Challenges And Recommendations For Employee Recruitment, Selection, And Assessment In The Retail Industry Essay.

Discuss about the Employee Recruitment, Selection, and Assessment.

This paper will try to show how it is a challenge to hire and retain employees in the retail sector. This paper will also offer recommendations that can be implemented so that retail companies can retain their workforce. It is a challenge to retain employees in the retail sector because employees in the retail industry have to work on weekends and public holidays as that is the golden period for retailers. This results in a lot of stress among employees as they tend to work for long hours away from their families during the festive season. Millennials are entering the work place and it is not uncommon to find them switch jobs for a minor increase in their salary. Regardless of the industry, employee turnover is a pertinent issue that is faced by employers the world over. Excessive turnover of employees can decrease the efficiency of a company. The financial costs incurred by recruiting and retraining new employees can have a severe effect on the overall bottom line of a company.

Of all the industries in the world, the retail industry has the most trying time in hiring and retaining its employees (Deery & Jago, 2015).According to studies conducted, the retail sector has been reporting staff turnover at a rate of five percent per month. Studies suggests that retailers should become more rigorous during the process of hiring by using the DISC personality stress which looks into drive, influence, steadiness and compliance to rules as part of the process of training. (Deery & Jago, 2015). The DISC profile, published by Wiley is a tool which is used to analyze the behavioral differences of people. Participants are asked a series of questions that reflects their personality, attitudes and behaviour. A person will also receive tips relating to working with people who have a different style of working. It is one of the best performance assessment tools used by multitude of people every year to improve work productivity, communication and teamwork.

DISC profiles helps to increase one’s knowledge about his or her own self wherein a person comes to know how he or she responds to conflict, what the driving force that motivates that person is, what causes stress to that person and how the person solves problems. It improves relationships by recognizing the various communication needs of team members. It leads to greater teamwork and develop strong sales by identifying a customer style and responding accordingly. It also helps to manage employees and team members by understanding their disposition and their priorities. It also helps a person to become well rounded, self-knowledgeable and effective team leaders ( Luthans & Doh, 2018).

Hiring and Retaining Talented Employees

This therefore standardizes the interview process which is sometimes subjective and not always an accurate indicator whether the person hired will match the role or not.

The issues that are mostly faced by leaders include attracting talented people and retaining those who are talented, developing the talent of the people one has, performance management, creation of leadership teams, making decisions among others. Hiring and retaining talented people is extremely important because people who are talented are up to eight times more productive than average people. The success of any organization depends on their ability to acquire and retain talent. To retain employees, one must ensure that they are satisfied with their jobs. An employee puts in a lot of hard work, gives time, experience, ideas and efforts to the organization he or she is working in and expects to receive rewards, compensation, perks, benefits and working in a great organization with great people. An employee also expects professional growth and professional development in order to enhance their skills. An employee also wants a good quality life and a healthy work-life balance and good and proper facilities to work in.

A good employee of the retail sector is made a lot better by training as training enhances the skills. Employees should be trained well in customer service and should only be allowed to interact with customers after their training is completed so as not to irate customers. Corporate retailers should invest on training store managers and also on the new entrants because the new entrants might approach a store manager for help. So it is imperative to train store managers as well so that they are able to mentor the new employees and a.  Providing training to employees create a sense of bonding between them which results in employees giving their very best to the organization and working for long hours at the office.

The word of mouth of staff members also leads to employee recruitment. Line managers also play an important role in managing attendance at work. Earlier the main objectives of the retailer were to increase the number of sales, building the brand and think and implement expansion strategies. But in the heavily competitive world of retailing, the trend of online shopping has diminished customer loyalty as many customers prefer to shop online. This has posed a major challenge for the Human Resource personnel and it is increasingly becoming difficult for them to attract talented people and retain their existing talent in an organization.

Training Employees

The challenges that make retail recruitment so demanding is the fact that retail recruitment is highly decentralized. Apart from major companies, the hiring is done by managers with little or no expertise in recruitment ( Luthans & Doh, 2018). Recruitment is sometimes also conducted face-to-face. However walk-ins can be disruptive for store managers who are busy, as they may not have the time to interview them. Or if the manager desperately needs people to man a store then the manager might hire the person who works-in regardless of the fact whether that person has the requisite experience or not. The manager may not have the time to find out if the person is really qualified for the role or not. High staff turnover also poses a problem to human resource.

Human resource personnel may find it difficult in retaining some of their employees as the applicants may want only temporary work as they might be students wanting to earn some extra money during festive seasons. Ongoing recruitment can prove detrimental and disrupt the costs for training if staff members leave before they become productive. Additionally, if wrong people are recruited in front line roles then customer demands may not be fulfilled and customers may not receive good service and their expectations may not be met.

Retailers can take the following steps to ensure that they address these challenges. Retailers can do an in-depth job analysis wherein the competencies and qualities in new recruits will be revealed. Training employees is extremely essential to build a strong customer base, build customer loyalty and ensure customer satisfaction. Hiring people who are helpful boosts customer loyalty. Hiring the wrong people can damage the reputation of an organization and waste financial and other resources. Retailers also face demographic challenges as competition increases the need for an ethnically diverse workforce wherein customers can identify with the employees, feel secured and shop in peace. Employee turnovers hinders the ability of a store’s need to grow talent and recruit management from within.

