‘Tis the Season for Interiorscape Challenges

I’ve had several disastrous holiday seasons in my many years as an interiorscaper. From staff not showing up (or showing up hungover), to redecorating entire 15-foot trees because lights stopped working or ribbon was attached cockeyed, to locking keys inside a company vehicle and waiting for three hours for Pop-A-Lock to arrive, I have experienced almost every challenge you could possibly imagine. Basically, it was the quintessential Murphy’s Law for several holiday set-up seasons. Recently, I made a commitment to be more organized and minimize costly mistakes, starting with hiring new staff.

Interiorscape Challenge #1: Hiring

In the past, I never began looking for new seasonal help until summer, but after several frustrating seasons, I’ve started looking the week after New Year’s. I also hire two extra people in the event someone doesn’t show up. In addition, I’ve increased my seasonal rate by an extra five dollars an hour. This is a gamble since my labor costs have gone way over budget in past seasons. However, it helps attract more skilled workers who are more likely to dedicate their time on Thanksgiving weekend or the days leading up to and after Christmas.

As funny as it sounds, I always have on hand a kit consisting of Tylenol, snacks, and a cooler full of liquids for employees who show up in a bad condition. As a business owner, you may wonder why I don’t just send them home, but if you’ve ever tried calling people in the day after Thanksgiving, I’m sure you understand. You’re lucky if the person you’re trying to reach even answers their phone, and it’s a miracle if they agree to come in. In the past, I’ve been desperate enough to call friends and family, begging for their help. Now I make sure I’m staffed appropriately and prepared for anything.

Interiorscape Challenge #2: Prepping

Prepping as much as possible is key to a smooth holiday decorating season. I had a bad habit of procrastinating, but now, I start to prepare for next year while taking down client décor. It used to be a rush job of hauling everything out of the building and shoving it into storage as fast as possible. Instead, I now label every client item, store all items together, and put everything away neatly for easy retrieval.

Of course, the less you must decorate on-site, the more you save on labor time, so I pre-decorate every wreath, garland, and swag before installation. This way, time spent on the job site consists mostly of hanging and adjusting. It’s fairly simple to pre-decorate trees that are under 9 feet—just wrap them in cellophane after decorating to both protect and keep decorations in place during transport.

Unfortunately, most of my client trees are 12 feet tall or more, so moving something that size in one piece and fitting it through a door or in an elevator is nearly impossible. To combat this issue, I came up with an idea to simplify the decorating process for seasonal staff, who tend to be more inexperienced.

Instead of decorating a large tree with each ornament, ribbon, and bow individually, I pre-decorate thick strands of garland. When it’s time to work on-site, the staff simply wraps the garlands around the tree. This saves loads of time and makes it much easier for seasonal help to achieve a professional look. The final step is to add a few ornaments to the bare areas of the tree. Although buying several strands of high-quality garland is a major investment for me, it’s worth the money. For smaller trees, I use plain pine branches and change out the decor year after year—the same concept but on a smaller scale.

Interiorscape Challenge #3: Organizing

Most of my seasonal staff are new each year, so they have no idea what to expect, how to run installations, or where I keep all the supplies. My responsibility is to make sure I fully explain the procedures of setting up a commercial tree—checking the lights before installation, fluffing the branches before adding décor, attaching ornaments securely with wire, and so on.

My responsibility also includes making sure each project has every tool and material the staff might need. I lost many valuable hours in previous years when staff ran around to stores or the storage unit to retrieve supplies. There are a dozen things that can go wrong on a job, and if you don’t prepare, believe me, Murphy’s Law will become a reality.

Interiorscape Success

Being proactive and investing extra money into labor and supplies really pays off. Yes, there will still be some complications, like a new hire who disappears for Thanksgiving weekend jobs or lights that decide to stop working during installation, but the process should be much less of a challenge than in previous years if you’re properly prepared. The best part is that with less stress, you’re likely to get more enjoyment out of the holiday season!