Tired of hanging up the sign because your retail hours are shorter and leaner than they once were? Things have changed and so should your solutions. Working locals want to shop with you but you’re closed after working hours. You try to become an online store which is great but that’s not why we shop local. We know our way around Amazon and can find just about anything we need there quickly but we LIKE to shop locally and in person.
The challenge is getting the retail team that wants to work for you and also has the flexibility that works for their busy lives too. These trends are not just affecting retailers but employees are demanding more flexibility in their schedules and benefits and companies are responding. You’ll need to also if you want to keep growing and sustain and scale for the future.
If you’ve set up a business so you could work in your store and you don’t want to expand your team because sales are ‘good enough’ then this blog is not for you.
Retailer Challenges
- Can’t find employees that want to work your schedule
- Can’t afford to hire anyone
- Can’t take vacations without closing my store
- Have to close the store when I’m sick or my employee can’t make it in
- Turnover after I’ve trained them
Employee Challenges
- Low Pay
- Lack of Advancement
- Feeling Disrespected or not Heard
- Childcare issues
- Not enough Flexibility
Retailers are struggling more than ever to find employees and it’s not easy. Owning a retail store is not for the faint of heart and it’s always evolving with time and trends.
Employees are more particular about the jobs they take and want more flexibility. The long days of being on your feet and on point in a positive mode for a long day aren’t desirable. Makes sense to me.
Many employees have retired from their full-time corporate jobs and taking on part-time jobs that allow them to breathe a bit more.
Retail Hour Challenge
Hard to find someone who wants to work several days a week or 7-hour retail shifts? Then don’t do it!
Retail Hour Solutions
Need to find an equation for your retail hour solutions? Try something different…. hire more people to work fewer hours!
Provide shopping hours that meet the demands of all your customers or you’ll be cutting your dream short of its potential!
Offering rotating schedules and flexibility allows you to be much more attractive to potential employees. This solution schedule provides a retailer with 46% more shopping hours to meet the demands of working customers who WANT you to have their hard-earned money.
In fact, shoppers are willing to spend more money to shop locally but without retail hour solutions being implemented to serve working customers… you will miss out on a BIG chuck of local spending.
Providing local shoppers with e-commerce for your store is a great way to offer flexibility but that’s not what they are most looking to you for. While online shopping has continued to grow, over 75% of consumers prefer to shop in-store.
A recent study from ManpowerGroup revealed that nearly 40% of job candidates worldwide said schedule flexibility is one of their top three factors in career decisions. Monstor.com shares common stresses that your retail workers face and how you can work to improve that. Why? Because you know how costly and time-consuming turnover can be and no one wins, especially the customers.
BONUS: When you hire for a rotating schedule you give your employees the opportunity to trade shifts when something comes up. When you hire for full shifts, you’ll likely always be the one filling in when something comes up. Or worse yet, have to hang the sorry sign on the door again.
TIP: When you expand your shopping hours make sure to promote it like crazy so that working folks know that they have NEW opportunities to shop and spend locally. #winnerwinner #chickendinner
