A new store can look ready while the team is not ready to trade it!

Fixtures may be installed. Stock may have arrived. The opening date may be fixed. But who is covering the floor while new starters practise the systems? Who is receiving the delivery?

Which experienced colleague is available for the preview? What happens if one person calls in sick on the first Saturday?

These are staffing decisions, but they are not all the same decision.

The opening staffing plan defines the roles, headcount, hiring dates and training dependencies. The opening-week roster places people around rehearsals, deliveries, customer demand and breaks. Skeletal cover defines the minimum roles that must remain covered and when the manager needs to escalate.

Retail Lens now has separate sessions for each, with a case and tool to work through. The point is not to make the store manager approve budgets or local requirements. It is to help them see the operational gap early, record it clearly and take it to the right owner.

If you have opened a store, what staffing issue caught you by surprise?

Store Opening sessions: https://lnkd.in/d-aCC96j