A recent survey carried out by Barclays asked retail bosses what fears kept them awake in the run up to Christmas. The survey highlighted that the second biggest fear for retail bosses is one that has the potential to wreak just as much havoc over the festive period – staff sickness!
A recent survey carried out by Barclays http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/article4256964 asked retail bosses what fears kept them awake in the run up to Christmas. With a huge shift in consumer habits towards online shopping it is no wonder that the biggest concern was their website going down – a risk that can be largely mitigated by planning system changes earlier in the year.
The second biggest fear for retail bosses is one that has the potential to wreak just as much havoc over the festive period – staff sickness. A lack of employees on the shop floor can mean takings are down, customer experience is damaged and temporary staffing costs are through the roof – a recipe for poor performance.
Unfortunately retailers’ most important month in the calendar happens to coincide with one of the worst for absence, particularly considering the nature of the workforce within this sector. December brings more partying plus an increase in the number of bugs going around so for businesses with a heavy reliance upon youngsters, each of whom have regular contact with the general public, the risk is considerable. In an increasingly competitive market for retailers the need to manage this effectively has never been greater.
Though the impact is clear, too many retailers still don’t have modern, sophisticated methods for managing staff sickness which means it can easily become difficult to even see who is absent at any time. Reliance upon Store Managers to keep records at this busiest of times can mean that employee absence can very easily slip through the cracks and go unmanaged.
Retailers who have embraced technology to help capture data and manage absence workflows are already reaping the rewards. They have put themselves in the best position to minimise sickness and maximise sales in the lead up to Christmas.
So if sickness has cost your business this December why not consider a day one absence management solution. The cost will be a drop in the ocean compared to the revenue generated by having more people at work every day when it matters the most and you will have one less thing to lose sleep over.
MATT BERGMANN-SMITH
Matthew has extensive business experience having worked in production environments, product development, sales and at board level with a number of employers during his early business years.
He has worked in diverse range of businesses, ranging from water sports clothing to medical technology, development and consulting. He totally understands that customer focus is the key to delivering technology and services that really work for the user and the customer.
