How to Prevent a Holiday Meltdown
The hustle and bustle of the holiday season can sometimes bring more
stress than joy, especially for those in the customer service sector.
Are your employees feeling the Christmas crunch? According a survey
conducted by Careerbuilder.com, 77 per cent of people say they feel
stressed out on the job and the culprits include difficult co-workers,
unrealistic workload, tight deadlines, last-minute projects and an
overbearing or interfering boss.
Post-holiday Wrap-up
Ah, Christmas is over and you’re on to a new year. But now is not the time to relax. Two of the biggest floral occasions of the year are just on the horizon and to top it off, you already have to think about buying for next Christmas. Before you start to fill out order sheets, you need to reflect and make notes on what worked and what didn’t work in 2007.
Count your inventory – Look at what sold through and what is still sitting on your shelves. Do you need to cut back orders? Buy at different times? Go with a new supplier? Now is the time to make changes.
Review your business plan – Did you make your budget? Did your margins meet your expectations? What were the hidden costs you didn’t account for? Update your business plan with what worked this year and what didn’t to get it ready for 2008.
Who’s the competition? – Examine who your main competitors are. What do they offer? What do you offer that they can’t? How can you keep a step ahead?
Look at the inside and outside – Customers expect something new in the new year. Now’s the perfect time to evaluate your merchandising and store design. How easily can customers access your products? Is it time for a new look? Look at your shop through the eyes of your customer – how easy is it find parking? Is the area around your store clean? Can you easily find popular product? The first impression is an important one so think about what kind of impact your store creates.
Evaluate employees – Reflect on your staff. Is it time for more training or a raise or promotion? On the flip side, is an employee not working out? Examine the value of your employee by asking whether you would want them working for your competitor. If the answer is yes, it might be time to have a talk with them.
Analyze the highs and lows – Was there a time when you were unexpectedly busy? Or surprisingly slow? Look at your sales cycle. How can you extend the busy times and shorten the slow ones? This will let you know when to knock down the price of that hand-tied bouquet and when to put out extras.
Identify your big customers – Who are your best customers? Study their characteristics and demographics. Maybe you’re attracting a certain age group. Expand on this by targeting them or including different products to broaden your clientele. If you have a good relationship with your best customers, why not ask them what they’d like to see change at the store?
Assess your advertising – The new year is a great time to start a new marketing campaign. Renew or rethink your current advertising contracts and look for new avenues to explore, like the Internet, e-mail marketing or e-newsletters.
Be open to new opportunities – Read up on the forecasted trends for 2008. Is there a new product you want to pick up? Think about what your target market might be looking for and find ways to incorporate it into your shop.
Branch out – Review the industry trade shows taking place in 2007. Can you or your staff attend? Shows are great places to attend seminars, to network or to find great new products.
File your notes – Now that you’ve taken the time to make the notes, file them in a place where you can find them next year!
Source: www.merchandiseconcepts.com
|
Combine these factors with irritable last-minute shoppers, and your employees might be stretched to the limit. Here are some tips to ease holiday stress and boost the morale of your staff.
• Plan ahead – Look at ways you can save time during the busy season. Prepare designs with evergreens in advance so all you have to do is insert the floral product when it’s ready to go out. Develop a schedule and anticipate last-minute problems.
• Do the downward facing dog – Treat your staff to a yoga lunch where they can take a breather. Exercise helps burn the adrenaline that fuels stress. Your staff will feel refreshed and ready for a busy afternoon.
• Go home early – Let your employees off early, even if it’s just once. The surprise of being let off work early is always a delight and one that your employees might take into consideration next time you ask them a favour.
• Hand over the reins – Give yourself a break and let one of your employees take over one day. They will appreciate the extra responsibility and it might give them an idea of the challenges you face on a daily basis.
• Let your employees say no – The holidays are a busy time not only at work, but also at home. Accept that sometimes they won’t be able to stay late and let them leave guilt-free.
• Organize a holiday potluck – Food is always a good morale booster. Delegate tasks to employees so everyone pitches in to plan a potluck lunch.
• Hold a design-off – Host an in-store competition and let your employees design whatever comes to mind with leftover product at the end of the week. Maybe they’ll even come up with a brand new seller. The best part? They get to keep it.
• Deal with problems ASAP – If a situation arises with a customer or employee, address it as soon as you get the chance.
• Give a gift – Allow each employee to pick or create their own arrangement to take home during the holiday season. They too have to attend holiday parties and it will also expose your shop to more potential customers.
• Buy dinner – After a long day of wishing “Happy Holidays” to one Scrooge after the other, treat your tired staff to a free dinner. You can exchange customer horror stories over a meal you didn’t have to make.
• Celebrate the little things – When orders are flying in and out of the shop, it’s easy to focus on the mistakes that were made but don’t forget the things that went right too! If a staff member does a great job, let them know.
• Party when it’s all over – Don’t forget to plan a post-holiday party after all that hard work!
|
