What is Retail Recruiting?

What do we mean when we refer to retail recruiting? ‘Retail’ constitutes all shops which sell tangible goods to customers. The customers are individuals buying for their own use, not for companies. These shops can be anything from small clothing stores to massive grocery chains, and anywhere else that sells goods to consumers.

Retail recruiting then, is what we call the hiring process for the retail industry. When you want to hire a clerk, salesperson, cashier, or another retail role, you undergo retail recruiting. Retail recruiting is not easy and requires a lot of effort. Therefore we have created a checklist of the different things you have to do to make your retail hiring process effecient and effective.

10 Ideas to improve your retail hiring process

1. Create a Compelling Careers Page

A well-designed careers page can help to boost the number of applications you get. Plus, it can help to improve your company’s visibility online and direct traffic to your main website. Make sure to include the benefits of working for your company and any awards you have won. Many careers pages include quotes or profiles from your staff about how great it is to work in your stores.

2. Write Detailed Job Descriptions

An excellent job description can help you to not only draw in more applicants but the right types of applicants. Be specific about what you’re looking for in your job descriptions, as that will help people with the right skills to know that they should apply. It also helps to define which criteria are required and which are preferred. Many candidates who do not meet every requirement won’t apply, as they think there’s no point. So, being specific helps.

3. Consider Your Value Proposition

An employee value proposition encompasses everything you offer to employees. It consists not only of the hourly wage you offer but any benefits that come from working for you. For example, maybe you don’t pay the most, but you give your staff more time off, or you have a supportive culture. Considering what your value proposition is can help you to make a more compelling argument as to why people would want to work for your company.

4. Employer Brand is Everything

What do potential employees think about your company? That’s what employer brand is all about – how you are perceived as an employer. To become an employer of choice, one that people would choose over other companies, you need to work on employer branding. Make it known on your website and social media how much staff can gain from working for you. Highlight training, opportunities for promotion, and other positive aspects of your company. This can help a great deal with getting more highly qualified applicants for your vacant positions.

5. Entice from Other Industries

The criteria in many retail roles is that the applicant must have retail experience. But is this absolutely necessary? Think first about the skills you need in a recruit – friendly, good with people, persuasive. There are many other industries in which people may have built these highly transferable skills. Think outside the retail box, so to speak, and explore which experience gained in other sectors may be useful in a new hire.

6. Start an Employee Referral Program

Why not let your current staff recommend who they think would be useful in your stores? After all, they know better than anyone what it takes to work there. Employee referrals can be an invaluable source of excellent candidates. Staff don’t recommend people they don’t trust or don’t think would be good, because it is their reputation on the line if it doesn’t work out. So, you can count on the fact that these are strong candidates they are suggesting.

7. Recruit Before You Need To

Due to the nature of the positions, turnover in the recruitment industry is high, and when you need someone new, you need them now. So, why not have a process for hiring retail store employees going all the time? By continually allowing people to apply for a role with you, you can be prepared with fantastic candidates ahead of time. This can significantly reduce the time to hire.

8. Hire Based on Attitude

You may find it tough to locate the skills you are looking for in job candidates. However, it’s far more crucial that you find someone with the ability and attitude to learn fast and be invested in their job. So, select staff based on those who have the right attitude, and you can always upskill them in the areas they are deficient in. This is far better than the alternative – hiring for skill only. If an employee doesn’t have the right attitude, that’s not something that’s likely to change.

9. Change Up Your Selection Processes

A standard interview won’t always cut it when hiring retail store employees. You need to see how the candidates get along with people and make sales. Plus, you need to know if they are cut out for working in an always busy environment where they need to pay attention to customer demands. So, rather than only engaging in an interview, why not run a job trial for those you are serious about hiring? This is a win-win, as you get to see their abilities in action, and they can check out whether this is the job for them.

10. Hire People Who Buy Your Products

There is no better brand ambassador than one who genuinely loves your products. These people will already have some knowledge of your offerings and therefore be able to make honest recommendations to customers. That sort of experience cannot be bought. Simply asking candidates which of your products they own will bring to light how passionate they really are about your business.

When hiring retail store employees, make sure that you follow the above tips to experience a smooth process. Engage people with your employer branding and job description to get some incredible applicants. Then it’s up to you to screen them by finding out how passionate they are about your brand and getting them on the floor in a job trial. That way, you can figure out who will flourish and who may fail.