Stories are bursting out all over the place about businesses forcing employees to work on Thanksgiving under threat of termination if they don’t. Then, there are the businesses who are proudly announcing that they will be closed on Thanksgiving, stating firmly that their employees deserve to be with their families on Thanksgiving.
These are the two extremes on the spectrum of responses to this question.
As a business owner and for your brand, where you fall on this spectrum will send a message to both your customers and your employees. You have to decide what you want that message to be, while keeping in mind that widespread social media puts the power of that message into your audience’s hands. They’ll have the power to turn your stance into either a brand boost or a PR nightmare.
You have to decide whether your brand is customer-centric, employee-centric, or both.
To Work?
If you choose to demand all employees work on Thanksgiving or face immediate termination if they don’t, you might be trying to send the message that you’re customer-centric.
But, that may not be the message that comes across.
If your audience is very socially conscious, then you might be digging yourself a hole if the story gets out – and it will.
You will have customers that appreciate the fact that you’re open on a holiday and they might show up for your sales. However, if the majority of your customers care about social issues, they’ll care more about how you treat your employees.
What they perceive will reflect back on your brand.
So, if your customers feel like you don’t care about your employees because you’re threatening to fire them if they choose to spend time with their families over the holidays, then your customers will have a negative impression of your brand.
After all, if you don’t care about your employees’ needs, you obviously won’t care about your customers’ needs either.
Or Not To Work?
On the other hand, if you decide to close your doors on Thanksgiving, you’re sending a different message.
The businesses that are currently doing this are doing it right.
Simply by saying they’re closing because they believe their employees should be able to spend the holiday with their families, they’re showing, not only that they care about their employee’s needs, but also that they’ll care about their customers’ needs too – simply by caring about people.
They’ve effectively humanized their brand and connected to people on a personal, emotional topic. By doing the same, you can too.
If you have an ecommerce store that ties in to your physical store, you can use this to your advantage. After all, even if your physical location is closed, your business will be open (as long as your site’s up).
You can make the decision to make your employees a priority, while still allowing your customers to access your products/services if they wish to do so.
This is also a good way to drive more visitors to your site during the holidays.
If your customers were interested in the sales you would have had if your business been open, they’ll be interested in the same ones online. Encourage them to partake anyway, just from the comfort of their home instead of your physical store.
Where Does Your Business Fall?
There are a lot of factors that go into the decision whether to stay open or close up shop for Thanksgiving.
After all, it’s your business. You want to take care of your employees, so they stick around to continue helping you build your business, and you want to take care of your customers, so they have a reason to come back to you over and over again.
It can be a hard to keep the balance between employees and customers, especially with the potential growth the holidays can bring to your business looming overhead.
Instead of deciding on your own one way or the other, try polling your employees & customers to gauge interest and attitudes, then make your decision.
You may find that you have employees willing to work on the holiday for one reason or another. Who knows? You might even find that even if you were open, your customers aren’t even interested in venturing out on Thanksgiving.
If, after examining all of the evidence, your business absolutely has to be open on Thanksgiving, then make sure you take care of your employees.
Yes, it’s a job and they’re being paid, but be empathetic and understand the sacrifice they’re making by spending their time working for you, instead of with their friends and family.
Make it worth their while, so it’s a choice, not a requirement.
You’ll have more productive, efficient employees and a happier environment for everyone that way. Offer incentives for employees willing to work on holidays.
Figure out what would make that a worthwhile experience for them and do it. Your business will be all the better for it, your employees will appreciate it and your customers will take notice.