SlackRetail TouchPoints：授权店员：释放员工的全部潜力

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EMPOWERINGSTOREASSOCIATES:

HOWCULTUREANDTECHNOLOGYCAN

UNLEASHWORKERS’FULLPOTENTIAL

retail

Tauchp@ints

SPECIALREPORT

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INTRODUCTION

Frontlineworkersarebusierthanever,andretailersneedtobalancebothpersonalandtechnologicalbenefitsiftheywanttoattractandretaintoptalent.

Themodernstoreemployeeneedstobeahighlyskilledspecialistaswellasahighlyefficientoperator.Asa

result,theyneedtop-tiertoolsandtrainingthatallowthemtoliveuptotheirfullpotential.Butthisisonlyhalfoftheequation:ifretailerswanttokeepthesehighperformerswithintheirorganizations,theyneedtoinvestinincentivesandprogressionopportunitiesthatallowthemtothriveintoday’scompetitivelaborenvironment.

Whiletheseimperativesareespeciallycriticalforbrandslookingtorecruityoungeremployees,theyareincreasinglyrelevanttoemployeedemographics.

"WeknowthatGenZreallywantstohaveapurposefulconnectionwiththeirworkandwiththeircareer,”saidAlfredIshak,SeniorDirectorofResearchandIntegration/PeopleDevelopmentat

Human8

inaninterviewwithRetailTouchPoints.“Well,wewantthattoo.Wealwayswanttohireandemploypeoplethatwantittobe

morethanajob,andwhowanttofeellikethisfulfillssomeofthatneedforpurposeintheirlife.Afterall,they'respendingsomuchtimewiththeiremployer."

Keepingassociatesfulfilledintheirjobs,andthereforeworkingtotheirfullestpotential,isanever-evolvingtask.Retailersneedtoplanouttheirstrategyinboththeshortandlongterm,whileconsideringwaysto:

•Driverecruitmentandretention:Retailersshouldstrivetomakejobsanattractivecareer,notadead-endjob.Theycandosobycreatingaculturethatsupportsitsworkersaswellasofferingpayandotherbenefitscommensuratewiththeexpectationsofthemodernretailworkforce;

•Enabletrainingandupskilling:Thebestassociatesarewell-educatedandempoweredtoworkto

theirfullest,andtherighttrainingtoolscanhelpbuildloyaltyovertimebydevelopingawiderangeofskills.Retailerscan’tholdbackontrainingforfearoflosingtheseskilledworkerstocompetitors;

•Integratemobiletoolsintotheworkday:Associatescarrytheirowncomputersintheirpockets.Learningtoutilizethepowerofthesedevices,aswellasmorespecializedmobiletools,canactivateseamlesscross-channelcustomerexperiences;and

•Utilizetechnologytostreamlineoperations:Fromin-storeroboticstopowerfulcommunicationtools,retailershaveaccesstoanumberoftechnologiesthatcanfreeassociatesfromdrudgeryandletthemfocusonrevenue-drivingandcustomer-facingtasks.

EmpoweringStoreAssociates:HowCultureandTechnologyCanUnleashWorkers'FullPotential2

ASSOCIATESLOOKFORBOTHPERSONALANDFINANCIALPERKS

Environmental,socialandgovernance(ESG)issuesareoftenseenasacustomer-facingpartofthebusiness,buttheyalsocanofferretailersarecruitingandretentionadvantage.MembersofGenZinparticularwanttoworkforcompaniesthatreflecttheirownvalues,andrecruitingtheleadersoftomorrowmeanstrulylivinguptothosestandardstoday.

However,it’snotenoughtofundafew“green”investmentsandconsidertheworkdone.Eachindividualstoreshouldbeintegratedintoitscommunity.Participatinginlocalcharities,whetherbyprovidingmanpowerorfunding,andaddingvaluetothecommunityinotherways,cancreatevisiblesignstopotentialemployees

thataretailersupportslocalcausesandorganizationsandcanhelpthemcreategreatermeaningintheirjobs,accordingtoIshak.

