June 4, 2015
Retailing trains workers to work outside retail. Huh?
A new National Retail Federation (NRF) study finds the skills developed working in the retail business are attractive to hiring managers in other industries. While it may be good news for retail workers that they have options outside of the industry, the findings seem counter the industry’s push to get more workers thinking of retail as a career.
According to research, 69 percent of those surveyed said skills such as the ability to work with different people, take direction, multi-task and have the willingness to "step up" were all transferable to jobs in other businesses. Seventy-four percent of hiring managers also appreciate that retail industry workers are willing to start at the ground floor and work their way up.
"The retail industry serves as the ‘farm team’ for our country’s labor force," said Matthew Shay, president and CEO of NRF, in a statement. "Each year, millions of workers feed into retail’s great meritocracy to learn the benefits of hard work and dedication. These are the true building blocks for advancement, growth and fulfillment that lead to successful careers."
Photo: RetailWire
In a piece for Stores Magazine, Mr. Shay wrote, "Those who have moved on to other fields agreed that their retail experience made it possible. Virtually all said they used their former retail managers as references; four out of five said the recommendations of those managers helped them land their new jobs."
The NRF survey, conducted by GfK Public Affairs and Corporate Communications, found a high level of work satisfaction among current retail industry workers. Seventy-nine percent said they are "happy working in retail" with 78 percent reporting they are "satisfied" in their current positions. Sixty percent of those surveyed said they have been promoted while working in the industry and 85 percent have received a raise.
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Warren Thayer
Editor Emeritus & Co-Founder, Frozen & Refrigerated Buyer
Bob Phibbs
President/CEO, The Retail Doctor
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Do you think promising retail workers see the industry as a “farm team” for better work elsewhere? Do you think recent wage increases from major chains and the publicity push by retail groups such as NRF have changed the public perception of working in the industry?
Poll
I doubt that many of the young people whose first job is in retail have planned that far ahead. To them the first job is a chance to earn a paycheck.
Over time some will grow to love being a part of the retail industry. Others will find that they want to do something else. The good news is that some do stay and make it a career.
Actual wage increases may help, but all the negative press about what a terrible place retail is, i.e., where the workers are exploited, certainly doesn’t help.
Retail offers a wide variety of entry level positions, but many retail employees don’t see retail as a fulfilling career. It may be cynical, but I have to question the impartiality of the survey conducted by the NRF. Retail may allow employees to acquire important skills, but too often those same employees leave retail because they are not satisfied with the opportunities that retail jobs offer. The wage increases that national chains are offering are still not enough to support an individual, let alone a family. Retail is a great entry point for the world of work. For most it is not a career.
Store-level retail is definitely the farm team because it’s rare for people to make enough to live decently, let alone raise a family. And yes,all the multitasking and interpersonal relations necessary at retail are superb training for most anything. I’m sure many retail workers do enjoy their jobs, but they also keep one eye open for something better to come along. Advancement from store level to headquarters happens, and gets written about a lot. (“See? Only in America, baby!”) But a promotion to headquarters is sort of like winning the lottery. So most people are looking, and will jump for even a slight wage increase just to try to make ends meet. Recent wage increases have lowered the level of desperation for many workers, but haven’t really changed the public perception of working in the industry.
I am sure there are many workers who see retail as a stepping stone to other industries and businesses. The fact that paying for higher education is making a comeback (see Starbucks and Wegmans) makes working in retail a definite avenue to other careers. This is good for the workers and other businesses because, in my opinion, there is no better training than all of the skills learned by a good ambitious retail worker. I speak from experience that all of the skills mentioned in the article plus learning to think on your feet, manage both up and down and make solid decisions can be learned and polished at retail. The key for retail companies is to actively identify and keep their best performers and highest-potential people. This is easier said than done due to the varied quality and motivation of current managers.
Both workers in retail and in other industries see retail work as a stepping stone to what most of them consider “a better job.”
