Tis the holiday season! The National Retail Federation (NRF) estimates retailers will hire between 265,000 and 365,000 seasonal workers this year. That may seem like a lot, but it’s a significant decrease from the more than 440,000 seasonal workers hired last year.
In fact, it’s the lowest level of seasonal retail hiring in approximately 15 years.
What is contributing to the decline? Experts say pinpointing the exact reason is difficult. Many cite AI leading to improved automation, a cooling labor market, and increased costs due to tariffs.
Yet there is a contingency who believe a growing focus on maintaining culture may be at the heart of the issue with several major retailers opting to give more hours to already-trained full-time employees rather than bringing on seasonal help.
Hiring extra help during the busy holiday season is a long-standing retail practice, but it doesn’t come without challenges.
For instance, temps often require fast onboarding. Because these workers are only around for a short period, employers may not have enough time to train them thoroughly, which can lead to mistakes, lower productivity, or inconsistent customer service.
It can also lead to inconsistent work quality, as seasonal help is often less invested than full-time employees. This dynamic can foster a more transactional mindset among seasonal workers, leading their commitment to resemble that of a mercenary.
A “mercenary mindset,” one that focuses on individual gain rather than team prosperity, can be problematic. As hall-of-fame football coach Chuck Noll so famously cautioned, “The mercenaries will always beat the draftees, but the volunteers will crush them both.”
Draftees are driven by obligation. Mercenaries are driven by compensation. Volunteers are driven by purpose.
I realize that neither full-time nor seasonal employees are volunteers. They’re both paid for their time and work. However, the above designations are tied as much to commitment as they are money.
In this context, good teammates clearly embody the mindset of the volunteer. Their commitment is driven by purpose—serve the needs of their team.
For a variety of reasons, adding temporary help to a team, whether that help comes in the form of seasonal workers, mercenaries, temps, transfers, or free agents, may be a necessity. So how do you ensure that these additions are beneficial to the team’s culture and not detrimental?
You insist on the additions embracing a healthy team culture principle: You become us; we don’t become you.
From the start, make it clear to your team’s additions what it means to be a “good teammate” and set that standard as the expectation. Then, make an intentional effort to flood your environment with reminders (e.g., signs, banners, posters, lapel pins, etc.) to be good teammates.
Finally, whenever someone exhibits good teammate behaviors, recognize and reward them with genuine appreciation—“thank you,” “nice job,” or “way to go.” And insist on every team member engaging in this culture-reinforcing approach.
Insisting that every team member engage in this approach will help your team maintain a culture that values service, commitment, and purpose. It will strengthen the loyalty of both your current members and your seasonal additions.
As always…Good teammates care. Good teammates share. Good teammates listen. Go be a good teammate.
