The Face of Retail is Changing … It’s time to blend
The face of the industry we love so much is changing. As lockdowns snap and extend and border closures remain, we are seeing a big shift in the public opinion of career opportunity in the industry that we love so much.
We’re out in the market actively headhunting every day and what we are hearing is a very high volume of candidates saying:
“I’ve chosen to move out of retail and into another industry.”
What is sparking this decision?
It’s the fact that our store teams can’t work from home during lockdowns
Being constantly stood down results in a lack of income, an increase in stress and an even more challenging lockdown mindset than the average (imagine having no 9-5 during your own lockdown - that’s rough)
Industries like tech and startup businesses are relishing in new retail applicants who come with the multitasking, customer service and leadership capabilities of retail leaders. They’re snapping these candidates up and candidates are loving it because WFH is entirely possible in this area
The skills, training and development opportunities retail workplaces are offering aren’t aligned with the speed that tech and automation is moving and changing
Picking and packing/virtual appointment shifts are the only paid-shift option being offered during lockdowns (and whilst the income from these shifts is supportive, these tasks alone are just not engaging or frequent enough for the in-store team)
So what’s the solution?
We don’t have the answer … but we do want to get your mind jogging on the topic…
QUEUE: THE JOB BLEND CONCEPT
We’ve had our eye on the concept of job blending for years now - it’s ever rife in the support office world and the evolution of blended roles has only just begun.
The rise of tech has meant that many of the day-to-day mundane admin tasks we formerly undertook have now transitioned into an automated space. With admin tasks now being automated, AI has meant we have more time on our hands to do the more strategic ‘stuff’ in the workplace. Hence, many office staff support a cross function of roles and carry out the function that two employees may have done separately in the past. Consider these examples:
HR Manager has become People & Culture Manager (goodbye boring admin and hello engagement strategies)
Allocators are now commonly in charge of both Inventory & Merchandise functions (thank you techy ERP and new control oversights)
National Retail Managers and Clusters are frequently taking on Wholesale Support tasks
Production Managers are taking on roles that sounds like Production and Sustainability Officer
Training Roles now almost always are blended with HR admin
The list goes on …. these are just some of my personal observations that I am frequently seeing in the market place.
And so goes my train of thought and suggested ‘cure’ for retail careers during lock down…
If we can successfully blend office roles, why can’t we do the same for our Store Managers?
It’s not as simple and easy as tacking a new role onto the end of a Store Manager position, but I do believe that with the right training investment from the get-go, brands can build their Store Managers into skill-blended power houses who not only can work from home during lockdowns, but more importantly, will also become killer successors for office roles in the future.
A simple formula to get your mind jogging might look like this:
Understand the desired career path for each manager in your team
Connect them with that department and encourage a set department ‘buddy’ (or the dept. manager depending on your size) to delegate monthly or fortnightly basic tasks to this person
Continue to elevate the tasks and the skills to match it over time and assess the quality output that is achieved
It will take time for the skills and capabilities to evolve, however this skill development pathway is a fantastic way to secure a longer tenure and improve your hiring process/the need to go external for entry level office roles. If this practice had been in place for 12 months prior to a lockdown (and if salary budgeting during a lockdown can support), shifts in these
For example:
Managers who want to succession into planning and buying might sit it on buy meetings, pull allocated reporting, share customer-facing insights into the data and pitch this during review phases
Social Media aspirers could be given the task of creating UGC during an allocated afternoon shift and share with the marketing team, or can analyse analytics in Hootsuite on a weekly basis and share with the wider marketing team
Customer Relationship extraordinnaires can sit in on and assist in the planning and development phases of customer experience program planning and brand activations, or take on an afternoon a week of LiveChat or email resolution functions
HR passion players can assist in resume screening, reference checking or revival of outdated training content for stores
In addition to blending store leadership skills with office functionalities, brands should truly consider the pace that technology is moving and how they can elevate the skill set of their leaders to up skill in the area of tech. Technological proficiency is a highly sought-after skill that most employees need to have for their next role application. There are a decadent selection of retail analytics, timesheet and rostering platforms, CRM, POS systems and more floating about - and all of these tools will make your leaders more capable of achieving BIG results. In addition to our Store Managers being taught the soft skills of leadership, why not also invest in the tech proficiencies of your managers and teach them:
Effective email management and communication strategies
High level excel skills
Technology suite proficiency (the tech that is used in your business)
Virtual team working tools
Tech skills are the now and they are a very important skill in the future of shop-floor successes.
The face of retail as we know it is changing. Small moves now will lead to big results in team engagement and staff retention in the future. So consider - how will you up skill your most valuable business asset to keep your best performers after this current lockdown?
The future of the role of Store Manager is in your hands.
With love,
Lauren x