The retail industry has taken more knocks than a prize-fighter in recent years. The pressures placed on brick and mortar stores has been immense thanks to the rise of ecommerce but even online retailers haven’t got away unscathed due to the sheer amount of competition out there.
This is why it’s vital to ensure that your retail workforce is happy and performing well. Without a strong, balanced workforce, no company can thrive.
As Steve Jobs said, “Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people.”
Getting to know you – at a cost!
So how do you make sure your retail staff love coming to work? Is it as simple as paying them well? Making sure they get enough breaks? Staff incentives?
Most decent employers understand that these are things which employees value, so why is the churn rate so high in the retail industry?
What’s going on when according to recent research, as many as 41% of retail workers on average, are leaving their positions after less than a year?
That’s a lot of new hires needed on a very regular basis! How can employers keep their team happy when so many of them are complete newbies? With new staff members arriving on a very regular basis, there’s a lot of paperwork to fulfil, a lot of “getting to know you” conversations, training and meetings to arrange.
None of this is of any use whatsoever if the information garnered is not well organised so that it can be accessed whenever necessary and of course, it’s an expensive game too, this taking on of new staff. New hires can cost thousands in time and training so too many new people on isn’t something most employers want to encourage.
With so many new retail staff members leaving their employment before they’ve worked there for even a year, it’s vital that retail organisations begin to look at the importance of a well-structured system for the basic management of new employees if they want to improve retention.
Who’s she again?
When new hires arrive but don’t feel as though anyone’s ready for them, or they find themselves having to chase up paperwork to ensure they get their paperwork seen to in a timely fashion, they’re simply not going to be happy.
A lack of direction upon arriving at their new employment will create an atmosphere of insecurity and unhappiness because new hires aren’t sure of their place in the day-to-day running of the business and other staff members know nothing about them, which leads to a lot of “Who’s he again?” comments…and let’s face it, that does nothing to help new staff feel like they’re going to fit in!
By switching to digital onboarding you go some lengths towards avoiding the old issues of “what’s her name?” because the automated HR system can send out introductions prior to your new hire’s arrival, that way everyone’s expecting them and they’re going to be welcomed properly. They will also be able to see team bios and feel like they have some knowledge of their new colleagues.
Digital onboarding cuts down the time previously wasted in managing the tedious but vital paperwork each new hire necessitates and it frees up staff so that they can undertake more important tasks. Digital HR management ensures that your new hire feels like their arrival has been properly managed, making them feel welcome and valued.
Forms arrive on time; the right questions get asked and your new team member feels confident and happy to be on board. Both of which are important factors when it comes to retaining staff!
