All retail stores need to perform a full or partial reset from time to time, where the layout of shelving, products, and signage changes in some way. Store resets are common around holiday and sale periods, but may also be required due to store growth, product line changes, rebranding, or the expansion of sales into new areas.
No matter how well-staffed your store is, retail store reset staffing can be challenging. You need the right people to manage and execute your reset plans—often during off-hours—while still catering to the needs of customers.
Let’s take a look at how on-demand retail staffing can enhance store reset strategies while minimizing retail disruption.
Impact of Store Resets on Daily Operations
As many as 15.5 million people work in retail in the United States. Yet come store reset time, stores will nearly always struggle to schedule the personnel they require to keep shelves stocked, customers served, and stores clean.
Store reset planning requires the following considerations:
- Will you reset inside or outside of usual store hours?
- Do you have the necessary personnel with the right skills?
- Will you have to pay overtime if you go outside of usual business hours?
Store resets performed within the store’s usual opening hours have the potential to disrupt the customer experience. Customers may have to wait longer for an available staff member to help or serve them. They may not like having to choose a different route around the store if installation equipment is causing obstructions.
Without supplementing your team with additional personnel, you may find that your workers are less productive. Swapping and changing between store reset tasks and serving customers means that there’s never full focus on either. Service and efficiency levels are both likely to struggle.
Strategies for Minimizing Disruptions
Understanding these challenges helps you build better workforce strategies. Your retail operations management team will normally lean toward the most cost-effective solution, which may include performing resets while the store is still open. In those instances, you need to ensure you have a large enough workforce to manage the flow of customers and ensure safety while installation tasks take place.
Out-of-hours store resets present their own challenges, including the fact that many of your personnel who work during normal store opening hours may not be available outside of their typical working schedules. In these instances, a phased reset approach may be the correct solution, where a little is done each evening. Workers might stay one hour later each night and work on a single display or aisle.
One of the most cost-effective solutions that allows you to complete store resets faster is to invest in temporary staffing solutions.
Benefits of Partnering With Specialized Temporary Staffing Agencies
Temporary staffing agencies provide an alternative to costly full-time hires. They offer interim workers who can supplement your existing teams for as long as you need. On-demand retail staffing solutions provide you with access to trained and experienced personnel. Look for partners that have proven results working with retailers like you. By partnering with an on-demand staffing partner, you’re investing in retail workforce flexibility.
Staffing partners with experience in the retail sector have instant access to well-developed, enthusiastic talent pools. These personnel will be carefully vetted, trained, and will understand any necessary compliance requirements. You’ll also be able to source workers skilled in installation and other necessary tasks as needed. Because you only work with these temporary staff for the duration of the reset, they represent a highly cost-effective solution for an otherwise potentially disruptive project.
Choosing the Right Temporary Staffing Partner
What you should expect from your temporary staffing partner:
- Local offices for fast deployment of personnel
- A deep understanding of the retail industry, including duties and responsibilities
- Trained and enthusiastic workers
- A national office to deal with any customer service enquiries or larger account queries, for example, staff deployments to multiple stores
HireQuest offers real-time dispatch of valuable retail workers to match your scheduling needs. With over 250 branches nationwide, we can help you achieve your store resets in record time and with beautiful, customer-pleasing results.
Speak to HireQuest Direct about effective temporary retail labor solutions for store resets and other projects that require enthusiastic, trained, and compliant personnel fast.
