Retailers and one of their main logistics providers are gearing up for the holiday season with major hiring initiatives.
UPS announced this week that it expects to hire about 100,000 seasonal employees to support the anticipated increase in package volume that will begin in November and continue through January.
“Every year, we deliver the holidays for millions of customers,” Jim Barber, chief operating officer of UPS, said. “In order to make that happen, we also deliver thousands of great seasonal jobs at our facilities across the country.”
The full-time and part-time seasonal positions, primarily package handlers, drivers and driver-helpers, are often an entry point for permanent employment at UPS, the company noted. Over the past three years, 35 percent of the people UPS hired for seasonal package handler jobs were later hired in a permanent position when the holidays were over. Many senior UPS executives, including CEO David Abney and other members of the company’s senior leadership team, started their UPS careers as part-time employees.
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In many cities, a percentage of the seasonal hires are needed to staff temporary facilities that UPS builds just for the seasonal shipping rush, in addition to its permanent package hubs. At many UPS locations, part-time employees are eligible to receive up to $25,000 in tuition assistance through the company’s Earn and Learn program.
Gap Inc. also said this week that it plans to hire approximately 65,000 seasonal associates for its Gap, Banana Republic, Athleta and Old Navy stores, as well as call centers and distribution centers, for the 2018 holiday season. Gap will hold holiday hiring events in the U.S. on Oct. 6 and in Canada on Oct. 13.
Brent Hyder, executive vice president and chief people officer for Gap Inc., said, “Our goal is to meet our customers where they are and our teams are critical to providing meaningful shopping experiences in their daily interactions, whether in stores, online, call centers or distribution centers.”
Seasonal positions include serving customers on the sales floor at Gap, Banana Republic, Athleta and Old Navy stores, and non-store positions that coordinate shipments from distribution centers to stores, fulfill customers’ orders from online, via mobile or in store, and handle the high volume of calls at customer call centers.
In select locations, the holiday hiring effort will complement the company’s recently announced year-round hiring strategy of its expanded This Way Ahead program, the company’s life skills and on-the-job training program for Opportunity Youth that offers young people first job experiences and coaching in stores and distribution centers.
Macy’s Inc. recently said it would hire about 80,000 seasonal colleagues for positions at its Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores, call centers, distribution centers and online fulfillment centers nationwide for the holiday season. The company also announced its national hiring event for Oct. 18. Applicants who are able to attend the hiring event are encouraged to visit all Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s Backstage stores, as well as the company’s call centers and distribution and fulfillment centers. Candidates who are unable to attend the hiring event, or interview on location, have the opportunity to complete the interview process over the phone.
“Macy’s Inc. is focused on providing customers with a great shopping experience and we wouldn’t be able to do that without our colleagues who are the key to our success,” John Harper, Macy’s chief stores officer, said. “Seasonal colleagues play an especially important role in the Macy’s holiday shopping experience, whether in a store, a fulfillment or distribution center or in a call center.”
About 23,500 of the 80,000 total seasonal positions will be based in direct-to-consumer fulfillment facilities that support sales generated by the company’s omnichannel business strategy. This is an increase of 5,500 positions compared to 2017. Another 1,500 people will be hired to interact with customers via telephone, email and online chat at customer service centers. In addition, some 1,000 people will be hired across the country to support the 92nd annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Santalands and other holiday events.
Seasonal employees at Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores serve customers on the selling floor and work in store operations positions, including fulfilling buy online, pick-up-in-store orders and buy online, ship-to-store orders. Other personnel have the opportunity to interact with customers through call centers, support the fulfillment process and coordinate shipments nationwide.
Target Corp. said it plans to hire an estimated 120,000 seasonal employees across the country for the upcoming holiday season, a 20 percent increase over last year’s hiring commitment.
“Coming off a strong second quarter, we’re anticipating a busy holiday season and want to make sure we have the right teams in place across all of our stores and distribution and fulfillment centers to deliver an exceptional experience for our guests,” Janna Potts, chief stores officer at Target, said.
Target said all people hired after Sept. 16 will begin at a minimum wage of $12 an hour, part of its commitment to increasing its minimum hourly wage to $15 per hour by the end of 2020. New this year, Target is investing more than $2 million to reward team members working during the busy holiday season as part of its “work.win.give.” appreciation program.
The 120,000 new seasonal hires will fill a variety of roles across Target’s stores and distribution and fulfillment centers. As the company continues to expand its Order Pickup and Drive Up services and grow ship-from-store capabilities, there is an increased demand for team members to support these areas. As a result, Target plans to nearly double the number of hires to help fulfill digital orders compared to last year.
Target also will fill more than 7,500 positions in fulfillment and distribution centers this holiday season. Target will host hiring events at all stores nationwide from Oct. 12 to Oct. 14, with the potential for eligible applicants to interview on the spot and receive a conditional job offer during the weekend events.
Filling these jobs could prove challenging given what is seen as a tight labor market. The unemployment rate held steady at 3.9% in August, with retail industry employment increasing by 89,100 jobs unadjusted over the same time last year despite a seasonally adjusted drop of 9,700 jobs from July, according to the National Retail Federation. Overall, U.S. businesses added 201,000 jobs over July, the Labor Department said.
“The strong overall job growth across industries reflects the tight labor market, but also shows that the economy is strong,” NRF chief economist Jack Kleinhenz said. “Hiring is an important driver of consumer confidence.”
EmployBridge’s recent survey of nearly 16,000 warehouse workers revealed three key factors–wages, shift preferences and flexible workplace policies–to attracting and retaining supply chain talent.
“We are in unchartered territory as many employers prepare for peak season and seek to secure seasonal talent,” Joanie Courtney, EmployBridge chief workforce analyst, said. “With consumer optimism at record levels and unemployment in single-digits, employers must get aggressive and more creative in their efforts to find and maintain an adequate labor force in order to take advantage of increased consumer demands.”