Retailers can build training academies to train its employees thereby preventing existing employees from leaving the organization. Companies can also increase the salary of its employees, and ensure that employees have access to new means of technology at the work place. Employees also need to feel safe at the workplace. Ongoing training regardless of level is extremely essential for employee retention. Employers should share the company’s culture and the progress of the company with all its employees. One should have a strong bank culture, recognize and award employees thereby leading an organization to grow. One should remain flexible with staff off days during weekdays. One should also keep the channels of communication open and listen and offer solution to the grievances of employees. One should also have an open door policy wherein members of the staff can reach their employer. It is important to create an environment wherein employees take pride in working. Employees should be able to relate to the values and principles of the company. Employees should be encouraged to take a role in a brand’s narrative.

Addressing Challenges in Retail Recruitment

Employee recognition programs are pertinent in the retail industry. There is a lot of stress especially during the holidays. If employers can make their employees feel valuable, it will improve the attitudes of the employees towards everybody, including customers. According to CNBC, the employees who are motivated and engaged bring in about sixty nine percent than those who are not (Luthans & Doh, 2018). Employers can give sales incentives to their employees. They can also give rewards for working for long hours during the festive season or reward employees for their perfect attendance, thereby showing their appreciation towards their employees.

Retail outlets can retain their employees by building a strong culture of customer service while simultaneously rewarding their employees. Retail outlets can show their appreciation towards the employees by bestowing awards on their employees, providing time-off to employees or can publically recognize them by featuring them in their company’s official newsletter and magazines. Praising employees, providing awards, and recognizing their contribution are also cost-effective ways to retain an existing workforce.

The main challenge faced by all retailers is employee turnover. Hiring the wrong people can lead to a company’s reputation being damaged, it can lead to a waste of precious time and other resources. Studies show that when an employer replaces a salaried employee, it could cost the company six to nine month’s salary on an average. As millenials are entering the workforce and baby boomers are retiring, human resources personnel have to think of new and innovative. strategies of engaging the workforce ( Luthans & Doh, 2018).  Since the millenials are different from the baby boomers in terms of their attitudes towards their job and their expectations from a job, the human resources department should focus on creating human resources strategy which focuses on millenials as well.

A major challenge faced by human resource personnel is to find a new way to attract and retain talented people. Human resource personnel should hire people from different cultures, ethnicities etc so as to ensure a diverse workforce. Job insecurity is another problem plaguing the retail industry. Human resource managers should focus on removing any job insecurities by providing a good compensation package to their employees. By providing proper training, promotions, growth and development opportunities, the human resource personnel can help in retaining the existing employees.

A major problem facing the retail industry is employee retention. Retaining employees in the retail sector can be a Herculean task, as employees come and go sporadically and it can be a serious problem retaining them. Training and development are difficult and consumes a lot of time and other resources if one has to constantly recruit and train new people. This problem can be mitigated if one hires the right people and build a good rapport with the employees and offer them rewards, perks, appraisals and benefits. Informal social outings and playing fun games at work on a specific day and time can help to build rapport with the existing members of an organization.

Recommendations for Retailers

A diverse workforce consisting of people from different ethnicities, nationalities is a always a good thing as it leads to better results. However, people from different backgrounds may find it difficult to adjust to one another. It is the responsibility of the human resource personnel to ensure that people coming from different backgrounds get along well together and there is no animosity at the workplace. The human resource personnel should also promote a sense of tolerance and teamwork (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014). One should encourage discussion of diversity during store meetings and encourage employees to talk to each other about their differences. These steps can promote cohesiveness in a team.

Trained manpower is difficult to get and this is a major challenge for the organized sector of retail. Retail personnel are finding it difficult to find trained people and they invariably pay more to find trained and educated workers. This brings down the profit of the human resource personnel. Earlier it was all about cutting labour costs and employing a workforce that was disposable but that attitude has undergone a change with retailers now seeing employees as a part of the success of a company. One should encourage and implement policies that focus on engagement and satisfaction of the employees, boost the wages of employees, invest in the proper training of employees, and strive to employ people who are seeking a career instead of a wage. This will lead to a rise in operation costs, and shares will fall, but it will also lead to the increase in revenue, a decrease in employee turnover and an increase in the satisfaction of customers. Happier employees lead to happier customers which, in turn leads to an increase in profit and better business.

One should focus on the wellbeing of employees. If an employee is unhappy or unwell then his performance is bound to suffer and that would affect the growth of the business as well. In order to prevent this from happening, companies have started to offer its employees an occupational health team, gift vouchers for investments that are health-related and free counseling for employees and their families. The company Asda,also provides employees with a wellness hub which offers consultation rooms for occupational health and mental health (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014). Wellbeing programs create a healthy working environment, offers the much needed support to employees, create an environment of inclusiveness and promote a better work-life balance. The stigma attached to physical and mental well being has been eliminated and companies are extending this newfound awareness in the workplace. The existing programs of retailers are already reaping the benefits of wellbeing programs in terms of retention and employee engagement. Apart from annual increase in salaries, retail organization can offer spot bonuses to employees for their great work without altering their salaries permanently.

Employee referrals are also a way to hiring new people. A challenge faced by retail organizations is ensuring that one has enough skilled work force on the shop floor. Retailers are increasingly replacing previous human resource systems for cutting edge technology like cloud-based technology and reaping the benefits (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014). Dynamic rostering is just one example of the way technology can revolutionize management of talent on the shop floor and let human resource personnel and team managers concentrate on strategy and team management.

Conclusion:

The retail industry is thus facing major challenges, with retail stores closing down and retailers shifting to ecommerce in order to do their business, and to meet the changing needs and demands of customers. Online shopping has created a lot of jobs and the changes are driven by technology. The retail industry has a high percentage of part – time employees which makes retention of employees very difficult. One should thus offer benefits, rewards, incentives and perks to employees in order to retain them. One should also help them in their professional development and growth for the employees to be happy and give their best to the organization.

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