Get ready, retailers: The students are coming
The summer months are some of the busiest for retailers, and not only for sales. In Canada, students returning home from school often find a summer job for the months of May to August, ending their brief employment career to return to campus in September. This happens every year, and is a trend that is gaining momentum – in 2017, average summer employment for these students increased by 47,000 jobs.
28,000 were in retail.
The age-old question for retailers is … how can they maximize the time they have with these students? The average new hire, according to Training Industry Quarterly, takes at least 1 to 2 YEARS to be ‘fully productive.’
One. To two. Years.
Retailers do not get that kind of time with summer hires. Yet the question remains – if it does take more than a year for the average store employee to reach full productivity, how can retailers fast-track students over 4 months in the summer? (The same question is relevant for any company onboarding interns as well.)
One part of the solution is technology. Not only are students today more comfortable with technology than any generation in history, but the right technology makes it possible to ensure training and ongoing employee education is consistent, convenient, and fast.
Ask yourself: What kind of first day experience do you want for your summer hires? Watch this video and see what is possible.
