Macy's wants corporate employees to work in stores over the busy holiday season, at a time where some retailers are struggling to hire enough staff

• Macy's has asked its corporate staff to volunteer for shift work in stores over the holidays.
• The company encouraged workers to volunteer for three 9-to-5 shifts, per The Washington Post.

Macy's is calling on corporate employees to work in stores over the holidays.

In emails and a corporate memo viewed by The Washington Post, Macy's urged head-office workers to volunteer for shifts in stores over the busy holiday season in a program dubbed "Experience Elevation Elves."

The company encouraged workers to volunteer for three full-day shifts in stores, running from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and advised them to wear "comfortable, close-toed shoes and business casual dress," per The Post.

This comes at a time where retailers are struggling to hire staff.

Many US retailers, along with warehousing and transportation companies, are scrambling to hire a record number of seasonal workers this year to cover the busy holiday shopping season.

A tight labor market is making this difficult — workers who have been put off by low pay, long hours, and rude customers in the retail industry are ditching their jobs to pursue other careers. Because of this, some retailers are starting to offer more competitive wages, sign-on bonuses, and perks such as free college tuition.

Macy's said earlier this year that it wanted to hire 76,000 employees across its stores, call centers, distribution centers, and fulfillment centers; 48,000 of these roles are specifically for the holidays.

Macy's did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on how many vacancies were left to fill over the holiday season.

A spokeswoman for Macy's confirmed the email to The Post and said that the company had encouraged volunteering opportunities for years.

"Supporting our store colleagues is a great opportunity to build camaraderie with teammates and be a part of making the holiday shopping experience for our customers special," the spokeswoman said. "This also gives our corporate colleagues a valuable opportunity to interact and get direct feedback from customers."

In its most recent earnings call in August, Macy's CEO Jeff Gennette discussed the labor shortage and said the company was addressing the "intense competition for talent" by using different hiring techniques, including offering incentives to hourly workers who make referrals.