High street retailers begin seasonal recruitment plan

Across the country, British high street retailers have begun with their seasonal recruitment. Large retailers such as Matalan, Argos and John Lewis will all take on extra temporary staff to help cope with their predicted seasonal push. However,

some retailers appear to be on edge of caution with the number of seasonal employees they plan to hire, less than optimistic for this years’ holiday season than the previous year.

British

retailers search for holiday temps

Argos plans to hire 10,000 season staff to help out in 735 stores in their run-up to the holiday season which is 2,000 less than they advertised for the previous year. However, the number of hours available to work remains the same as the previous year, according to Argos PR manager, Hayley Greyson. Fashion/homeware brand Matalan is currently looking to hire 4,000 sales assistants, 1,000 less than last Christmas season. Most of the seasonal contracts offered are for the duration of three months, with some of the openings leading to a secure position at the end of the holiday season. Many of the retailers allow their prospective employees to apply online on their company website, or give out application forms in their local hiring stores.

Although, while some retailers are playing it safe this winter season, others seem to be throwing caution to the wind. Online retailer Amazon announced plans to hire 15,000 seasonal staff in the UK alone, which is 5,000 more than 2012. Director of Operations at Amazon.co.uk, Catherine McDermott said to the Guardian: "On our busiest shopping day last Christmas, customers ordered a total of 3.5 million items during one 24-hour period, at a rate of 44 items a second." Taking a cue from their previous experience over the past years, Amazon seems to be preparing for a busy and hectic holiday season. In total, Amazon is looking to hire 70,000 seasonal employees worldwide to help manage the projected holiday push. Amazon has also stated that they expect to take on "thousands" of their seasonal staff as full-time workers after the holiday season, adding to the 6,000 permanent staff currently working in the UK.

Whether or not, a retailer is hiring less or more seasonal staff this year, as always, customer satisfaction is the main focus. Managing director of Argos, John Walden, said to the Guardian: "As we approach our busiest shopping period of the year, we need the extra support in our stores from enthusiastic colleagues to ensure that we continue to deliver brilliant customer service to the millions that shop with us at this time of year."