10 Ways to Encourage Your Best Retail Employees To Quit

Employee turnover is one of the true Achilles heels of the retail industry.   According to the US Bureau of Labor Standards, the seasonally adjusted turnover rate for retail is in excess of 70% per year – and if you include seasonal employees, that number can exceed 100%!

 In retail  – as in any other business – everyone has a right to be treated fairly.  But that does not mean that every employee is equal.  The truth is that some retail employees are better at customer service and selling than others and for your business to have a competitive edge you need to retain these employees.  So if you want to retail your best performers it is helpful to know what creates dissatisfaction among them. 

With that in mind, here are 10 poor business practices that may encourage top performers to seek employment elsewhere:

1 – Pay Everyone Equally:  While in principle this may make sense, the fact it that not all of your employees are equal – and they know it.  You need to make sure that you are rewarding superior performance with superior compensation.

2 – Accept Mediocre Results: The only thing your best employees dislike more than working with people who will not pull their own weight is working for a retail manager who accepts mediocre results without taking action.

3 – Enforcing Bad Rules: The best retail sales representative appreciate your company’s guidelines and values, but they don't want to have those rules that get in the way of doing their jobs.

4 – Not Recognizing Achievement:  Most top performers are motivated by more than money.  They also want to be recognized for their leadership and results.  Practice what we call “managing in the moment” by thanking them for a job well done as quickly as possible.

5 – Having A Dull Workplace:  The concept of “work is work and should not be fun” is counterproductive.  The best retail employees feed off of the energy of their coworkers and that translates into higher sales and better service.

6 – Keeping Them In The Dark:  Whether it is a change in company policy, information about new products or the details of an upcoming promotion, your retail sales reps know that information (or the lack of it) impacts their paycheck.  So communicate daily.

7 – Tolerating Rumors And Gossip:  It is natural for your team members to have casual conversation in the workplace.  But when that conversation turns negative it impacts performance and encourages team members to seek work in a more comfortable environment.

8 – Manage Every Detail Of Their Work:  Unlike new team members who may need a lot of direction, your top performers likely only need to be told what you need and to be asked for their opinion on the best way to accomplish the goal.  As long as their activity does not conflict with the company’s values, let them run!

9 – Ignoring Them:  With top performers it is easy to take an “if they do not cause a problem, I will leave them alone” approach.  The truth is that your top performers do need a lot of attention.  Just make sure it is not heavy handed.

10 – Playing Favorites:  It is natural for any leader to have a personal affinity for one team member vs. another, but you cannot allow that to interfere with your management practices.  If a top performer feels that they are being treated unfavorably in relation to an underperformer you are in jeopardy of losing a winner.

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Are you looking to improve your retail results?  If so, RTS’ Top Check Selling System and Top Check Performance management System may be the tools you have been looking for.  Contact us for more information!