Retailers don't just have to dream of cooler days and a happy holiday season

It’s 97 degrees outside, air conditioners are running on high, and an ice cream truck is driving around my neighborhood with that tune we all know so well. And if you can believe it –I am thinking about the holiday season.  

Black Friday is literally 4 months away – which seems like a lifetime from now – but we all know how fast time can fly.  Before we know it, Thanksgiving, Black Friday and all of the holiday shopping (along with cooler weather) will be here.  

We all know how critical the holiday season is for retailers –and for many, Black Friday is often the busiest shopping day of the year because it kicks off the holiday season.  

So why am I thinking about the holiday season now? 4 months in advance? While it’s 97 degrees outside? (It really is that hot today in New York.)   

I’m thinking about it because I know those retailers that start planning now - to ensure enough team members are in place at their organizations - they are going to be the ones that can handle the surge of shoppers and have a happy holiday season...instead of a tear-your-hair out one.  And no one wants that.   

As an advisory board member for HR.com’s HR Research Institute, today I’m reading the findings from the recently released, Hourly and High-volume Hiring 2022 research report. 

One of the major findings is that High-volume hiring will remain prevalent and is expected to grow.  In fact, fully 97% of organizations expect to engage in high-volume hiring over the next two years. When I saw that stat, it said to me that talent acquisition pros need extra prepared on how they plan to engage and hire hourly workers quickly for this upcoming holiday season.   

They also found that about two-thirds (65%) said that their organizations plan to budget more for high-volume recruiting over the next two years, whereas only 4% plan to budget less for it. So if you’re in that minority who are budgeting less or your budget is remaining flat, you can use this stat you can use to help build your business case for more budget.   

The report also found that mobility and automation play key roles in the effectiveness of high-volume recruitment tools and technologies. In fact, the most widely cited effective technology is the ability to access recruitment tools via mobile devices, cited by 62%.  

The effectiveness of both mobile and automation wasn’t surprising to me at all – it supports what I’ve been seeing.  At Hourly by AMS, we see over 90% of our customer’s candidates engage and apply on their mobile devices.  Automation is also key – it enables candidates to go from apply to a scheduled interview in less than 3 minutes with Hourly.  

One of our retail customers were even able to hire in just 1.8 days - while exceeding their hiring goal by 30% - all within a matter of weeks just before last year’s holiday season.  True story.  

So, if you’re dreaming of cooler days and a happy holiday season, starting putting plans in place today to make it happen.