“Weneedtocreateanavenuetofulfillthatmeaningandthatpurpose,”saidIshak.“Diversity,equity,inclusion,access—thosearealltopicsthatareobviouslyverymuchattheforefrontthesedays,butalsohavelong

beenaconcernofyoungerprofessionalsandfolksthatareenteringtheworkforce.Wetrytoprioritizethoseissuesinwaysthataremeaningfulforusinourbusinessandthatareearnestandreal.”

Ofcourse,competitivepayandotherbenefitsalsoareanimportantpartofattractingandretaininggreatworkers.Majorretailershavebeenimprovingwhatassociatesearnforyears,andtopretailersareregularlyworkingtorewardgoodworkersfinanciallyaswellasethicallyandspiritually.

“Weputgreateffortintoensuringthatourbenefitspackageresonateswithemployees’needs,”said

KelleyKurtzman,SVPofConsumerFieldSalesat

Verizon

inaninterviewwithRetailTouchPoints.“Asidefromacompetitivesalary,weofferhealthinsurancebeginningtheirfirstday,tuitionassistance,stockprogram,

paidtimeoffandmore.Ourbenefitspackagereflectsafocusonwholenessasanindividual,notsimplyasanemployee.”

EmpoweringStoreAssociates:HowCultureandTechnologyCanUnleashWorkers'FullPotential3

REGULARTRAININGSHOULDLOOKBEYONDBASICSKILLS

Traininghascomealongwaysincetheeraoftheday-oneintroductorytrainingcourse.Electronictraining

methodsarecommonplace,andupskillinghasbeenrecognizedasakeypartofmaintaininglong-term

associateloyalty.Whereretailerscancontinuetoadvancetheirtrainingpoliciesislookingbeyondfamiliarizingworkerswiththelatestpromotionsandpolicies(thoughthatisstillvaluable).

Retailerslookingforanexampleofhowtheirassociatescanbenefitfromtrainingoutsidetheirday-to-day

dutiescanlearnfromwhatKurtzmanandtheVerizonteamdidduringthelockdownsof2020,whenin-storedutieswereataminimum.

“Wealsobelieveinacontinuouscultureoflearning,andareconstantlylookingforopportunitiesforour

employeestogrowanddevelopintheircurrentrolesandinfutureroleswithinthecompany,”saidKurtzman.“Iamespeciallyproudofascenariothathappenedasaresultofthepandemic,whenwetemporarilyclosedanumberofourretailstores.Weredeployedmorethan10,000retailemployeestootherfunctionswheretheyworkedforweeksorevenformonths.Thisuniquesituationexposedtheseemployeestorolesand

functionsthattheymayhaveneverconsidered.Thoughmanywentbacktotheiroriginalroles,somestayedintheirnewroles.”

Butretailersshouldn’tbeafraidtoequiptheirassociateswithleadershipskillsthatcanleadtoother

opportunities.Thiscanhelppreparefuturemanagersandhigher-levelleaders,sothepayoffsintermsofloyaltyandupskillingeasilyoutweightheriskthatthey’lltakethoseskillselsewhere.

"Wegothroughthisstruggle,thistension,whereyouhavetoequipyouremployeestobesuccessfulattheircurrentroleandunderthecurrentconditions,andattimesthosetrainingsmightbetediousormundane,”

saidIshak.“Youalsoneedtoofferleadershipandsoftskilltraining—professionaldevelopment

opportunitiestoallowtheretobevisiblecareerprogressionavailabletoallemployees,nomatterwhattheirlevelorwhattheirspecialtyis.Findingthatbalance,Ithink,istough.Itcomesdownto[thequestion]:areyouwillingtoinvestinthefutureofyouremployees,knowingthatthatfuturemightnotbewithyou?Tome,theanswershouldplainlybeyes.”

