Challenges in Retail Management and How to Overcome Them
Retail is one of the big contributors to the UK economy with a gross added value (GVA) of £89 billion. In fact, the sector employs approximately 5 million people across the country.
It’s also a notoriously difficult industry to work in. Dealing with unhappy customers, working on your feet all day, and regular anti-social hours can lead to employees opting for other industries. This can make recruiting and retaining individuals within the industry consistently tough - which is one of the many challenges in retail management that exist.
HR issues in retailing also include competition with other retailers. Creating a pleasurable and personalised shopping experience to draw customers in and away from competitors requires trained and efficient shop workers. But how do retail employers create that perfect shopping experience to drive profits whilst navigating workforce management challenges, such as recruitment, retention, development and scheduling?
This ebook takes you through the most common retail workforce management challenges and how to overcome them.
Why is HR important in the retail?
HR is crucial in retail for several reasons. It ensures effective staffing and hiring the right talent for customer-facing roles. HR also manages employee training, ensuring staff is well-equipped to provide excellent customer service. It plays a vital role in maintaining a positive work environment, boosting employee morale, and reducing turnover, which is critical in a sector with high staff churn - one of the top HR challenges in retail industry.
Additionally, HR is instrumental in managing conflicts, promoting diversity and inclusion, and aligning employee goals with organisational objectives, contributing to overall retail success.
What are the key HR issues in retailing?
In retail, key HR issues include high turnover rates, often due to seasonal demands and part-time work, necessitating robust recruitment and retention strategies. Employee training is crucial to ensure consistent customer service quality.
Compliance with employment laws, especially regarding working hours and wages, also requires constant attention in order to keep up with regulatory amends.
Many HR teams within retail would also argue that balancing flexible scheduling with employees' needs poses a huge challenge. Download our ebook to read more!
How can Factorial help you streamline your HR processes?
Factorial offers a suite of HR tools to streamline tedious, manual processes. This includes timekeeping, absence tracking, recruitment, finance tools and more that automate routine tasks to improve their efficiency and accuracy.
Plus, the platform centralises all of these processes in one, user-friendly platform, reducing the time spent flicking between various programmes and making it easier to complete them.