Part time employees can lose motivation in retail businesses fairly quickly. Keeping spirits high and motivation going is important to the productivity of your business. So here are a few ways to keep your part time employees motivated and happy while working for you.

Incentives

One way to keep employees motivated is to provide incentives for them to keep working hard. This could be a card or a token that is given to them when they go above and beyond expectations. Each card has a certain monetary value and can only be redeemed when they accumulate a certain number of them.

For example, when they reach ten cards, worth two dollars each, they can redeem it for a twenty-dollar bonus on their next paycheck. Also offering a gift card to the employee of the month will help motivate all staff to work harder.

Accurate Scheduling

One of the most frustrating things for employees is not knowing their schedules, or what schedule changes may occur, throughout the workweek. Some studies have actually shown that, "It can also be unhealthy if employees are asked to work split shifts, or switch day and night shifts on a regular basis." (Source) So, the best way to keep your employees motivated and happy is to start implementing a software scheduling system. Also, most modern scheduling software is mobile friendly so that your employees can look up any schedule changes from home. This will make your employees happier and help boost the productivity of your store.

Provide New Challenges

Many employees may be looking for a challenge and to do more for the company while they are at work. Since a part-time job is limited by hours, an employee wants to feel like they are accomplishing something new with each shift. By providing an employee with new challenges on their task list, they can learn different operations, positions, and departments throughout the store making them more versatile.

Show Employees They Matter

One of the best motivators is recognition; so make sure to continually recognize your employees for their efforts. If you run a small retail business, keep an eye on your employees to see what extra tasks they do to help your business. Write them a short "thank-you" note to recognize and commend their efforts. If you run a larger retail business, ask managers and department leads to identify star performers. Take these employees out for lunch and talk about their future plans. Point out how their dedication will help take them far! Interestingly, a quick walk around a small or large store to thank employees for doing their jobs well is one of the most effective ways to keep your staff motivated and satisfied with their jobs.

VCS Software | Scheduling Software Systems

Traditional time & attendance systems - which are still widely used today – clock the hours employees are on the job after they have worked because the hours are counted after the shift has taken place. This reactive approach breeds overspending and inefficiencies. VCS’ software systems compute data prior to shift work, so that the planned hours and positions are properly staffed. Proactive scheduling promotes a productive, compliant, and fiscally responsible workforce.

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