The recent wage increase may have a temporary effect on retention. I use the word retention rather than saying reduce turnover because retention is keeping the employees you need and reducing turnover just keeps everyone.
The wage increase will be short-lived because other industries, if necessary, will keep the same differential in wages they now have. Then again wages are only one part of the formula, you need to look at overall benefits, working conditions and opportunity.
My suggestion to most retailers would be not to focus on the many but identify the high potential and high producers and figure out what it is going to take to get them to make a career in retailing.
Retail has always been the great “normalizing” influence in the workforce. Many don’t realize how failing in retail is often necessary to learning how to work in other fields. I’m not sure public perception has changed about working in retail.
Having done so, I can attest that working at retail in a reasonably high volume environment is very demanding on retail associates. Couple that with working nights, weekends and holidays and you have a recipe for attrition.
Certainly wage increases may stem the migration to other, less physically-demanding industries, but what is really missing to a great extent is the ability to organically grow (career wise) within the retail environment.
Many retailers have cut HQ staff, outsourced functions and “imported” senior lever talent from other organizations. These practices have created a very limited, even stagnant advancement opportunity environment for those in the trenches at retail.
There are exceptions, of course. Publix comes to mind as a retailer who continues to harvest talent internally while staying on a positive growth trajectory. But more often than not, the best growth opportunities for the retail rank-and-file are found elsewhere. While it’s nice that the NRF is helping change perceptions, the stark reality is that most retailers do not offer robust advancement opportunities.
Outside of logistics, purchasing and planning for the big boxes of the world there is not much to get excited about in the retail. Not all that much has really changed except for advances such as chasing likes on Facebook, tweeting to nowhere and throwaway e-mail. Most of the market has cut staffing too lean and may see retail as a cheap grab for bodies. I can not remember hearing experienced store-level employees who are excited for the future. A Walmart release today cites a need to improve morale at the store level, much to the contrary of this discussion.
Most young people (and their parents) are just happy to have “a job” in this economy. And most entering retail as high school students are not looking at retail as any kind of longer-term career.
There are some fine college and university programs that do focus on preparing graduates for a degree that is directly related to retail management, marketing, merchandising, etc. But these degrees are aimed at management and professional positions, not RSPs on the store floor.
Hourly wage increases help attract better talent to retail. But new health care laws have also resulted in cutting back employee hours.
If retailers want to be more than the “farm team” for other industries then they have to start offering a career path, with competitive salaries plus commensurate benefits in order to retain the best talent.
Totally depends. I know that as far as fashion goes, retail is still looked at as a good starter career towards other elements in that industry, like fashion design or even having your own business. And that’s an accurate perception IMO. So, for most of specialty retail, the article holds true.
However, the rest of retail I believe has a bit of a black eye due to the lack of quality staffing you meet. Most consumers we interview have a very negative view of store associates, and rightfully so. That viewpoint, right or wrong, has created a stigma around retail as a career AND as a stepping stone, unfortunately.
Any job a person takes and does well can serve as a qualifier for their next and better job. It shows their dedication, responsibility, possibly leadership, initiative and the list goes on.
The problem with retail is that there are many store positions that are just that, store positions. They won’t be anything else and yes, there has to be a cap on the salary. Why would you continue to give raises to a simple store position that has no special requirements when you can hire a brand new youngster for less? It just doesn’t fit the model.
On the other hand…there may be new opportunities to reduce store staff while supplementing help/information/assistance through technology and digital. This model could also result in store staff being of a higher caliber thus a higher pay.
If the store of the future is going to be all about the experience, it’s time that retail start exploring that new model and perhaps retail as a career could have anew meaning.
And that’s my 2 cents.
Unfortunately, many promising retail workers see the positions as mind-numbing repetitive tasks under unappreciative insensitive managers. They often are working in those positions just until something better opens up, either from a dollars per hour or job responsibility.
Wage increases will improve retention in the short run, but research has shown that money cannot compensate for a toxic environment.
