As a store manager, labor costs are the bane of your existence. It’s a constant battle to provide staff coverage during every possible shift and balance that with the cha-ching of labor dollars spilling away. What’s even more frustrating is when you have either very few, or no customers and you see your team standing around talking about the weekend or idly playing on their phones.
Your first thought is often, “What am I paying you for? Am I really paying you to be on Snapchat and Instagram right now?” But don’t let your anger get the best of you. Instead, use this downtime as a chance to get some things done, provide training, or grow and develop your employees.
Here are 30 specific, and often necessary, items your associates could be tackling when the day is slow. Try not to think in terms of “busy work” or being a “task-master.” Recognize the difference between an employee taking a brief break and being lazy. Even your star employees need a few minutes to decompress after a busy rush of customers. There are certainly many more tasks you could add to this list, but this will get you started. Many of these relate to cleaning, but other short projects include training, merchandising and growth opportunities for associates.
When you experience an employee having more free time than work time, say: “I’ve got a project for you.”
See 30 things your employees could be doing in our August digital edition!
[Image: Getty Images]