Finding The Best Workforce Balance
By Debbie Hauss
Last week I attended an event sponsored by Workforce Insight and heard from a number of different retailers regarding their labor scheduling and payroll strategies. I was fascinated to learn about the different types of workforce-related issues retailers face, based on a number of factors, including retail vertical, number of stores, variety of stores and maturity of workforce.
The one thing they all are in agreement about is that an automated workforce management system lowers costs, improves efficiencies and boosts conversions and overall profits.
As shoppers, we don’t think about the technology behind the customer service. We simply want the right service and products at the right time and via our channel of choice.
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But delivering on those demands can be challenging for even the savviest retailers. The transformation from a manual scheduling and payroll system to an automated system can be complicated and time consuming, and involve sometimes unanticipated change management.
Facing those hurdles, one retail attendee at the event asked the question: “Are consumers’ demands reasonable?” The response from seasoned industry executives and consultants was unanimous: “We don’t have any choice. If we don’t give our customers what they want then our competitors will.”
So companies including Macy’s, dELia’s, Aramark and Krispy Kreme have embraced automated workforce management strategies. While these companies are in various stages of implementation, all were able to share success stories.
At Macy’s, for example, store conversions improved, in part due to sales managers’ ability to spend more time coaching sales associates and less time administrating payroll, noted Laura Ravo, former GVP, Strategies & Execution.
dELia’s is faced with a huge uptick in business during the back-to-school season, when a store’s sales could jump from $9,000 per hour to $50,000 per hour, noted Wendy Sayre, Director of Store Operations. The specialty apparel retailer switched from dollars-based to hours-based workforce scheduling and was able to decrease overall payroll and increase quarterly sales.
Readers can learn more about improving workforce management and overall store operations by accessing a number of resources on the Retail TouchPoints web site: https://retailtouchpoints.com/retail-store-ops.
Follow Debbie on Twitter: @DHauss
