In the retail industry, casual workers are typically hired to assist with merchandising, inventory restocking, and customer service. They may be hired just before the holiday season to cope with increased foot traffic, or when the store experiences a rush due to a promotion or sale. Depending on the store’s size, casual retail work can be very flexible, with workers working anywhere from a few hours per week to full-time.
In the hospitality industry, casual workers can be hired as servers, bartenders, cleaners, or in other positions that require little to no experience. These industries often have fluctuating peak and slow periods throughout the year, and casual workers provide a flexible solution to meet these changing staffing needs.
Managing the Casual Workforce
To extract the most benefit from casual workers, employers must adopt the right strategies in managing them. Here are some tips on how to manage casual workers effectively.
Firstly, before hiring, employers must identify the essential skills required for the role and ensure that they have a clear job description for the position. This will help them recruit those with the necessary skills and attributes.
Secondly, employers must ensure that all employees understand the company’s policies and procedures and that they know what is expected of them. This will help to improve productivity and minimize errors.
Thirdly, employers can incentivize casual workers by providing opportunities for employee growth, such as training and mentorship programs. When workers feel that they are growing their skills and knowledge, their job satisfaction and productivity will increase.
Lastly, scheduling is important when managing casual workers. Employers must plan ahead to optimize the workforce for peak periods and avoid over-hiring or under-hiring.
In addition to the strategies mentioned earlier, implementing a roster system can greatly help in managing casual work in the retail and hospitality industries.
A roster system involves creating schedules or rosters that outline the shifts and working hours for each employee. Here’s how a roster system can be beneficial:
- Efficient Staffing: With a roster system in place, employers can ensure that they have the right number of staff members scheduled for each shift. This helps avoid overstaffing or understaffing, ensuring that there are enough employees to handle the workload during peak periods and preventing the unnecessary expenses of having too many employees working during slower times.
- Predictable Schedules: Casual workers often appreciate having clear schedules in advance, as it allows them to plan their personal lives around work commitments. A roster system provides employees with predictable schedules, reducing confusion and improving employee satisfaction.
- Fair Allocation of Shifts: When using a roster system, employers can ensure that shifts are allocated fairly among the casual workers. This can help prevent favoritism or the perception of unfair treatment, which can improve morale and motivation among the workforce.
- Flexibility and Adaptability: As the demand for labor fluctuates, a roster system allows employers to easily adapt and make adjustments to the schedules as needed. This enables them to efficiently respond to changing demands, such as accommodating unexpected busy periods or making adjustments for employee availability.
- Communication and Coordination: A roster system provides a centralized platform for sharing schedules and communicating important information with the casual workforce. This promotes effective communication and coordination between employees and management, improving overall productivity and reducing the chances of miscommunication or misunderstandings.
By implementing a roster system, employers can streamline the scheduling process, enhance communication, and ensure that the right number of staff members are available when needed. This ultimately leads to improved productivity, increased employee satisfaction, and more effective management of the casual workforce in retail and hospitality industries.
About Clockgogo
A cloud-based time attendance management system aims to make time tracking more easy and effective. Powered by the patented 4-level verification technology, Clockgogo provides HR staff with a peace mind upon time card management.
Fake GPS, buddy punching, hefty hardware costs, clumsy installation will not be problems anymore. With flexible and user-friendly roster planning and reporting capabilities, calculation of work hour, overtime and other time attendance results is just a click away.
Time card and time attendance results can also be retrieved through API for third-party HCM / HRIS / HRMS / HR system integration (e.g. Workday, Peoplesoft etc.)
Since its launch back in 2016, Clockgogo has already processed more than tens of millions faces and is widely adopted among global brands.