If You’re Fully Staffed – Should You Hire a Qualified Applicant?

As retail consultants we are often engaged to assist retailers who want to take their business to the next level.  In some cases this is through improving their marketing activity, in other cases it is by focusing them on improving their operational or financial discipline.  But more times than not, the quickest route to improving results is through improving their team. 

That is where the question about hiring when you are fully staffed comes in.  While the retail industry as a whole gets knocked for having a high level of employee turnover, the truth is that many retailers – maybe even you – have a core group of employees who have been with them year after year.  These are employees who can best be described as “reliable.”

Reliable team members open the store on-time.  They do not steal.  They maintain good customer relationships and they can best be described as “they do not cause problems.”  The truth is that while there is nothing wrong with having “reliable” employees – in fact we need them – they tend to support the status quo versus helping our businesses to grow.

Top quality people will almost always find a way to become useful to an organization.  They not only have excellent skills, but they have the desire, energy, enthusiasm and passion that will help to improve all of the “reliable” people that surround them. 

So, the next time you have a great quality applicant walk into your retail shop seeking employment, find a way to bring them into your company, give them a quality retail training experience and then let them run.  You may be pleasantly surprised to find that your “reliable” business sprouts some wings!

Would you like to improve your hiring practices through training your retail managers proven techniques for recruiting, interviewing and on-boarding?  If so, contact us today for a free one-hour consultation!

–          David Goodwin is the Principal of the Retail Advocacy Group.  As a 30 year veteran of the retail industry he has directed the activities of hundreds of retail locations and thousands of retail sales representatives and store managers.  RAG offers consulting services, retail sales training and management training programs.   You can learn more at www.retailertrainingservices.com.