26 May Moving: The Busy Season is Here, How to Survive and Thrive

For anyone working in the relocation or moving business, Memorial Day marks the beginning of the busiest three months of the year. According to the American Moving and Storage Association, 11 to 13 percent of all moves occur during the summer months, compared to eight percent or less in non-summer months. With over 19 million Americans alone moving annually, some two to two and a half million people will move in the coming three months, and that is within the U.S. alone.

Like many seasonal industries, the influx of activity creates challenges for organizations that specialize in moving, especially small to mid-sized businesses. Exciting team members and keeping them motivated as their workload increases is always a challenge, but here are three tips on how to tackle seasonality and help your team work together to successfully navigate their way through the busiest season of the year.

1. Plan well in advance. Work with your team well in advance to strategize and plan for the increased activity. Engaging the team in this process makes a difference and also adds value as even managers with decades of experience can gain insight from a new idea or option. Seeing that it’s summer, it’s also important to ensure that vacations and days off are planned well in advance so coverage is secured and team members are all aware of timing etc.
2. Hire Summer Talent. I’ve written about this in the past, but we have had phenomenal success with hiring college students to join us through the summer months. And, we have kept these talented young professionals coming back year after year, by making them part of our ReloTrans family.
3. Reward Hard Work. In all honesty, this is something managers and business leaders need to do throughout the year, but we make sure to really focus on recognition, workplace fun and camaraderie during the summer months when we continue to ask more of our team members. From surprise lunches to a simple thank you, personal recognition and appreciation really go a long way.

In the end, team members need to understand the industry that they’re getting into before they join the team. But, even with that advance notice, preparing for and navigating through the summer months in the moving industry is always an adventure.