Human Resource Management and Retail Employment

Employment in retail is very diverse. In retailing, human resource management (HRM) involves recruiting, selecting, training, motivating, incentivizing, compensating, retaining, and supervising personnel in a manner that is consistent with a retail organization’s purpose, structure, and strategy. A core challenge is with developing strategies to attract and retain employees and in ensuring that they are recruited, trained, and retained with a focus on creating a customer-centric culture. Different types of retail work require different skill sets and employee capabilities. An on-going trend in retail recruitment involves firms hiring employees with technological and digital marketing skills to complement employees with customer service skills. Some retail work has been standardized with employees expected to follow standardised scripts and routines. HRM professionals working in the retail sector experience six challenges: high turnover rates, a constant stream of new employees with volume recruitment being common, creating a customer-centric culture, managing part-time and temporary workers, regulatory compliance, and recruiting and safeguarding early career workers.