For many people the summer holidays are a moment to relax and unwind, to spend time in good company, to explore and enjoy new territories or just take time to enjoy reading a good book. For others it is their peak season; the time of the year to do business. For instance a customer’s downtime can be their ideal moment to prepare for the next year of service.
Like other years, this long hot summer has presented companies the challenge of having enough staff ready. Factors like unexpected weather conditions impacting the hospitality sector, shortage of seasonal- and holiday workers, clients with weakened planning capabilities are only a few examples that created pressure and stress.
Last minute solutions were hard to find or not available at all. Suppliers have worked 24/7 to try to fulfill their prior commitments, not leaving any room for last-minute requests. Potential workers enjoyed the summer and were not keen to fill last-minute openings. In general there was not enough flexibility in the staffing capacity to develop or execute a plan B or C. All this resulting in missed revenue and even worse, disappointed clients.
Evaluate & prepare
Do you recognise this situation? If so, you are not alone. Many companies struggle in their peak season. Without further action the same struggle will happen next year, and the years after. The only way to avoid this is to look back and evaluate the summer period. What went well? What should improve? What caused the difficulties? Which remedies worked? And which didn’t?
Focus on the following areas:
- Planning, both client and internal
- Flexibility in product, product delivery, organisation and workforce
- Supply base performance
- Scenarios for unexpected scale-up or scale-down needs
Now is the best time to evaluate the recent performance and plan improvements for next year. You still have fresh insights in the last peak season and have enough time to make the necessary internal changes and adjust arrangements with your suppliers to be well prepared for next year.
To help you evaluate, TalentIn has developed the TalentPeak Scan. The TalentPeak Scan is a methodology to evaluate performance in peak season. With this methodology you will get an insight in the strengths and weaknesses in your organisation related to peak season performance. It will indicate potential routes to ensure the best access to talent in your peak season.
We are happy to tell you more about it, we are only one phone call away!
About the author:
Marc Viëtor is Managing Partner at TalentIn. With more than 25 years in the industry in executive roles he has a thorough experience in HR solutions. His broad experience covers sales, solution design, concept and process development, finance and HR in markets around the globe. Marc has worked with many companies on a variety of services and solutions.
TalentIn can help you develop or update your talent management strategy, but we can also support you in building and implementing a flex strategy. We are happy to discuss this topic more in depth with you. Please visit us at www.talentin.eu , mail us at info@talentin.eu or call us on +31 10 307 54 22.
