• Solutions
    • Execution & Communication
      • Real-Time Task Manager™
      • Q-Suite™
        • Q-Check
        • Q-Comm
        • Q-Visual
        • Q-Walk
        • Q-Docs
        • Q-Forms
    • Workforce Management
      • Workforce Scheduler™
      • Time and Attendance™
      • Employee Self-Service™
      • Reflexis Appointments™
    • Reflexis AI
      • AI Decisions
      • AI Staff Planner
      • AI Budget Planner
      • AI Performance Mgr.
    • Cloud, Mobility, & Analytics
      • Cloud Hosting Services
      • Advanced Analytics & Reporting™
      • Reflexis Mobility™
  • Industries
    • Retail
    • Hospitality
    • Banking
      • Overview
      • AI-Powered Workforce Management
      • Branch Execution & Visibility
      • Mobile Employee Engagement
      • Secure Internal Communications
      • Verified Customer Appointments
  • Customers
    • Customer Stories
    • Customer Success Program
  • Resources
    • Webinars & Events
    • Insights – Reflexis Blog
    • Case Studies
    • White Papers
  • About
    • Partners
    • Careers
    • News
    • Webinars & Events
  • Contact Us
  • Customer Support
Language
  • lang English
  • lang Deutsch
  • lang Español
Blog
Customer Support
Reflexis SystemsReflexis Systems
Reflexis SystemsReflexis Systems
  • Solutions
    • Execution & Communication
      • Real-Time Task Manager™
      • Q-Suite™
        • – Q-Check
        • – Q-Comm
        • – Q-Visual
        • – Q-Walk
        • – Q-Docs
        • – Q-Forms
    • Workforce Management
      • Workforce Scheduler™
      • – Time and Attendance™
      • – Employee Self-Service™
      • Reflexis Appointments™
    • Reflexis AI
      • AI Decisions
      • AI Staff Planner
      • AI Budget Planner
      • AI Performance Mgr.
    • Cloud, Mobility & Analytics
      • Cloud Hosting Services
      • Reflexis Mobility™
      • Advanced Analytics & Reporting™
  • Industries
    • Retail
    • Banking
      • Overview
      • AI-Powered Workforce Management
      • Branch Execution & Visibility
      • Mobile Employee Engagement
      • Secure Internal Communications
      • Verified Customer Appointments
    • Hospitality
  • Customers
    • Our Customers
    • Customer Stories
    • Customer Success Program
  • Resources
    • Webinars & Events
    • Insights – Reflexis Blog
    • Case Studies
    • White Papers
  • About
    • Partners
    • Careers
    • News
    • Webinars & Events
  • Contact Us

How Retailers Are Managing Stores During a Public Health Crisis

How Retailers Are Managing Stores During a Public Health Crisis

Reflexis Blog

COVID-19 has placed an enormous burden on retailers today. Whether it’s figuring out how to implement new and important safety procedures, communicate information efficiently across their retail organization, or effectively care for employees, this public health emergency has put a massive strain on all retail organizations, especially those deemed essential to the public.

Over the last couple weeks, Reflexis has held roundtable discussions with a variety of retailers, all of which have modified their businesses in different ways to meet these new challenges. Here are how they’ve adapted to the pandemic within a number of functional areas:

1. Handling New Demands

With many retail verticals seeing dramatic shifts in customer traffic, retailers are changing strategies in order to manage new demands. Some have hired temp employees where demand is high, and have determined what departments are necessary to keep open and which ones can be temporarily closed down. Some retailers have modified store hours to allow time to thoroughly sanitize the store, or are using off hours to restock shelves.

2. Managing Labor Scheduling and Forecasting

Changing demands in stores means that retailers need to change labor forecasting and scheduling processes to adapt. Many retailers are creating schedules two weeks in advance, making weekly and daily changes as needs occur, and providing daily recaps of schedule changes to ensure schedules are communicated efficiently. They’re also reevaluating when work is coming through to determine what times are busiest, and are having district managers connect with store leaders to see if they need to cut hours or hire more personnel.

Retailers are also streamlining the hiring process, with corporate providing guidance on how many people should be hired and store managers expediting the process from interview to first shift, with only a week of turn around. Retailers are also partnering with HR departments from local companies that have furloughed employees, offering them in-store jobs. Some have allowed shift bidding and working at other locations, with precaution taken in areas heavily affected by the pandemic.

