Opening a Store: Plan the Opening Week Roster

The first week's roster has two jobs: serve customers and help the team settle into the operating routine. It should reflect the approved trading hours and demand assumptions, while protecting time for briefings, systems practice, replenishment and follow-up. A roster that only fills the hours can leave the team unprepared.

Start with the opening calendar. Mark preview events, the first public trading day, expected appointments, deliveries, training sessions and mock trading. Confirm when the store must be accessible to staff and which hours are paid and approved. Check local rules and company policy for breaks, working time and scheduling with the responsible people team.

Map each trading period to the roles and skills it needs. Consider expected customer peaks, opening and closing responsibilities, specialist services, new-starter support and the availability of experienced colleagues. Avoid scheduling every experienced person on the same shift if later shifts would be left without capable support.

Protect training and rehearsal time explicitly. Name who is learning, who is coaching, what will be practised and which floor responsibility is covered during that time. Training should not be treated as invisible extra capacity. If training is interrupted by trade, record what remains incomplete and reschedule it with an owner.

Check the roster against the approved labor plan and the actual team available. Look for uncovered breaks, clashing appointments, late starts, long runs of shifts and periods where a key skill has no back-up. Share the draft early enough for the authorized manager or people team to review it. When demand differs from the plan, record the evidence and ask for a decision before changing paid hours or contractual arrangements.