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Innovative Hiring Practices

Organizations

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Dr. Cabot Jaffee

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Practices for Retail

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Dr. Cabot Jaffee, PhD

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TALENT SCAPE IN THE RETAIL INDUSTRY

The retail industry in India is booming again after the slump that it witnessed during the global economic

slowdown. In fact, just two-three years ago, it was the most thriving industry in India with established players

expanding and new players setting foot in the retail industry in India.

Owing to this growth, there has been a spurt in the number of retail jobs in India. The hiring outlook in the

industry is again picking up with big players hiring people for

the new outlets coming up. There are various types of jobs in

the retail industry at all levels that one can join according to

temperament and interest.

Undeniably, the front-line sales or customer service staff that

is key to the success of any retail organization. The way sales

executives interact with the customers and convince them

about the products is quite important in closing a sale, besides

the worthiness of the product in itself.

For front-line positions, there is no specific educational qualification required. Right from a simple 10+2 pass to

graduate or an MBA, firms are hiring candidates for different sales jobs positions. What is most essential for

becoming a good retail sales executive is:

a. Ability to communicate well

b. Effective interpersonal skills and efficient communication skills

c. Pleasing personality

d. Presentable and congenial at all times.

Being at the front end, your staff have to deal with different types of customers and need to handle various

queries. Candidates from commerce, statistics, economics, business, communications and management

background are most preferred because they have a starter’s advantage over others. However, in the long run,

even people from other backgrounds can succeed in the retail industry owing to their ability to sell any

product or service.

With big names in the industry pumping in money in the retail industry, the number of opportunities in retail is

also bound to rise. The growth prospects in the retail industry are also bright.

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INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS FOR RETAIL HIRING

Given the current state of the economy there is no reason why retail hiring goals can’t be met more cost

effectively. Yet, filling all your positions at the right time, with the right person for the right pay is a challenge

at times.

If the end goal is to hire all your open positions with qualified candidates in a timely manner, then

implementing an integrated recruiting and selection process is critical. The following document will discuss

basic recruiting and selection principles that can significantly improve your business results.

CHALLENGES IN RETAIL HIRING

EMPLOYER CHALLENGES:

- The challenge of sourcing from a large employable population that is dilute

in its size

- Clutter in identifying themselves as an employer of choice

- Processing large numbers of candidates can be very resource intensive

- If your process isn’t efficient, candidate friendly, and quick to make

decisions you will lose qualified candidates.

CANDIDATE EXPECTATIONS:

- Earning power and independence

- Instant gratification (feedback and interview as quickly as possible)

- Prospect for growth within the company

- Good work environment and lower process pressures

KEEPING UP TO DATE:

- Channels for candidates constantly change. The use of social networking and

web 2.0 technologies are changing the recruiting landscape at a very rapid

pace. Often companies can’t keep up with the pace.

- Company home pages and career pages are often old and/or outdated. The

use of simple forms to collect basic candidate information is inefficient.

- Securing web resources to maintain the careers section of the company

website is often difficult.

As a result of these challenges, companies are often overwhelmed by the options,

costs, number of resumes, tracking of data, responding to candidates, etc. This paper will provide a simple

framework that can help a retail companies meet its frontline hiring goals.

RECRUITING SOLUTIONS

While there is no single solution to address all issues companies face today there are numerous solutions that

will enhance an Organizations’ hiring success.

LARGER APPLICANT POOL

Based on 30+ years of assisting organizations with their recruiting and

Global Talent Metrics has found that

you a greater chance of finding more qualified candidates

process will lead to significant savings

processing a large applicant pool can be difficult.

FILTER CANDIDATES

Secondly, filtering candidates through

and scheduling future activities definitively saves an o

minimum qualifications and assessing the

accuracy.

INTERVIEW

Using the interview as the last step in the process allows the interviewer

have not been gathered through the assessment questions. This makes the process much more accurate,

more time efficient, and more cost effective.

Below are two charts that show how the content and technology can

INFO / GET INFO (CONTENT FLOW)

In today’s job scene candidates

information via social networks

Many candidates are only willing to give the organization

information if they get some information in return. So it is

crucial to develop content that not only gathers information

from the candidate but gives them easy access to

they are looking for—differentiate your company.

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While there is no single solution to address all issues companies face today there are numerous solutions that

will enhance an Organizations’ hiring success.

assisting organizations with their recruiting and selection needs,

found that (all other things equal) a larger applicant pool gives

you a greater chance of finding more qualified candidates. And a systematic hiring

process will lead to significant savings for the organization. However, finding and

processing a large applicant pool can be difficult.

filtering candidates through a funnel by using technology to administer basic assessment questions

and scheduling future activities definitively saves an organization time and money. In addition, defining

minimum qualifications and assessing the candidates’ skills will statistically predict job performance with

Using the interview as the last step in the process allows the interviewer to focus solely on those aspects which

have not been gathered through the assessment questions. This makes the process much more accurate,

more time efficient, and more cost effective.

Below are two charts that show how the content and technology can be used to streamline the process:

TENT FLOW)

In today’s job scene candidates are always looking for

social networks and other virtual worlds.

Many candidates are only willing to give the organization

information if they get some information in return. So it is

crucial to develop content that not only gathers information

from the candidate but gives them easy access to whatever

differentiate your company.

t m . c o m Page 4

While there is no single solution to address all issues companies face today there are numerous solutions that

,

a larger applicant pool gives

nd a systematic hiring

inding and

ster basic assessment questions

rganization time and money. In addition, defining

statistically predict job performance with

to focus solely on those aspects which

have not been gathered through the assessment questions. This makes the process much more accurate,

streamline the process:

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BUSINESS BENEFITS

By filling your positions faster with better qualified candidates—your company will benefit financially in terms

of real measurable rupees as well as intangible benefits. The intangibles are improved customer experiences as

a result of better hires and ultimately more spending in your stores.

These charts depict the current state of affairs for the average company looking to fill frontline staff (0-3 yrs)

for new store opening and your expected results by installing a recruiting and selection process detailed

previously.

SUMMARY

Frontline hiring for Retail in particular New Store Opening is chaotic and difficult to manage. To properly

recruit for these positions, you should look to cast a net on a wide audience of potential candidates. To do this

effectively, we suggest a refined, yet simple technology-based hiring process.

1. Minimum Qualifications - starts with establishing minimum qualifications and access a wide pool of

talent and systematically screen your prospects.

2. Assessment - Use a predictive behavioral assessment to accurately determine personality traits that

determine performance

3. Technology- Use technology to make the process more efficient by allowing candidates to gather

information via the Web, schedule for appointments via the web, and to ensure that recruiters are

only speaking with qualified candidates.

In summary we suggest that you set your expectations high and look forward to:

- Increased number of qualified job prospects

- Finding more currently employed prospects

- Minimum administrative burden to process high ratio of prospects to open positions

- Consistent evaluation of all respondents

- Extremely low cost per position filled

- Administratively simple

- Reduced time to hire

- Reduced turnover

- Increased bottom line

New Store Openings Current State

(for most companies) Attainable Results

Cost of resource acquisition (including

screening, advertising, hiring, training, etc.) 6,000 to 8,000 30%+ Decrease

Interview to Hire Ratio 10:1 7:1

Time to Fully Staff New Store Opening 6 to 8 weeks 3 to 5 weeks

Estimated Turnover 30% - 100% 30%+ decrease