3. Implementing Social Distancing Procedures

With COVID-19 making it dangerous to gather in public, retailers have instituted a variety of safety measures to ensure that everyone remains safe. Many are supplying store associates with gloves, masks, and other cleaning supplies, and extra precautions are in place for those working at registers, with lines taped on the floor to indicate where customers should stand while in line and at the register. Retailers are also controlling the number of people allowed in the store at one time, with some only opening every other register to ensure six feet of distance between people at all times.

4. Dealing with Absenteeism

Retailers are finding it difficult to predict how many employees will be calling off, whether because they’re sick, they’re caring for elderly family members, or they have new child-care responsibilities because schools are closed. To manage this, retailers are having district managers track by store how many part time employees are calling off, and if a store hits a critical level of absent employees, they’re able to alert corporate, which will send that store more employees.

5. Communicating Effectively

Nimble and effective communication is key to ensuring that stores are able to execute tasks and projects effectively. To communicate effectively during the pandemic, retailers are having leaders send videos, letters, emails, and phone calls internally so employees are aware of all high-priority information. Retailers are also prioritizing tasks and projects that are essential to maintain business, such as new safety procedures, and are creating checklists so store associates understand what tasks are essential to complete.

6. Helping and Caring for Employees

With customer-facing retail employees at such a high risk during the pandemic, retailers are doing everything they can to reassure these employees and provide them with the compensation they deserve. Many are directly communicating with store managers and associates, with corporate sending daily messages to address issues and answer any questions, and calling stores directly to thank them for their work and talk to them about the issues they’re facing.

Some of the benefits they’ve offered to employees include:

  • More sick time for part time associates
  • Options for child care and elderly care
  • Providing lunches for employees
  • Increases in pay
  • Gift cards for essentials
  • Increase in employee discounts
  • Thank you baskets sent to field leaders
  • 14 days of continued pay for those who test positive for COVID-19

 

For more information on what retailers are doing today to manage the current public health crisis, please reach out to your Reflexis Customer Success Director. If you’re not sure who your CSD is or are not currently a Reflexis customer, please email marketing@reflexisinc.com and we’ll connect you with a knowledgeable member of our team.

Latest Posts

Maximizing the Effectiveness of Store Layout Changes During the Pandemic

Maximizing the Effectiveness of Store Layout Changes During the Pandemic

April 15, 2021

With the right store operations and workforce management technology, changes from the COVID-19 pandemic don’t have to take you by surprise. Not only will front-line employees have the information needed to manage all of their tasks, but optimized staffing ensures that enough employees are in the store to get it all done.

WFM Video Insights: Managing Through the Branch Closure Process

WFM Video Insights: Managing Through the Branch Closure Process

April 13, 2021

Flexible workforce management software can provide the staffing and forecasting agility necessary to help you navigate the branch closure process.

How Sally Beauty Holdings Achieved Their Store Operations Makeover

How Sally Beauty Holdings Achieved Their Store Operations Makeover

April 13, 2021

With a real-time store operations and workforce management software platform, Sally Beauty was able to meet the challenges of the pandemic head on, empowering their front-line employees and providing customers with a safe and comfortable retail experience.

April 2021 Employment Law and Regulations Update

April 2021 Employment Law and Regulations Update

April 13, 2021

Welcome back to the Reflexis Employment Law and Regulations Update! In this month’s article, we’ve included notable changes in United States regulations from March 2021 onward.

Streamlining Retail Store Operations to Manage Changing Store Layouts

Streamlining Retail Store Operations to Manage Changing Store Layouts

April 8, 2021

Improving store execution and labor optimization processes is an essential part of accounting for the shifting tasks and processes involved in changing retail store layouts.

Zebra
logos
reflexis

Reflexis Systems, Inc.
3 Allied Drive Suite #220
Dedham, MA 02026
+1 781-493-3400
sales@reflexisinc.com

  • Home
  • Solutions
  • Customers
  • Resources
  • Contact Us

© 2021 — Reflexis Systems, Inc. | Legal Terms | Privacy Policy

  • Home
  • Solutions
  • Customers
  • Resources
  • Contact Us
Our site uses cookies. By continuing to use our site you are agreeing to our cookies policy. Click here to read our cookies policy.