Retailers are gearing up for another big holiday blitz and one thing is certain: Stores must maximize their productivity during this critical time of the year. One proven path toward that goal is ensuring your employees are well trained for the holiday rush.
Incorporating video into your training strategies can offer immediate dividends this holiday season. Tablet technology has come so far that watching training videos is an easy, efficient, and effective way to teach employees what they need to know during the upcoming crazy weeks. Here are some reasons why video is essential for your holiday season employee training plan:
Employees in Different Roles
Experienced, versatile floor employees are valuable during the holiday season—so valuable, in fact, that stores might need them to put their versatility to use in other departments performing other duties. Such a job switch at any other time of the year might occur gradually, with managers and other employees guiding the process. During the holiday season, stores simply don’t have the time for extended training sessions or the ability to pull other workers off their own jobs for long. An employee training plan that includes video solves this dilemma. For example, an experienced cashier tabbed to work as a customer service specialist could watch training videos on an iPad and get a general idea of his or her new responsibilities, with just minimal instruction from co-workers.
Holiday Workers
Retailers hire throngs of temporary workers to help with the holiday rush. A standard employee training plan might include many elements, including an introduction to the company, an HR presentation on employee benefits, and instruction on every duty a worker may be performing. Most seasonal employees aren’t sticking around past the new year, so paying them to experience what amounts to useless information is a waste. Video training on tablets conveniently teaches holiday workers the skills they need in as little time as necessary, thus allowing them to hit the floor, and add to the store’s overall productivity, sooner.
Mobility
Quality retail employees are too important to stash away in the back of the store to learn a process or procedure. An employee training plan that includes video allows workers to take their skills onto the floor, where they are needed most. For example, if an elaborate floor display needs to be assembled, what’s the better way of achieving this goal: Reading and remembering instructions off an email displayed on a manager’s desktop computer, or watching a video on an iPad at the exact location of the display? The latter gets the job done quicker and more accurately—important traits of a successful retail holiday season.
Advance Training
As already mentioned, time is scarce during the holidays. The more time you can save during the season, the more productive your stores will be. The use of video in an employee training plan can facilitate this productivity by encouraging employees to watch content when it’s most convenient. Furthermore, workers can view training videos on their own tablets. Imagine, seasonal workers who are ready to go on Day 1 because they have already watched all the training videos needed to perform their jobs.
Have you tried incorporating video into an employee training plan for the holidays?
