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Helping seasonal workers hone customer service skills

Posted on January 11th, 2013 Read time: 1 minutes

During the last quarter of 2012, retailers hired nearly 730,000 seasonal workers to beef up their staff for the year's holiday shopping peak, The Plain Dealer in Ohio reports.

The number of contract workers brought in at the end of the year represents the highest spike in fourth quarter hiring since 2006.

Between October 1 and December 31, retail stores added 728,300 jobs, a 10.3 percent boost from last year's 660,200, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as quoted by The Plain Dealer. During the three months, November saw the biggest increase in contract worker positions with 490,400 jobs added.

Even though the holidays have passed, many companies are striving to keep up their customer service ratings. While contract hiring may be down, employers should consider the benefit of helping temporary workers hone their client services skills.

To help workers achieve customer service that serves as a brand differentiator among consumers, employers should teach them to own and not just manage the customer experience, Talent Management states.

Businesses should include company culture, reputation management and customer relationship building in employee training for temporary workers.

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