October FAQ — Get Ready For Peak Season; Stay In Control
One Friday, each month, I dedicate the post to looking at some questions I have heard recently from developing leaders. Sharing those questions and my thoughts for them is a way for me to spread the information to as many leaders and future leaders as possible. If you have a question about leadership, or just a situation you would like some additional insight on, please email me at Effective Retail Leader. Let’s take a look at this week’s question.
The retail peak season is coming quickly. How do I get ready for that and ensure I do not get overwhelmed?
Every year appears to be more unique or challenging than the year before. As we head into this holiday season, many are wondering what we should expect in the last quarter of this year? Most retailers make their entire year based on what happens in the fourth quarter. Black Friday, holidays, and the New Year are all prompts for people to make trips to stores and spend money. What will that look like this year?
The past several years have changed the holiday season landscape. Thanksgiving is once again a holiday for many, if not most, retailers. REI has continued to maintain their closures on both Thanksgiving and Black Friday to encourage people to go outside and enjoy nature (very on brand). Black Friday sales have made their way back, but are diluted with sales beginning and running throughout November now instead of one big day. Amazon just completed their fall Prime Day event to kick off the season. So, the landscape continues to change, but the challenges of hiring and being prepared for the season do not really change.
How is one to prepare for the next thirteen weeks that can ebb and flow differently from year to year? I think today’s question is an excellent one and applaud it being asked. No one wants to feel or be overwhelmed, especially when every year seems to present new and different challenges than before.
Plan, Project, Forecast
Begin now by laying out the possible scenarios. What are the risks you will face that are possibilities? Then begin to sort those into areas and pieces that you CAN control. With some planning for what you’d like to have happened and forecasting what could be, you can begin to prepare for what actions you can take. You may need to hire more people this year than year’s past, even if you believe your sales will be lower. There is always the risk of people calling out sick. COVID still has an impact on the business—people can and do get sick more often than before. That may mean fewer hours for everyone, initially, but having flexibility will give you many more options when any situation arises. Be honest with those you are hiring and keep them informed once on staff.
Build ‘what if’ scenarios
As an extension of your planning, projecting, and forecasting, create a set of situations that might arise during your busiest periods. What if this happens? What if that happens? Then build your potential responses to those situations. You won’t be able to account for every possible factor, but the exercise will still help prepare you and your team for potential challenges in the weeks ahead. It will also spark conversations about the steps you can take to mitigate issues and respond effectively when they arise.
Involve your team
Building the scenarios and forecasting the responses is a necessary step, but everyone else needs to know their role in those situations as well. Engage your leadership team and key associates in what you would need from them if any of the problems arise. If you suddenly get sick or have to support in different areas, you may not have the time later to walk everyone through the plan. Get ahead of that part now as well.
It will be impossible to accurately predict what will happen in the remaining weeks of what has been another changing year. However, having a plan for the most likely scenarios will help you be more prepared to take quick action. It can also prevent the overwhelm that many of us experience during the busiest times of the year.
What ideas do you have for managing and hiring for the peak season of the year? What new things are you trying?
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