorded for payroll! Apart from that, you also get an accurate picture of your staff’s working hours, which helps schedule your employees for year-end festivities. Additionally, take the chance to motivate your best staff with higher commissions when sales peak over the holiday season. Again, a smart POS solution like Qashier will help you to track staff commissions based on sales, so you don’t have to record them manually. 

5. Get employees into the festive spirit

Now that you’ve sorted your staffing solutions, it’s time to engage your employees. Christmas and New Year cheer is a great motivator, especially if your company has end-of-year targets. So get everyone feeling festive by decorating the workplace and playing upbeat tunes. It may be a good idea to create some healthy competition with rewards, or offer bonuses for staff who hit December targets. This can help when it comes to boosting morale and employee performance. Another way is to offer flexible working hours, such as letting employees take time off before or after the year-end festivities or perhaps a chance to work at home (if possible). This allows employees to get their own festive chores done, reducing the stress of the busy season. It also helps you demonstrate a commitment towards a sound work-life balance.

6. Let your staff contribute
   

As the year-end festivities draw near, your staff might also feel exhausted by the change in pace. You’ll have to strike a balance between recognising the time of year and motivating staff to stay on track so you can progress towards crucial business objectives. Let your team contribute in a meeting to discuss goals for the New Year, and be honest about the many unpredictable events that can happen. Such get-togethers allow workers to offer ideas and feedback for improvement. It also fosters bonding, which helps bring your employees together and boosts staff morale.

Year-end festivities can go smoothly with the right technology to support your staff. Find the right smart POS solution to help manage your employees so you can get through the rush period without a hitch.

Consider Qashier’s multiple digital solutions in an all-in-one device for your startup. The smart POS system can handle different operational aspects, from QR code table ordering to table management (F&B), employee management, customer relationship management (loyalty programs), inventory management, data analytics, and cashless payments.

Try the Qashier app for free on your own Android device! Alternatively, you can speak to us to see how Qashier can meet your business needs. Schedule a meeting with us here, call us at (+65) 3165 0155, WhatsApp (+65) 8887 7687, or email [email protected]/sg.