Managing a team can feel overwhelming during the holiday season. The demands of work-life balance, time off requests, financial stability, and mental health become a juggling act that leaves managers teetering on the edge.

There’s a lot at stake between keeping your employees happy and providing a great shopping experience for customers.

Legion eases the burden with AI-native workforce management software that maximizes labor efficiencies and employee engagement simultaneously. When your teams are happier, they’re more productive and likely to make your customers happier too.

Key Points in Balancing Employee Happiness During the Holidays

• Balancing employee needs and business operations: During the holiday season, balancing your employees’ unique needs with maintaining operational efficiency is vital. When you know their expectations around work-life balance, time off, financial stability, and mental health, you can help meet those expectations.
• Leveraging AI for workforce management: Use AI-powered tools like Legion WFM to help manage labor optimization and automate scheduling. This allows you to consider employee preferences while ensuring you have enough qualified staff on hand.
• Prioritizing open communication: Fostering a healthy line of communication is key during this period. Letting your team voice their schedule preferences or swap shifts when needed ensures everyone is on the same page, which reduces stress levels in an already busy season.

Understand What Your Employees Need During the Holidays

The holiday season can be a nerve-wracking experience for your team members. Companies must learn to balance work demands with their employees’ personal needs, like spending time with family or managing finances.

Maintaining Work-Life Balance: Give employees flexibility and control over their schedules. Make it easy for them to swap shifts or update preferences, helping them achieve that desired work-life harmony. Managers should also make sure to align work schedules properly to avoid staff burnout or loss of revenue due to understaffing.

Ensuring Financial Stability: The holidays often bring added financial pressures. Many employees would appreciate flexible pay options that allow them to get their earned paychecks when they need them, not just every 2 weeks.

Promoting Mental Health: Increased stress levels are common during the holidays. Open communication and understanding from management can go a long way in supporting employee mental health during these times.

Remember, happy employees lead to increased productivity and satisfied customers.

How to Balance Employee Happiness With Business Needs

Once you’re aware of the most important needs of your employees, the next step is taking care of those needs. Artificial intelligence (AI), makes workforce management more streamlined and efficient, which pays off during the holidays.

Labor Optimization

Stay within budget while scheduling the best employees at the appropriate times. Optimizing your labor will help you make smart staffing decisions without compromising your bottom line or quality of service. Everyone from managers to employees will enjoy the benefits.

Automated Scheduling

No one wants their holiday plans disrupted by work schedules that change on short notice. Managers can create schedules that meet employee and business needs using AI-powered software like Legion WFM’s Automated Scheduling. This gives control back to your team members, letting them swap shifts or pick up extra hours based on their preferences and availability.

Legion InstantPay

Holidays often mean increased expenses for many people. Legion InstantPay lets employees access their earned wages immediately after their shift, helping them manage holiday costs without added stress.

Frontline Communications

Maintain a clear line of communication every day, especially during the holidays when it’s essential to stay organized. Legion WFM allows for open dialogue between managers and staff, so everyone knows what’s expected of them.

And, if there are any last-minute changes or weather delays, everyone can be informed immediately through our easy-to-use platform.

Implementing an Effective Holiday Workforce Management Strategy

Businesses expect unique challenges during the holidays. But balancing employee needs and business requirements becomes a tough task. With smart strategies, you can navigate this process smoothly.

Give Managers Time to Focus on Key Tasks

One of the first steps is to let managers focus more of their time on floor operations rather than spending hours manually scheduling staff. Legion WFM’s AI-powered tools remove that burden with the help of automation. Managers can spend more time interacting with customers, potentially increasing conversion rates.

Scheduling Employees Smartly

An effective strategy also includes ensuring qualified employees are scheduled as per business needs. Automated scheduling takes care of this by leveraging employee data and demand forecasts.

Prioritize Employee Preferences

A happy employee leads to successful business operations, especially during peak seasons like the holidays. Prioritize employee preferences when creating schedules and give them the flexibility to swap shifts if needed. Or, to increase earnings, give employees the opportunity to work across locations.

Keep Your Employees Happy This Holiday Season

By recognizing what your employees need during the holidays, taking steps to meet those needs, and boosting your operational efficiency, you’ll be much closer to conquering the festive season.

AI-powered workforce management software makes the process much easier. With automated scheduling, labor optimization, and instant pay features in place—employees have a say over their work-life balance without compromising operational efficiency.

And, managers will have more time on the floor to assist their employees in providing great service instead of being stuck behind their desks trying to juggle schedules manually.

You can forge an effective workforce management strategy this year that leaves everyone feeling merry for the holidays! To learn more, schedule a demo today.