Recruiting for Retail in the Post-Resume Era: A 3-Step Breakdown

Last Updated: December 16, 2021

Recruitment in retail is marked by attrition and the need to hire top talent, especially on the floor. However, resumes may not always be indicative of these parameters. In an exclusive conversation with Stefan Midford, CEO of Capango, we discuss the essential elements of a retail recruitment strategy and why hiring for passion instead of just experience is the way forward.

In the retail segment, recruitment has always been a major focus area, given its above-average turnover rates and fluctuating labor demand. Gartner reports that retail is facing a talent shortage in 2019Opens a new window , with two-thirds of industry respondents naming this as one of their top five risks. Retailers are, as a result, eager to find new and innovative methods to attract the best talent. Interestingly, this goes beyond resume scanning for the most impressive qualifications – retail recruitment must bring in passionate, committed workers with a high degree of interpersonal skills.

Three Steps Towards Building a Retail Recruitment Strategy

Increasingly, companies are moving away from the belief that a resume is the “holy grail” for successful hiring. Fraudulent resumes have long been a challenge for recruiters, and when it comes to retail, it can be difficult to translate on-ground skills into perfectly worded qualifications. Technology giants such as Tesla and LinkedIn have already adopted “resume-less hiring”Opens a new window . Instead of going through a text-heavy list of past experience, self-proclaimed qualities, and educational degrees, these companies are looking at a person’s cognitive and emotional capabilities.

The same could apply to retail as well. In conversation with Stefan Midford, CEO of the online job marketplace for retail, CapangoOpens a new window , we discuss how to build an efficient retail recruitment strategy free of resume constraints.

Learn more: The Resume is Dying – Here’s What the Future of Hiring Looks LikeOpens a new window

1. Create the ideal employee persona

Resume-less retail recruitment hinges on a) knowing your ideal candidate, and b) identifying an individual who can add value to your company. An assessment of the current workforce can reveal necessary qualities, personal traits linked to performance, and red-flag areas. Also, any problem areas/missing links must be detected early on, so that these can be addressed through hiring.

Midford explains how Capango works using a proprietary algorithm: “Capango uses a unique set of multiple-choice, retail-centric questions to uncover a jobseeker’s ‘passions’ (preferences and interests) and ‘powers’ (skills/abilities/experience), which it then matches against specific job descriptions. Additionally, jobseekers are invited to write a quick bio and upload a video of themselves in which they can share more about what drives them and how their talents and abilities set them apart from their peers.”

This provides recruiters a clearer picture of candidates’ personality than a resume might.

2. Find your talent on social media

Application tracking, device-agnostic communications, and video interviews should also be part of your retail recruitment strategy, filling any information gap caused by the absence of resumes.

Capango, a mobile-first platform, provides retail recruiters with a ready list of qualified candidates who are specifically interested in retail roles. Through their in-app chat, recruiters can open up a conversation with potential candidates.

Using mobile recruitmentOpens a new window to reach a talent pool that tends to hang out more on its phone is another great way to hire for retail. It gives you an assessment of your potential employees’ personality through, for example, their social media accounts, and helps you identify whether they are suited for the job. You can also reach out to them on the same platform and gauge their work ethic and personality through interacting with them in an informal environment.

Learn more: 3 Ways People Analytics Can Solve Retail’s Workforce Issues in 2019Opens a new window

3. Build a solid retention plan

Recruitment is a great place to start thinking about retention. Consider thisOpens a new window : average pan-industry turnover in the US is approximately 15% while in retail, the average turnover is above 60%. This varies from corporate workers (18%) to hourly employees (65%).

However, after onboarding talented and passionate workers, retailers must actively engage with them, encourage them through training and mentorships, and ensure that incentives/compensation are in line with industry standards.

“Competitive retailers are retaining top talent by raising wages and offering extra perks and benefits to valued employees,” Midford says, citing examples: “Retailers like Walmart have taken great strides to utilize this strategy to keep their top employees. Lastly, employers like Costco that continue to provide not only favorable wages but also a career path from the sales floor to management, experience lower turnover.”

In addition to these strategies, implementing robust communication strategies for your deskless workforceOpens a new window in retail is likely to help keep them engaged and help you retain this talent base.

Learn more: How to Use Data Science to Retain Top-Tier TalentOpens a new window

Why Passion Should Be the Differentiator and How to Identify It

Making passion a determining factor in retail recruitment (instead of just qualifications or experience) can help in several ways. It will ensure that only candidates truly interested in the industry join your organization, reducing the risk of attritionOpens a new window . Further, they are more likely to be invested in work, leading to better performance and higher productivity.

However, it can be difficult to identify “passion” during face-to-face interviews. Using a data-led approach to retail recruitment by analyzing each candidate based on a strategically defined questionnaire, like Capango does is one way to go.

Alternatively, investing in predictive analytics solutions for recruitmentOpens a new window to identify what drives your retail employees can then be used to define your future employee persona and your retail recruitment strategy.

As you hire for passion and skill rather than a resume that may or may not be true, each employee you hire becomes the “on-floor face” for your company and becomes a brand advocate for your business.  In a dynamic industry like retail, recruiters are required to implement a clear strategy and right tech tools. This will help them zero in on candidates whose career trajectory is perfectly aligned to their employer brand offering.

Is technology central to your retail recruitment strategy? Share your insights with us on FacebookOpens a new window LinkedInOpens a new window , or TwitterOpens a new window . We are always listening!

Chiradeep BasuMallick
Chiradeep is a content marketing professional, a startup incubator, and a tech journalism specialist. He has over 11 years of experience in mainline advertising, marketing communications, corporate communications, and content marketing. He has worked with a number of global majors and Indian MNCs, and currently manages his content marketing startup based out of Kolkata, India. He writes extensively on areas such as IT, BFSI, healthcare, manufacturing, hospitality, and financial analysis & stock markets. He studied literature, has a degree in public relations and is an independent contributor for several leading publications.
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