Mid-2014 Retail Recruiting Outlook

Mid-2014 Retail Recruiting OutlookMid-2014 Retail Recruiting OutlookMid-2014 Retail Recruiting Outlook CleaverRecent retail sales trends may have you thinking that its business as usual in retail recruiting.Thats likely because, despite all the algorithms, automation and anonymity of digital sales, 93.8% of retail sales still occur in bricks-and-mortar stores, in a transaction completed by two people, according to the US Census Bureau (based on first quarter 2014 sales.)But ask retail industry consultants, experts and academics about the direction of retail recruiting and theyll tell you that ecommerce and traditional retail are on a convergence course.Why? Because mobile technology is about much more than letting consumers comparison-shop it is actually reshaping retail skill sets and retail hiring.When retail sales associates pull stock from the shelves of their stores to fill orders sent in by customers in other states, their jobs are merging with fulfillment and customer service positions, says Ellen Davis, executive director of the National Retail Federation Foundation, which is ramping up research on retail careers.Retailers are staffing for digital, she says. These are positions that didnt even exist five years ago. The retail hiring trends and challenges will get more difficult.Here are some of the biggest trends reshaping retail recruitment and retail career paths.Digital, Digital, DigitalInformation technology is evolving from the cube farm and onto the selling floor.The trend is being driven by innovations that change everything, such as mobile point-of-sale via Ipads equipped with credit card swipers, says Davis.Todays sales associates must know these technologies as well as how to use them to better help customers, rather than solely focusing on the screen and ignore the customer thats right in front of them.Even store security staff are affected by digital. If you go to paperless receipts, that flows through to security, asset protection and other functions, says Davis, who points out that emailed receipts cant be checked at the door as proof of purchase.A Budding Relationship with ITRetail IT staff is no longer managing just the bits and bytes of inventory and financials. They must be adept at collaborating with every department at headquarters and with support staff in the field.Deborah Fowler, director of the retail management program at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, says that information technology and analytics is the gist of the schools curriculum.Students quickly learn that category management is less about being an expert in that particular product category and almost all about how to read numbers and trends to stay a step ahead of consumers.But the upside of that quant immersion, says Fowler, is that everyday retail analytics is a skill that is both highly transferable and much in demand.Everything from ordering to display design is now dictated by headquarters and digitally tracked, so theres little left for st ore managers to do except hire, develop and retain great employees which was always their most important job anyway, says Fowler.A retail store manager is really a human resource director, she says. The great store managers have to be people-oriented, looking not just to help customers, but their own employees.The Importance of Employee TrainingRetailers are starting to focus on employee training as a strategic advantage, says Davis.Training has often been haphazard at retailers, partly because at the store level, the work is both repetitive and intuitive complete transactions and win customers.To ensure that the gee-whiz elements of mobile technology dont end up hijacking the customer experience, some retailers are blending sales and customer service skills with technical updates, says Amanda Nicholson, associate dean for undergraduate programs at the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University.For example, savvy employers train sales associates not just in how to use an i -pad-based inventory system, but also, how to make sure the sight of the iPad doesnt discourage customer inquiries.And that combination is proving attractive for candidates who want reassurance that they there is room to grow in retail jobs, she adds.Training is key, says Kevin Knapp, recruiting and talent director for The Container Store. Though the chain of 66 stores sells relatively simple storage and home organizing products, its staff are complete hundreds of hours of training each year.As part of their new hire training, employees learn details about the products. Even more important they need to cultivate the art of careful listening for the problem that the customer is truly trying to solve, and how to offer creative solutions.We create an air of fun and success, says Knapp. We want this to be a passion, and that is achieved both through training and through fun events that recognize personal events in our peoples lives.The Container Stores approach works it picks only 3% o f the 70,000 applications it receives annually.Building an Employer BrandThe one thing retailers cant train for is employee attitude.Employees who love the employer brand and what it stands still are the ones with the special sauce. Retailers are turning social media dynamics into successful recruiting hook for reeling in employees of all ages and life stages.Someone who loves the product understands what the customer likes, and its a lot easier to sell what you like, says Davis. Literally, it becomes a peer to peer customer experience, like shopping with a friend.Retailers are realizing that their brands are fodder for social media, the ultimate network for finding clones of their most successful staff.They are trying to figure out how their marketing brand and their employer brand are in sync, says Davis.Understanding what metrics validate the employer brand thats a shift when you are used to inventory and sales numbers. It takes longer to figure out what a successful employer br and looks like.