Help Your Retail Teams Thrive This Holiday Season with 12 Days of MOHR-mas
The December holiday season is a festive time of anticipation, giving, and spending time with loved ones. For many retailers, it’s also the busiest, most hectic time of the year. Especially during pressure-filled times like these, keeping retail team members engaged, motivated, and energized is vital. Engaged associates are not only better able to engage and fulfill customer needs, they’re also a lot happier, more enthusiastic about the brand, and committed to delivering an exceptional experience.
To help you keep morale and productivity high, we’ve outlined 12 days of activities leaders can engage in to fuel a successful holiday season and keep the momentum going for a thriving year ahead. For handy reference, you can download the calendar and checklist here and share it with store leaders to use over the next few weeks.
Special thanks to Matt Brown, MOHR Retail’s Vice President, Business Development & Client Success, for his creativity in helping to come up with this valuable tool!
Win the gift of leadership!
Email us your favorite ways to boost morale during the holiday or other busy seasons by January 10, 2025. All who respond will be entered into a drawing for a gift of leadership! First prize will receive one free registration to a Retail Multiunit Management or Retail Store Leadership public workshop of your choice scheduled in 2025. Second and third prizes will receive a free DiSC® profile along with 30-minute coaching debrief to be scheduled in 2025.
🎄 12 Days of MOHR-mas 🎄
Day 1: A Partridge in a Peer Feedback Tree: Feedback is our first and most important gift. 🎁 Have you received or given your peers the gift of feedback this season? Reflect on how it’s helped your team grow.
Day 2: Two Core Communication Skills: Spotlight Shaping Performance with Reinforcement to encourage your associates to keep up the great work and Listen to Learn to understand and empathize with your team. What is your strength in communicating with your teams? Share your go-to strategies for meaningful conversations.
Day 3: Three Wise Strategies: ✨ Share three smart strategies for thriving this season:
- Coaching in Real-Time, in the moment on the floor, many times each day to strengthen your team’s talent.
- Delegating to Develop — Not dumping endless tasks, just developing, giving everyone a chance to learn and contribute at a high level.
- Building Trust — Keep the lines of communication open, communicate effectively and inclusively.
Which of these is your leadership sweet spot? How do you apply it to engage your talent?
Day 4: Four Holiday Leadership Wins: Celebrate four key wins this season:
- Happy Customers
- Engaged & Talented Team Members
- Achieving your Sales Plan
- Your Team is Having Fun!
🎯 How are you performing against your plan this quarter? Share your success metrics.
Day 5: Five Gold Store Operational Standards: 🏅 What makes your store shine? Consider these:
- Clean and appealing displays
- Fully stocked and well-presented merchandise
- Seamless omnichannel experiences
- Fast, friendly, and efficient checkouts
- A welcoming environment for all
Which standard is your top priority, and how do you achieve it?
Day 6: Six Best Strategies for Store Visits: A dream visit from a DM includes: 🎄 Advance notice of the visit 🤝 Helping out with stock 👥 Engaging and energizing the team 🎉 Making the day fun 🍪 Bringing treats 💪 Leaving the team feeling motivated
How did your DM’s support make a difference this season?
Day 7: Seven Best Practices for Sustaining Talent: 🔑 To keep your top talent, focus on:
- Hiring early
- Training for efficiency
- Assigning a buddy
- Setting clear expectations
- Asking for referrals
- Providing recognition
- Scheduling fair and inclusive shifts
Have you retained the talent you want to bring into the new year?
Day 8: Eight Retail Stats: 📊 Key performance stats this season could include:
- High UPTs & ADTs
- Increased Conversion Rates
- Shrink at a Record Low
- Fast Shipment Processing and Restocking
- Staffing within Payroll Budget
- Smiling Customers
- Zero Shift Call-Outs
- Smooth Operations despite the Weather
How are your stores performing? Share your most notable achievements.
Day 9: Nine Customer Successes: 💕 Celebrate your team’s impact with customer wins:
- A customer brought cookies and a hug
- Found the perfect item in stock
- Seamlessly transferred the gift they needed
- Helped them check off every item on their list
What five other memorable success stories can you add to this list?
Day 10: Ten Tips for Team Morale: 🎉 It’s your turn! Share your favorite ways to boost team morale during the holidays. Email us to spread the cheer!
Day 11: Eleven Execution Essentials: 💼 These essentials drive success:
- Stores open and ready on time
- Staff prepared to greet customers
- Returns processed and back on the floor
- New shipments ticketed, stocked and merchandised on the floor
- BOPIS orders picked and ready for customers when they arrive
- Customers checked out efficiently
- Clean, stocked restrooms for everyone—especially your team!
What execution essentials make you most proud this season?
Day 12: Twelve Months of Growth: 🌟 Following these 11 days of MOHR-mas sets the foundation for success into the next fiscal year. Cheers to continued growth and achievement!
Happy holidays to you and your teams from our team at MOHR Retail!
🖨 Click here to download a printable version of the calendar along with a checklist.
