Running a retail store is exciting and challenging, considering there were about 1.05 million retail stores in 2021. Owners have to conduct marketing, take care of finances, ensure they’re on suppliers’ good books and manage the retail employees.
Thankfully, about 81% of consumers say they would go to a store to purchase exclusive items. It seems retail companies still have a few good years in them, even as eCommerce is bearing down on them.
One of the biggest headaches you could deal with are team members who are unmanageable. Here are five tips to avoid hiring the wrong person and finding the right candidate to contribute to company success.
1. Give Clear Job Descriptions
As your retail business takes on new hires, one effective retail management skill involves handing out job descriptions. That ensures they have a clear understanding of what they will be doing. Most haven’t worked a day in a store, so induct new employees into the retail industry by giving clear expectations.
Once they know what’s expected of them on the sales floor, it will be easier to deliver. As with new hires, ensure you do the same for older employees you promote or move to different departments.
A minute not wasted wondering if they are doing the right thing is a minute spent problem-solving and taking care of your customers. Don’t just tell them about their jobs—write and print out instructions and directions new employees can refer to.
2. Use Digital Signage
Digital signage is an excellent way to track KPIs openly and visibly for all your retail staff. They can also be of great use in directing new employees and customers in a large retail store, minimizing confusion. That will help them save time when looking for different items or moving from one department to another.
Moreover, you can use displays in stockrooms for inventory management and break rooms for entertainment and communication purposes. Either way, digital signage is an essential tool that will aid in managing retail employees.
3. Retail Store Automation
Providing store automation for retail employees might seem like an oxymoron, but it is a key cog of successful management. For instance, you can use automation to sift job applications and onboard new store employees.
Further, automation can take care of the heavy lifting of the products while the employees can concentrate on the presentation. Automation takes care of repetitive, mind-numbing tasks, improving efficiency.
Automation eliminates human errors, so store employees won’t have to stress over making mistakes. That also means you won’t lose if you include automation in crucial places such as point-of-sale (POS) and distribution centers.
Including automation in your retail stores allows staff members to concentrate on the quality of life issues, like enhancing customer experience.
4. Incentivize Your Staff
Providing incentives to your staff is a highly effective retail management strategy. There are several ways to implement this, which will fit any management style.
For instance, you can offer refunds to your best sales associate for purchases they make in your store. In addition, you can recognize the best performing employees by awarding them with the best employee of the month badges.
One of the best incentives is an increase in payroll every few months or years. It not only motivates the retail employees, but it also has a pleasant surprise in it for you. An analysis of a large retailer found that a $1 increase in employer wages returned $4-$28 in monthly retail sales.
Employee engagement is excellent for staff motivation and fostering healthy competition. These incentives also push retail employees to meet their sales targets, perfect for business.
Moreover, when employees are excited about their workplace, it can move them to post your brand on social media platforms. That elevates your brand in the eyes of consumers and other retail employees.
5. Regular Inspections
Great retail store managers don’t leave their staff to their devices—they monitor and give feedback regularly. However, it would be best to refrain from being an overbearing hawk that watches and monitors your team member’s every move. Instead, aim to assist in problem-solving and make your team’s job much more manageable.
