5 of The Biggest Retention Problems in Retail Today

So what does the data tell us about the current market?

Employment Rate in Ireland decreased to 72.80 percent in the first quarter of 2022 from 73 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021.?source:?Central Statistics Office Ireland

What does this mean to you as an employer???

Employees interact with your brand from the hiring stage how do you create an experience that entices these new hires to stay. Check out the 5 steps below.

5 Steps to Creating a Winning Staff Retention Formula

1- Not understanding how to Hire Successfully

• How to know who to hire and what to hire for?

Recruitment can be hard but it can also be easy if the correct tools are?used to support this process in a business. Time should be allocated to not?only the job specification of roles and responsibilities but also the?attitudes and?behaviours?that is needed for that role.??An exercise that?can help when job benchmarking can?be carried out to give you a?better understanding of how to do this is:

Ask your key stakeholders these are the people that will be?communicating to this person in the role to write out what they feel?the person needs to have in the role so communication skills, attitude?and?behaviour.

Once this is done hold a meeting with all departments?and discuss what was collated in the exercise do they match? If not?why not? Then discuss and decide what is needed. If the individual is?communicating?across various departments marketing, buying?departments, logistic,?finance have those?included?so it is?clear what is?needed from each department.

?Exercise- When I work with my clients I use a three page document to support this so people?can?follow it and create their own?job?benchmarking?for a position in?their business.?

The purpose-of this is?to get clarity on the?job role but more?importantly what the expectation is of that person in the role between?all departments.

2- Setting up for failure through Poor Onboarding

Onboarding in a team members first few weeks is crucial?as it will help them transition into the business in a?well?managed?systematic way.?

How are?you currently onboarding new?staff? Do you have?an induction program for them on their day 1?in the?business? What areas does this cover? I will share with you?a process in creating an?Induction program that you can?utilise?in your business?and show you how to create?your?very own?induction?program through easy to use steps.

Purpose of this is to have a clear plan and strategy?in?training?new hires so?there?is clear?expectations?from?the start and better management of?the training by both?parties.??this will in turn decrease?staff?retention rates a?study carried?out by Glassdoor?found that?organizations?with a?strong?onboarding?process?improve new?hire retention by 82% and productivity by 70%.

3- Not having an effective Training Plan in Place

What happens to staff that leave with all the years of experience and knowledge? Is there documentation to explain the process and steps to all the tasks that the individual does in the business? If not why not? Can you afford to not have this documented for new starters?

All new hires should have a training plan put in place?for the first 12 weeks once they have had an induction.?

• These training plans should be reviewed every week.

BUT WHY?? It costs time and money??

Not?EVERY?new hire will be at the same PACE?throughout the 12 weeks some will need further?support?or training on particular areas they?find?more?challenging.

• How is this?being managed?and?what tools?do you have in place?to manage this?
• Do?you have a one size fits all training plan? If so how does this?adapt or get flexible when it needs to be? How are?you assessing this?

All of these?questions will be?answered in my user friendly guide where I help you?make a training plan?that will be?custom built by you in?your business so you can have an effective?training?plan that gives your new hires the best start?they can get in your business.

4- Not giving Effective Feedback

Some leaders can shy away from giving feedback?that?is not?positive but?it is?the way in which this is?delivered that is important.

• Having an awareness of?how to deliver feedback in a positive way if?it is?difficult?takes practice and support.?I will?give you some?activities that you can use with your managers to help?them delivery feedback in an effective way.?
• Self awareness, self regulation and understanding your approach to communication is a key aspect of delivering feedback in an effective way.
• What is needed we deliver training workshops and practical exercises to?use when?confronted with?different scenarios in the?workplace such as?discovering your approach to?feedback-

DOES ANY OF THESE SOUND FAMILAR?

Do you?????

Avoid |?People please |?Fight- argumentative/defensive |Freeze- panic/worry with confrontation/upset/overthink in these situations when faced with?giving feedback that isn’t positive are you unsure how to?approach it?and feel unconfident in how?to deliver it?effectively.

Do you follow up after?feedback is?given?to?support the?staff member?in their learning?journey? Or do you deliver feedback on new areas all the time not revisiting them and continuing the learning cycle and following through on any goals, targets or metrics set for improvement.

5- Not performance Coaching Underperforming team members

This is an area many leaders shy away from at times as?they?don’t?feel comfortable with managing the?underperforming team member.

BUT WHY????

Many leaders wait for guidance?from HR or a Senior Manager as they?don’t?have the tools?needed to approach these situations.

WHAT EFFECT DOES THIS HAVE ON THE TEAM???

This can have a?negative impact on the team as?they are?impacted by the?team members under performing issues many of the team have to then take on?additional workloads to ensure all tasks and deadlines are?made in the business.

WHAT CAN BE DONE???

The solution is to train these?managers with a structure. Guided documentation to measure. Support with coaching, mentoring in house programs and scenario based?training to give them practice of how to bring these theoretical best practices to life.

The workplace should always be seen as a learning environment rewarding the effort not the outcome result that led to that great success will drive engagement, entrepreneurship and innovation through ideas generation and solution based problem solving skills.

If you want to find how you can have training in your business set up to increase staff engagement and create winning experiences then reach out for a 30min consultation.

Reference link: https://tradingeconomics.com/ireland/employment-rate