We are fast approaching peak season for businesses, especially those in the hospitality industry and industrial sector. This can be a difficult time for organisations and there’s a lot of work to be done, but even more so in light of current staff shortages. This is why it’s important for businesses of any size to get preparations underway to boost productivity. As peak season rolls around, businesses need to increase productivity to keep up with growing demands.
This year, experts are expecting people to want to make up for lost time during the pandemic and they’re expecting Christmas to be bigger than ever before. With people wanting to make this year extra special, sales are expected to skyrocket and Christmas bookings are already being taken. In order to meet customer’s needs and boost sales, without staff shortages having too much of an impact, businesses need to prepare their team and plan ahead.
How to Prepare Your Team for Peak Season This Year
Organise The Schedule in Advance - It’s hard to find the balance between being understaffed and overstaffed, both of which can impact productivity and your revenue. This is why a lot of businesses opt for seasonal and temporary workers, as more and less people can be hired as demands change throughout the season. Planning your schedule well in advance is key, as this will help you to find any staffing gaps with enough time to find someone to fill in. The earlier you do your schedule, the more time you have to find staff to fill in wherever necessary.
Improve Your Employee Experience - If you provide a good working experience, you are more likely to have employees wanting to take on more shifts and work hard. This can be achieved by boosting your online presence. It’s also important to speak to current employees; ask them what they like about working for you and how you could improve their employee experience. Preparing your team for peak season means making small changes to ensure your workforce are happy, productive and loyal. This will help to ensure everything goes smoothly during peak season.
Use Data to Make Decisions - Regardless of the business, those in managerial roles should be making decisions based on data. Data can provide a whole host of beneficial information, all of which helps you to make the right staffing decisions throughout the busy season. Shift fulfilment, average worker rating, forecasted spend and repeat worker rate are all beneficial insights.
Boost Your Processes - It’s a good idea to streamline your processes as much as possible, as this can make managing your workforce a lot easier and oversights are less likely. Things such as allowing staff to clock in and out easily can make a big difference, as it ensures accurate timesheets are guaranteed. This means fewer discrepancies and a more efficient way of doing things.
Communicate With Your Team - There are bound to be changes to timesheets and schedules, especially when peak season is in full swing. To minimise the likelihood of mistakes and to make workers feel as though they are always in the loop, communicate with your team as much as possible. If you need someone to cover a shift or you need additional workers at short notice, do your best to provide them with as much information as possible. The key is to make your team feel supported at all times.
Think About Employee Health and Wellbeing - Before peak season begins, think about your employee health and wellbeing, and put provisions in place to ensure they are supported throughout. With the increased demand, employees are likely to be working harder than usual and this can lead to stress, burnout and tiredness amongst the team. To avoid this, think of ways to reward your team and encourage them to have a good work/life balance.
Working with an employment agency partner you trust and with a proven track record in your industry is key.
Contact Kate Sefton, Sales Director at Abacus to discuss how they can help you manage your peak season successfully.
Phone: 01256 336633 Email: ksefton@abacus-employment.com