the Cost of Temporary Retail Employees

I hired retail temporary associates to help with the busy Christmas season. I paid $80 per day to the temp agency.

I had just opened my business in October and was completely unprepared for how busy we would be in December for the Christmas season. I hired several temporary retail employees to come help out. 2 of them I had just straightening shelves, helping customers find things and stocking shelves. They did an okay job but were not very motivated. 1 of the temporary employees was very hard working and smart. I trusted her almost immediately. I did teach her how to run the register and she helped me at the desk. She rang up orders, took cash and credit cards. She also answered the phone. She was very polite and professional. I ended up hiring her on part-time once the busy season was over.

I think it's unreasonable to expect these type of temporary employees to be very motivated. Typically they are not going to be moving up and there isn't room for advancement. So try to design your work for them around this idea. They can certainly help with things like stocking and cleaning up but I wouldn't give them access to private things.