> HUMAN CAPITAL
The Buc-ees’ chain of convenience stores (left) posts actual pay rates as part of its recruitment efforts while the Wawa chain touts its benefits package at store entrances.
“They’re committed to help us up-skilling the next generation of the retail workforce,” said Ellen Davis, a long time NRF employee elevated to the role of President of the NRF Foundation in March. “And we have lots of partners in many other sectors. We call them delivery partners. Those are people who actually implement the training and the credentialing. It could be a high school or it could be workforce development group or a nonprofit or even a community college in some cases.” Davis says NRF’s vision for RISE Up is to shape the future of the industry’s talent at all levels and the effort is the culmination of work begun years earlier. “In 2012 we conducted a survey with retailers to try and understand what the biggest talent needs and talent challenges were. Around 2015 the economy started to rebound and retail talent started getting even harder to find. Although we have had a credentialing program since the 1990s, we started working on a program that would be more holistic.” Despite tremendous shifts in retail over the past 12
Retail Leader.com JULY/AUGUST 2018
decade as more consumers shop online, retail jobs have been growing at a steady clip. The retail sector has added 1.5 million jobs since 2010, according to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. “The retail industry has about 600,000 to 700,000 open jobs right now. We still see a net gain in retail jobs every year. While you’ve got some companies closing stores, you’ve got a lot of companies who are opening stores and you’ve got needs there,” Davis said. NRF’s intensified efforts come just as the type of retail jobs and the nature of work in stores and distribution centers is changing. As much as technology has disrupted the retail business model, it has also greatly disrupted labor needs. “Digitization isn’t just changing the retail industry, it is changing society. And at a time when we have six different generations in the workplace, equipping all associates with the next-generation skills they need to continue growing both personally and professionally has never been more important,” said Tim Massa, group vice president of human resources and labor relations of The Kroger Co. Amid the lowest unemployment in years, rising wages and the shift toward shopping online, retailers are automating more store work. Target wants workers to develop deeper product expertise to improve customer service or perform new tasks like managing online orders picked up in stores. NRF developed the RISE Up curriculum specifically to meet these new skill sets. Another retailer in particular, Lowe’s, has been working hard to find employees who can offer customers a customized, on-demand experience however they shop, whether in stores, online or in their homes.