EmpoweringStoreAssociates:HowCultureandTechnologyCanUnleashWorkers'FullPotential4

MOBILETOOLS:ESSENTIALINMODERNENVIRONMENTS

Themodernstoreassociatecan’tfunctiontotheirfullestpotentialwithoutamobiledevice.Fromwayfindingtohelpwithstockingshelvestolookingupinformationforcustomers,mobiletechnologyisthebackboneofabest-in-classassociateexperience.MobilecapabilitiesareespeciallykeyforretailerswithlargeSKUcounts,butallcompaniescanbenefitfromusingthistechnologytoimprovecustomerservice.

“Inatimewhenbrandsincreasinglyusetheirdigitalpresenceforfullinventoryofferingsandphysicalstoreshavingonlykeyitems,it’simperativethatbrandsensurethattheyhavetherightitemsonshelves,”said

NickKramer,LeaderofAppliedSolutionsat

SSA&Company

inaninterviewwithRetailTouchPoints.“The

informationpartiswherethestoreassociatescomein.Consumersexpectstoreassociatestobeexpertsontheproduct,providinginsightsandinformationtheycan’tfindthemselves,butthat’saskingalotofanhourly-wageemployee.Usingmobiledevicescanhelpthemprovideinformationquicklyandtostayconnectedwitheachotherwhileonthemove.Thisallowsthemtopullinotherassociatesandtoprovidetheconsumeraninformed,hands-onexperience.”

Buildingandmanagingafullymobile-equippedteamcanseemdaunting,butmuchofthecostcanbe

defrayedbytappingintothephonestheycarryatalltimes.ThisisparticularlyimportantforVerizon,wheresmartphonesarebothapowerfultoolforassociatesandanimportantproductoptionforcustomers.

Kurtzmannotedthatassociates“willoftenusethedevicesthatcustomersaremostinterestedintobeabletopersonallycommunicatetheexperiencethattheycanexpect.”

ENABLINGOMNICHANNELEXCELLENCE

Themodernstoreassociateishelpingcustomersbothin-storeandonline,andmobile

technologyplaysanimportantroleinenablingbothapproaches.Kur

tzmanlaidou

ta

pairofmobiletoolsVerizonstoreassociatescanusetohelpcustomersbothin-person

andonline:

•ViewTogetherletsworkersandcustomerscompletetransactions

togetherwhileputtingthecustomerincontrolofsubmittingtheirorderbyleveragingVerizon’sseamlessauthenticationprocess;

•VideoCallingusesPOStabletstopowersecurevideocalls,poweredby

BlueJeans

,toallowworkerstoremotelywalkcustomersthroughany

processandevenshowoffin-storeitems.Duringthepilot,customers

whointeractedviaVideoCallingwerefourtimesaslikelytobuyfromthesalesreponthesamedayofthecall.

EmpoweringStoreAssociates:HowCultureandTechnologyCanUnleashWorkers'FullPotential5

MOBILEDEVICESDRIVEMODERN

ASSOCIATESUCCESS

ByDuanePeck,HeadofIndustryMarketing,

Retail&ConsumerGoodsatSlack

Toengageandretainfrontlineworkersinanever-changingindustry,continuouslearninganddevelopmentarecrucial.Smartphonesandmobiledevicesholdthepromiseoftransformingonboardingandtraining

fromatediousobligationintoanengaging,interactiveprocess.UsingaplatformsuchasSlack,associatescaneasilyaccessawealthofinteractiveresources,learningattheirownpaceandrapidlyapplyingnew

skillsinreal-worldscenarios.Thisnotonlyboostsknowledgeretentionbutalsoempowersstoreassociatesintheirdailyroles.