Retailers must combine higher wages with a thoughtful, respectful engaged management approach to really see the benefits and keep those workers longer.
Well, I think it will take some time and increased efforts to significantly change perceptions of working in retail. Because retail is generally such a demanding industry in which to work, I am not surprised by these findings. recruiters know retail workers are skilled in many areas and are in demand. It has been a challenge to keep the top workers in retail for decades. And I don’t think anything has changed that. Quite simply, the attraction of better work schedules, fewer tasks to managers, etc. in other industries is tough for retailers to compete with.
There are people who enter retail just to earn a wage; there are people who are coming off other “failures,” where retail is an interim step towards the next better opportunity; there are those who are not skilled enough to enter many other disciplines. Retail store positions can both be mundane static positions or they can be paths to greater success. Candidates who are career oriented need to identify the companies who have these paths, who promote accordingly, and offer corporate level opportunities as well.
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I doubt that many of the young people whose first job is in retail have planned that far ahead. To them the first job is a chance to earn a paycheck.
Over time some will grow to love being a part of the retail industry. Others will find that they want to do something else. The good news is that some do stay and make it a career.
Actual wage increases may help, but all the negative press about what a terrible place retail is, i.e., where the workers are exploited, certainly doesn’t help.
Retail offers a wide variety of entry level positions, but many retail employees don’t see retail as a fulfilling career. It may be cynical, but I have to question the impartiality of the survey conducted by the NRF. Retail may allow employees to acquire important skills, but too often those same employees leave retail because they are not satisfied with the opportunities that retail jobs offer. The wage increases that national chains are offering are still not enough to support an individual, let alone a family. Retail is a great entry point for the world of work. For most it is not a career.
Store-level retail is definitely the farm team because it’s rare for people to make enough to live decently, let alone raise a family. And yes,all the multitasking and interpersonal relations necessary at retail are superb training for most anything. I’m sure many retail workers do enjoy their jobs, but they also keep one eye open for something better to come along. Advancement from store level to headquarters happens, and gets written about a lot. (“See? Only in America, baby!”) But a promotion to headquarters is sort of like winning the lottery. So most people are looking, and will jump for even a slight wage increase just to try to make ends meet. Recent wage increases have lowered the level of desperation for many workers, but haven’t really changed the public perception of working in the industry.
I am sure there are many workers who see retail as a stepping stone to other industries and businesses. The fact that paying for higher education is making a comeback (see Starbucks and Wegmans) makes working in retail a definite avenue to other careers. This is good for the workers and other businesses because, in my opinion, there is no better training than all of the skills learned by a good ambitious retail worker. I speak from experience that all of the skills mentioned in the article plus learning to think on your feet, manage both up and down and make solid decisions can be learned and polished at retail. The key for retail companies is to actively identify and keep their best performers and highest-potential people. This is easier said than done due to the varied quality and motivation of current managers.
Both workers in retail and in other industries see retail work as a stepping stone to what most of them consider “a better job.”
The recent wage increase may have a temporary effect on retention. I use the word retention rather than saying reduce turnover because retention is keeping the employees you need and reducing turnover just keeps everyone.
The wage increase will be short-lived because other industries, if necessary, will keep the same differential in wages they now have. Then again wages are only one part of the formula, you need to look at overall benefits, working conditions and opportunity.
My suggestion to most retailers would be not to focus on the many but identify the high potential and high producers and figure out what it is going to take to get them to make a career in retailing.
Retail has always been the great “normalizing” influence in the workforce. Many don’t realize how failing in retail is often necessary to learning how to work in other fields. I’m not sure public perception has changed about working in retail.
Having done so, I can attest that working at retail in a reasonably high volume environment is very demanding on retail associates. Couple that with working nights, weekends and holidays and you have a recipe for attrition.
Certainly wage increases may stem the migration to other, less physically-demanding industries, but what is really missing to a great extent is the ability to organically grow (career wise) within the retail environment.
