attract your retail stars (and keep!) How To

With staff shortages continuing to grow across the country, Aislinn Lea of Excel Recruitment details what employers can do to attract and keep their star teams

It’s a different world in retail, post-Pandemic, Aislinn Lea, Director of Non-Food and Fashion Retail at Excel Recruitment agrees. “Retail employee retention has always been challenging, but it has reached new heights since the pandemic. Retail workers are now seeking roles that offer greater work-life balance and more flexibility as well as the company being the right culture fit,” she says. Sourcing, training and onboarding new team members can be expensive, so it is worth investing in retention strategies to prevent high employee turnover. With this in mind, Aslinn says there are a number of key reasons good retail staff will start to think about leaving to be mindful of. And luckily, there are steps you can take to prevent this, as she explains below.

Why do great retail staff leave?

Progression

If employees have accomplished everything they can from their existing role, they will seek fulfilment elsewhere. Often candidates feel new companies will have more scope for this and that they will have a renewed sense of purpose by taking on additional responsibilities.

Salary

While salary alone does not make people leave, the cost of living is consistently increasing and it is important that wages are attractive for people to maintain a good standard of living.

How can you retain your staff?

Benefits and Salary

If your employees feel undervalued in their job, they will likely look for a new role. While salary is not a primary motivator for everyone, we all have a common interest to increase our basic pay. If increasing wages is not an option, other incentives such as increased annual leave, pension, medical schemes, retention bonus, and work hours flexibility will help.

Weekend Management

Every second weekend on/ off is proving to be popular among some retail partners. Introducing weekend management cover that allows your full-time management team to have their weekends off is also a plus. Hiring experienced individuals who used to be in the Retail Industry but left full-time work for various reasons, is a great way to give your full-time workers some flexibility.

Work Environment

Retail jobs can be monotonous, so it is important to give staff varied responsibility to make the employee feel valued and avoid the risk of boredom in their role. Negative workplace relationships can also contribute to people leaving.

Internal Promotions

If you leave a strong employee in the same position for too long, it can result in employee fatigue or boredom. It’s essential to introduce progression plans for your teams. Training & development opportunities will indicate to staff they are on a good career trajectory. The opportunity for a secondment where an employee can temporarily work on a different team or project is also a good option.

Communication

Clear communication is key. Sit down with your employees and have those essential conversations. What are their expectations? Where do they see their role going? How can they achieve their career aspirations in the company? Regular and positive appraisals will make the team feel more valued, and less likely to leave.

For recruitment assistance or advice, please contact Aislinn Lea on 086 8073544 or email Aislinn at: aislinn@excelrecruitment.com

Tommy Smyth, Tom Smyth & Associates