Peak retail season: Looking into workplace planning improvements

Retailers require seasonal workers and many customers. Image by Tim Sandle.

Many times, during the calendar year are both challenging and rewarding for businesses. This makes predicting personnel requirements challenging. However recruitment plays out, many business leaders say it is important to plan ahead when it comes to staffing requirements. This requires planning, managing, and scaling the workforce in tune with the economic situation.

The end of the year is fast approaching, with Black Friday and Christmas edging closer. For retail and logistics leaders this time is busy and chaotic. In particular, retail seasonal challenges include fluctuating demand, requiring accurate forecasting and careful inventory management to avoid stockouts or overstocking. This means forecasting staffing, as skills and numbers, is difficult.

Jess Lee, Head of Operations at Coople, tells Digital Journal why workforce planning is important and how it can go well, as well as badly.

Lee explains: “For leaders in retail and logistics especially, demand in Q4 can leave some teams left understaffed and burned out. Businesses that secure extra team members well in advance will be able to onboard them quickly and meet rising customer demand.”

In terms of how to approach this, Lee considers: “There are several smart ways to prepare – from forecasting demand early to using a workforce platform that gives you visibility and access to the right mix of workers when you need them most.”

In the form of tips for companies to prepare for peak season,. Lee recommends:

Prepare a pool of flexible workers

“One of the most effective ways to plan ahead is by refreshing both your own pool of temporary staff and ensuring you have access to additional, pre-vetted flexible workers. That way, when the peak season arrives, you can quickly fill gaps with people you already know and trust – and scale further with external talent when needed.”

Move to a centralised workforce management platform

“Instead of relying on traditional workforce management methods like manual scheduling, consider moving to an automated system. This can help you bridge gaps quickly and manage both your permanent team and flexible workers all in one place, which is especially helpful for companies that operate across multiple locations.”

Plan ahead by forecasting

“Using data from past peak seasons, you may be able to predict the spikes in demand before they happen. Meaning you can fill extra shifts ahead of time so your team isn’t left understaffed, and revenue isn’t lost.”

Strengthen worker engagement

“Peak season is demanding – but workers who feel valued are more motivated to deliver. Small steps like recognising top performers, offering fair shift allocation, or creating opportunities for repeat assignments can go a long way in keeping both permanent and flexible staff engaged.”

Lee concludes this advice by summing up the necessary approach: “By planning ahead for the peak season, you can keep operations running smoothly, with the flexibility to scale your workforce as demand changes.”