Retailers can often find themselves in a vicious negative cycle. Because they can’t find quality employees, they lower the standard and hire whoever walks through the door. To no one’s surprise—and since these folks shouldn’t have been hired in the first place—they don’t perform well on the retail sales floor. Since this retailer is having trouble hiring anyway, they’re afraid to address the underperformance, and so the declining standard continues in the wrong direction. 

Let’s break this cycle. 

Here’s the problem: There are currently 5.5 million more job openings than there are workers to fill them (US Dept of Labor). By early 2022, 700,000 people were resigning from retail jobs each month (US Dept of Labor). 63% of retailers are operating with a staff deficit (Outdoor Retailer Magazine). There are twice as many part-time employees as full-time (Outdoor Retailer Magazine).

As if that wasn’t enough, too many retailers have developed a variety of bad habits that are inhibiting their success:

 -Hiring out of desperation

 -Rushing to hire, without a clear process

 -Mistaking enthusiasm for competence

 -Selecting from too few candidates

Here’s the final kicker. The country’s leading expert in hiring and selection (Jerry Bell) states that only 8-12% of the population have the achievement mindset necessary for retail success. If those are the odds, we have to spend much more time focusing in this area in order to win at hiring. 

Here are some best practices for you to consider:

• Create and clear recruitment/application/selection process internally that your team is committed to and trained on. Make sure the recruitment components are “applicant-friendly”. 
  • One of our retailers had posted their entire application online. Anyone considering a job with them had to complete about 8 pages of questions and information. In any given month well over 1,000 people landed on their careers page and initiated the process. The “abandon rate”? 96%! Once we reduced that application to one easy page (followed by a screening call) those numbers dramatically improved.
• Speaking of your careers page, start with that change. No longer is it, “Help Wanted” now, it should be, “Start your career with us here.”
  • A successful running retailer has several videos on their career page from former employees who are now thriving in other areas of the running industry. They describe how much fun it was to start their career there and how that job positioned them for other cool opportunities.
• In-store signage should be fun and on-brand. Not “Now Hiring”….instead try using your brand’s cool voice in the sign. QR code to your careers landing page, where a few simple questions assures the applicant a follow-up within 24 hours.
• One obstacle to retail hiring is often compensation. If you’re initial wage is $12/hour you may be losing prospects to fast food! That’s why you don’t just talk about your initial pay—you need to be ready to describe your compensation journey. How did the better paid members of your team get there? What’s the path to management? A salary. Don’t let the conversation end with, “We pay $12/hour, sorry.”
• Be clear on the attributes you are looking for in an employee (hint: physical competitive accomplishments probably aren’t it). We like these:
1. History of commitment
2. Emotional intelligence
3. Curiosity
4. A spirit of service
5. Passion for your vision

Of course, this list is incomplete—and difficult to achieve. The fact is, continuing to build your team in the same ways as the past will likely bring you familiar results. You can do better. Review your hiring practices with an eye towards serious improvement. Fortunately for you, we’re going to spend the next few weeks with more on this crucial topic.