People walk past a recruitment sign in a store window in New York on November 17.
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Spencer Platt / Getty Images
People walk past a recruitment sign in a store window in New York on November 17.
Spencer Platt / Getty Images
The holiday shopping season has always been in favor of Saxon Shoes in Virginia – a time when people shop for multiple pairs at once and splurge on expensive winter boots.
This year has more worries: Will shoppers return after the pandemic freezes? Will Saxon’s shoes get stuck in messy supply chain? And then the question becomes key: Will there be enough workers?
CEO Gary Weiner says, “We can have six or seven out of ten interviews that don’t show up – make an appointment and then don’t show up for an interview.
Weiner has worked at Saxon Shoes since he was a baby in a cradle – his parents set up shop in Richmond in the 1950s. These days, Weiner’s grandchildren come in for their weekly lunch. . He’s been there long enough to know that it’s normal for some applicants to encounter ghosts. But the majority?
Great Resignation Odds like a tidal wave during a pandemic. The worker has quit his job at record or near record rate – about coronavirus fears, angry customers, busy schedules or payments less than unemployment benefits temporarily promoted by the federal government.
Last month, even Amazon said that its main limitation, for the first time, is the lack of available labor rather than storage space.
Major retailers have attacked the staffing problem with massive recruitment campaigns and new perks like triple-digit signing bonuses, free college and, suddenly, higher salaries.
Now, Amazon and other big companies like Walmart, Target, Best Buy and Home Depot say they’re fine for the holiday season.
Many small shops do not. They find themselves competing for workers not only against giants with deep pockets, but also restaurant and warehouse. And this year, everyone needs more workers than ever – because shoppers have flooded in with record spending.
Marc Sherman, the owner of Stowe Mercantile in Vermont, discovered he needed more staff over the past year as business grew both online and in-store. He raised his salary and spent months advertising full-time jobs to no avail. For many workers, it’s not just about money, it’s about flexibility.
So, after 35 years of pursuing a full-time job, Sherman turned to a new approach. Stowe Mercantile now only brings together part-timers.
“Now that our schedule changes (a lot), it’s a bit dizzying for me sometimes,” he said. “But if we are to succeed … we must adapt.”
Back in Virginia, Saxon Shoes also tried a new trick: offering a referral bonus to current employees. That has created a number of new staff of retired teachers. But then, despite the shipping crisis, goods continued to arrive and so did shoppers, back to pre-pandemic levels or even higher. The store still doesn’t have enough staff to meet all needs.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we didn’t leave 15 percent of sales potential (for the holidays) because we don’t have the people,” says Weiner. At Saxon, sales depend on each customer receiving individual attention from a salesperson. Not enough workers means that some potential buyers will leave empty-handed.
In understaffed stores, the rest of the employees – and often the owners themselves – end up taking on extra work.
That’s true at 36 Lyn Refuel Station, a gas station and convenience store in Minneapolis. Co-owner Lonnie McQuirter says he’s raised his salary, offered bonuses and spent more than $2,000 on recruiting. He wanted a dozen or more workers, but now, there are only nine.
“It’s not surprising that it’s happening,” McQuirter said. He explained that the pandemic has been difficult for everyone, especially for frontline workers and especially in his city, which is still recovering from the killing of George Floyd and unrest that followed.
It is remarkable that workers continue to monitor their shifts, McQuirter said, as few acknowledge the hard work that many frontline workers do throughout the entire job.
“It asks a lot of someone’s personality,” he said.
Not long ago, McQuirter made t-shirts for his employees and customers. “The whole world is understaffed right now,” the shirts said, “be kind to those who showed up.”