Considerthepowerofproductivitytoolsthathelpdriveassociates’dailytasksandworkflows.Asone

example,anassociatecouldquicklypullupatutorialonanewproductorrefreshtheirmemoryon

customerserviceprotocols,allwithoutleavingasimpleinterfaceontheirsmartphone.Integrationwithothertechnologycanalsohelpautomateroutinetasksandfreeassociatestofocusondeliveringan

exceptionalcustomerexperience.Beyondthetimeefficiencies,automationalsohelpstoreducehuman

error.Imagineamobileplatformthatisseamlesslyintegratedwithyourothermanagementandcommerce

systemstoautomaticallyschedulestaffshiftsornotifytheappropriateemployeesaboutupcominginventoryshortages.

Providingtherighttoolscanmakeallthedifferenceforretailerslookingtoretainfrontlineworkersandbuildlong-termloyalty.Productivitytoolsalsoenableexecutiveleadersandstoremanagerstorecognizeindividualachievements,boostoverallmoraleandcreateagreatersenseofcommunityacrossthe

organization.UsingaplatformsuchasSlack,associatescanusededicatedchannelstoshareideas,

celebratesuccessandreceiverecognitionfortheirhardwork.Anassociatecouldshareasuccessfulsales

tipinacompany-widechannelandreceivealmostinstantrecognitionfromtheirpeers,managersandevencorporateexecutives.Thisnotonlyboostscamaraderiebutalsoinstillsasenseofprideintheirwork,all

whilehelpingtoleveluptheskillsoftheirfrontlinepeers.

Thecombinationofmobiletechnologywithproductivityplatformsthatdriveautomationcancreateanengagingandefficientworkenvironment.Ifweempowerassociateswiththerightresources,wecanimprovetheirproductivityandjobsatisfaction,retainingvaluabletalentinacompetitivelandscape.

EmpoweringStoreAssociates:HowCultureandTechnologyCanUnleashWorkers'FullPotential6

MOREROBUSTIN-STORETECHNOLOGYCARRIESOTHERBENEFITS

In-storeautomationisthenextfrontierforassociateempowerment.Whiletherehasbeensomeconcern

thatautomatedtechnologywillleadtojobcuts,itseemsmorelikelythatrobotsandsimilartechnologieswillinsteadbeusedtofreeupassociates’timeformorevaluabletasks.Forinstance,

Walmartplanstointroduce

automation

atnearlytwo-thirdsofitsstoresby2026whilemaintainingorevengrowingitsassociatecount.

Robotscanhelpinanumberofways.In2019,

Ahold-Delhaizerolledout500“Marty”robots

topatrolaislesforspillsandout-of-stockitems.Whiletheserobotscan’thandlethetasksthemselves,theyenableassociatestohandlepotentialproblemsmorequicklyandefficiently.In2023,

Kum&Goisintroducingmorethan400

robots

tokeeplocationstidy.

Retailersthataren’tsuitedforrobotscanstillbenefitfromtherightkindsofnewtechnologybyfocusingonwhatwillbestempowerandassisttheirassociates.Forexample…

“Tocommunicateuniformlywithourteamsacrossthecountry,weusesmartboardsinthebackofeachstoreasacommunicationhub,”saidKurtzman.“Theseelectronicboardscandisplayeverythingfromsalesmetricsanddailyreminderstoleadershipmessagesandrecognition.Thisisagreatwayforemployeestoprioritize

what’smostimportantwhileremainingconnectedtoeverythingthat’shappening.Oursmartboardsarepoweredbyacontentmanagementsystemthatweuseacrossourchannels.”

Technologyisonlygoingtocontinueplayingagreaterroleinstoresasitbecomesmoreadvanced,butit’s

unlikelytoeverreplaceassociatesaltogether.Cashierlesslocationshavetheirplace,buttherightcombinationofpeopleandmachinescanofferabetterexperiencethaneithercouldprovidealone—forbothcustomersandemployees.

EmpoweringStoreAssociates:HowCultureandTechnologyCanUnleashWorkers'FullPotential7

Slackisonamissiontomakepeople’sworkinglivess