At times, 2020 seemed to creep along slowly as folks across the country waited for the COVID-19 pandemic to end. Now, we find ourselves in the last quarter of the year, still wading through the coronavirus crisis, with the holidays fast approaching.
While this holiday season will undoubtedly look different than any in recent history, a successful season will require an adequately filled company roster, staffed with trained employees.
If you are waiting for a crystal ball reading or a certified prediction of what the next few months will hold, chances are you’re out of luck. So, rally the management team and utilize their combined strategical brainpower to forge a staffing plan to carry the company through the end of the year.
Consider how these industry predictions may impact your company.
- Rachel King reports that, “Despite the massive unemployment rate nationwide and the worst economic climate since the Great Depression, holiday retail sales overall are still expected to increase this winter, albeit between a modest 1% and 1.5%, according to Deloitte. Analysts are projecting sales of about $1.15 billion between November 2020 and January 2021.”
The takeaway: Holiday shopping will happen despite the current uncertainties.
- From Carrie Tharp, VP of Retail and Consumer Solutions, Google Cloud, “The shift to e-commerce accelerated at its fastest ever rate in 2020. By May, it was up 70% year-over-year and had reached $82.5 billion in the United States.”
The takeaway: The trend in recent years toward online shopping preference exploded in 2020 to heights previously unseen. And those skyrocketing numbers occurred before the holiday shopping season.
- To enable social distancing, Sean Gunduz (Epson), suggests replicating the in-store-experience elsewhere. “Who’s to say retailers must limit selling to their brick-and-mortar stores? While going outdoors may be simpler for those located in warm southern states, even merchants in the northern states can make this work by renting sturdier tents and portable heaters. There may be empty business buildings available for short rental periods during the holiday season as well that a retailer could use to set up additional holiday merchandise.”
The takeaway: Safely servicing customers in the days of COVID-19 may require additional staffing as innovative methods allow the consumer to shop in an environment that makes them feel safe.
- Consider adding a work-from-home option for additional customer service representatives, online order takers, or technical service reps. Such arrangements will allow additional staffing to manage seasonal call volume without causing crowding in the department.
The takeaway: A remote arrangement provides your company the opportunity to choose qualified candidates from applicants not limited by location or concerns about the spread of the virus.
Partnering with a reliable staffing firm has never looked more appealing than it does now, during these uncertain days leading up to the 2020 holiday season. Imagine a talent pool of qualified, experienced employees at the ready, as the need for additional staffing comes to fruition. Imagine having access to this invaluable asset with just a phone call. Imagine the relief of not having to lay off employees who were hired in anticipation of customer traffic that did not materialize – at least to the extent the company hoped and planned for.
For businesses that partner with A.R. Mazzotta, no imagining is necessary. Whether you’re a company looking to expand your workforce with temporary or direct hire employees, the Mazzotta team is here to make your life easier and take you in the right direction.