Recruiting for retail sales skills

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Hiring for retail sales skills may be one of the many challenges you face as a retail employer. Talented salespeople take your business to the next level, but finding the best salespeople for the role can feel like a never-ending pursuit. The right tools and processes, however, will make finding those ideal candidates quicker and easier. Here are the best strategies to hire for retail sales skills.

Make your recruitment advertisement stand out

Many recruitment advertisements in retail look the same, except for the brand name. You recognise these. They usually look something like this:

“[Retail business name] is seeking motivated salespeople to work for us in a fast-paced, challenging work environment. The ideal candidate will have strong interpersonal skills and work as part of a team. You will be expected to: 

Generic task description 1

Generic task description 2…”

Going to market is expensive and you don’t want to waste time wading through irrelevant applications.

Make yours stand out!

Don’t copy and paste your job description. Instead, use it to bring your advertisement to life and inject the personality of your brand. Refer to the primary duties in the role, and tweak and refine the copy to attract the best retail salespeople. Talk about the benefits you offer, what’s in it for them. Use attractive brand imagery and embed videos if you can.

Use behavioural testing for retail sales skills

There’s no hiding the fact that salespeople need sales personalities. This might seem obvious, but you may be surprised by the number of employers who don’t use tools to quantify and assess these vital attributes to ensure they make the right choice.

While, of course, some skills can be taught, others are innate. Likability and enthusiasm, while attractive in a candidate, doesn’t necessarily translate to strong sales skills.

Behavioural testing is a great way to identify candidates with retail sales skills. Some tools, such as the McQuaig Word Survey behavioural tool our Shortlisting Specialists use at Employment Offices, even provide you with a complete sales profile of your top candidates.

Use the right screening and interview questions

Use screening questions in your recruitment advertisement and probe deeper during secondary interviews. This gives candidates the chance to demonstrate their skills, experience and personality.

You may ask a direct question about their previous sales experience, or a behavioural question with the attributes your business needs in its salespeople, such as grit, persistence, great listening skills or customer focus.

For example, “Describe a time in a previous role where you demonstrated [XYZ].”

While it may seem like a never-ending priority to find great retail sales skills and the right salespeople for your roles, the right tools and processes will ensure you make the best hires.

Do you need a recruitment campaign to attract the best candidates to your vacancy? Schedule a discussion with our Recruitment Advertising Specialists here, call us on 1300 366 573 or email info@employmentoffice.com.au.

Managing seasonal recruitment in retail

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Is your organisation coping with seasonal recruitment demands? Seasonal recruitment is common in retail. You may need more team members before Christmas, or during summer. For fluctuating recruitment demands, here are the best strategies to manage seasonal recruitment. 

Being able to meet customer needs when your business kicks into “seasonal overdrive” is critical. To ensure this year’s seasonal shift is as cost-effective, stress-free and productive as possible, use these strategies to manage seasonal recruitment.

Put a number on it 

Start by identifying the number of team members you will need in which locations and departments.

Use key learnings from past seasons

Understand which areas of your business will need extra support based on data from previous years and factor in growth throughout the year to create a plan. Consider issues you’ve faced previously and set a plan to plug these holes preemptively.

Create an attraction and hiring strategy

Implement sound attraction and hiring methods. Because seasonal employees may not remain in your business over the long term, advertising, hiring and onboarding costs through traditional methods can sometimes outweigh returns. But there are a number of strategies to cut down on the time and resources it takes to attract, screen and hire candidates.

Some smart attraction and hiring methods you could use include:

  • An employee referral system – offer rewards and incentives to current team members for every successful referral they make to you (after all, great talent knows great talent!)
  • Advertising in-store – a low-cost way to win applications from customers who already know, like and trust your brand
  • An effective Candidate Management System – allowing you and your hiring managers to work collaboratively to screen candidates with ease in a single location
  • Talent pooling – reach out to candidates who have previously expressed an interest in working with your organisation
  • Delegating tasks to your front-line managers
  • Use Group Assessment Days to assess and hire candidates in bulk.

Use the right technology 

You may need to screen hundreds of applications, so being able to digitally screen, compare and invite candidates to be interviewed will save you time and effort when recruiting high volumes. Using a Candidate Management System will go a long way in saving you time and making your processes more efficient.

Use screening tools 

Lastly, ensure you’re hiring the right person for the role. Hiring the wrong person whose values do not accurately match your company can cause massive issues and negative brand consequences. This, combined with the stress of the seasonal period, means you can’t afford to suffer from mis-hires or allow customer service to deteriorate.

Consider using behavioural and skills testing, and reference checks to feel confident in your hiring decision.

Effectively screen candidates to ensure their values and experience matches what you are looking for. Ask quality questions to gain insight into candidates’ character and how they will perform in your team.

For more information about talent attraction, recruitment technology, or screening solutions, contact us at info@employmentoffice.com.au or on 1300 366 573.

Reducing employee turnover in retail

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According to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the retail sector currently employs over 1,286,100 people, which accounts for around 9.9% of the total workforce. Over the past five years, employment in the industry has increased by around 4.1%, however despite this, retail employee turnover is still relatively high.

In this article, we examine a range of strategies to reduce employee turnover, how to minimise risk factors, and how to harness recruitment best practices to positively impact your organisation’s bottom line.

Understand the key causes 

Employees move on for a range of reasons, some of which may be out of your control. However, minimising employee turnover can often be a simple as identifying employees that aren’t the right ‘fit’ and formulating strategies to retain those that are.

Good communication can offer these insights, including holding one-on-one meetings which can provide an open forum for employees to discuss the positives and negatives of their job, including instigating a discussion about hours, wages and even advancement.

Employee surveys can also gauge employee satisfaction, particularly if conducted by an outside source that can provide anonymity and therefore encourage honesty and valuable feedback.

And while it’s often difficult to let an employee go, it can be an opportunity to gather insights via an exit interview. This can include a discussion about why they are leaving, what they liked/disliked about their job and the company and what improvements they would suggest that might help retain future employees.

Increase motivation

Employees who leave organisations, including those in the retail sector, often do so because they are not offered a clear career path or an opportunity to develop their skills. This is especially prevalent with Millennials (employees born between 1980 and 1994).

Positive recruitment strategies include offering retail workers more responsibility to make them feel more engaged and empowered, and it also demonstrates that you trust and value them. Offering career advancement in the form of a promotion or a position of leadership can increase motivation and it rewards employees for performance.

Retail organisation can also create open dialogue about future opportunities, encourage a culture of promoting internally and offer mentoring or training programs to increase education and new skills.

Reward loyalty

Regular pay rises and bonuses are a valuable way of retaining retail employees, however other incentives also work. These can range from tailored Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) and perks like regular flexitime, to free food, gym memberships, financial planning advice and social team building activities.

Aside from assisting with attracting new top talent, rewarding loyalty can also enhance your organisation’s culture and increase employee productivity. The key is to promote employee wellbeing and a sense of purpose across all aspects of their lives, including in their financial security, social relationships, physical health and community involvement. 

Hire carefully

Taking the time to hire the right person saves time, money and stress in the long run, however it does require a carefully thought-out recruitment strategy. This is particularly true in the retail sector when it comes to hiring for seasonality or diversity.

Reduce employee turnover and positively impact your bottom line by understanding the key causes, minimising risk factors, structuring attractive bonuses and incentives and using a strong recruitment strategy.

Interested in learning more about screening, shortlisting and selection best practices? Contact an Employment Office Recruitment Specialist on info@employmentoffice.com.au or 1300 366 573.