Many retailers have cut HQ staff, outsourced functions and “imported” senior lever talent from other organizations. These practices have created a very limited, even stagnant advancement opportunity environment for those in the trenches at retail.
There are exceptions, of course. Publix comes to mind as a retailer who continues to harvest talent internally while staying on a positive growth trajectory. But more often than not, the best growth opportunities for the retail rank-and-file are found elsewhere. While it’s nice that the NRF is helping change perceptions, the stark reality is that most retailers do not offer robust advancement opportunities.
Outside of logistics, purchasing and planning for the big boxes of the world there is not much to get excited about in the retail. Not all that much has really changed except for advances such as chasing likes on Facebook, tweeting to nowhere and throwaway e-mail. Most of the market has cut staffing too lean and may see retail as a cheap grab for bodies. I can not remember hearing experienced store-level employees who are excited for the future. A Walmart release today cites a need to improve morale at the store level, much to the contrary of this discussion.
Most young people (and their parents) are just happy to have “a job” in this economy. And most entering retail as high school students are not looking at retail as any kind of longer-term career.
There are some fine college and university programs that do focus on preparing graduates for a degree that is directly related to retail management, marketing, merchandising, etc. But these degrees are aimed at management and professional positions, not RSPs on the store floor.
Hourly wage increases help attract better talent to retail. But new health care laws have also resulted in cutting back employee hours.
If retailers want to be more than the “farm team” for other industries then they have to start offering a career path, with competitive salaries plus commensurate benefits in order to retain the best talent.
Totally depends. I know that as far as fashion goes, retail is still looked at as a good starter career towards other elements in that industry, like fashion design or even having your own business. And that’s an accurate perception IMO. So, for most of specialty retail, the article holds true.
However, the rest of retail I believe has a bit of a black eye due to the lack of quality staffing you meet. Most consumers we interview have a very negative view of store associates, and rightfully so. That viewpoint, right or wrong, has created a stigma around retail as a career AND as a stepping stone, unfortunately.
Any job a person takes and does well can serve as a qualifier for their next and better job. It shows their dedication, responsibility, possibly leadership, initiative and the list goes on.
The problem with retail is that there are many store positions that are just that, store positions. They won’t be anything else and yes, there has to be a cap on the salary. Why would you continue to give raises to a simple store position that has no special requirements when you can hire a brand new youngster for less? It just doesn’t fit the model.
On the other hand…there may be new opportunities to reduce store staff while supplementing help/information/assistance through technology and digital. This model could also result in store staff being of a higher caliber thus a higher pay.
If the store of the future is going to be all about the experience, it’s time that retail start exploring that new model and perhaps retail as a career could have anew meaning.
And that’s my 2 cents.
Unfortunately, many promising retail workers see the positions as mind-numbing repetitive tasks under unappreciative insensitive managers. They often are working in those positions just until something better opens up, either from a dollars per hour or job responsibility.
Wage increases will improve retention in the short run, but research has shown that money cannot compensate for a toxic environment.
Retailers must combine higher wages with a thoughtful, respectful engaged management approach to really see the benefits and keep those workers longer.
Well, I think it will take some time and increased efforts to significantly change perceptions of working in retail. Because retail is generally such a demanding industry in which to work, I am not surprised by these findings. recruiters know retail workers are skilled in many areas and are in demand. It has been a challenge to keep the top workers in retail for decades. And I don’t think anything has changed that. Quite simply, the attraction of better work schedules, fewer tasks to managers, etc. in other industries is tough for retailers to compete with.
There are people who enter retail just to earn a wage; there are people who are coming off other “failures,” where retail is an interim step towards the next better opportunity; there are those who are not skilled enough to enter many other disciplines. Retail store positions can both be mundane static positions or they can be paths to greater success. Candidates who are career oriented need to identify the companies who have these paths, who promote accordingly, and offer corporate level opportunities as well.