Show Special kbb Birmingham 2018
Opinion
How to… attract, motivate and retain employees
As a recruitment specialist for the KBB industry Sharon Southcott, director of Strategic Professionals, says staff are a retailer’s greatest asset. She offers some tips on how your business can attract the right people and keep them motivated so they don’t leave
W
hy is it important to attract, motivate and retain employees? Because they are one of your biggest assets. In retail,
your customer-facing staff are key to your reputation and service. So what should you look for in an employee? You shouldn’t just focus on obvious ability to do the job. Also consider personality – how they’ll fit into the team, their ambition and communication skills. Make sure you have someone to handle recruitment. Start with ensuring the process is professional, but inviting. The advert needs to reflect not only the requirements of the role, but also the culture of your business. Does it present the business as you would like it to be perceived? How many people would you expect to apply? Is the location a problem? What are transport links like? Some of these you can’t do much about, but it may mean that the pay and benefits need to reflect them. You’ll need to make sure you are competitive with similar businesses in your area. You must also ensure that throughout the recruitment process, you comply with the law. Once you find a candidate, ensure there is an induction process in place to welcome them. Don’t just leave them to fend for themselves.
Staff motivation
There are generally three reasons why people don’t do their job. First, they don’t want to; second, they don’t know how; and third, something or someone is preventing them.
All of these you can address. The first two are all about clarity, motivation and – if necessary – training; the third is all about the working environment. As a manager, you should be motivating the team and developing the individuals within it. That doesn’t mean individuals can’t be rewarded – on the contrary, fostering a degree of friendly competition
can spur them on to do better. Your staff should have clear objectives – not just monetary ones, as customer service standards matter, too. They’ll also need regular feedback to confirm whether they are meeting those objectives and standards. You may well have heard of the hierarchy of needs – a pyramid depicting five psychological human needs. At the bottom, we have physiological needs or what we call our basic needs – water, food, and shelter. Once we get our physical needs met, we tend to be satisfied. However, there are other needs that need to be fulfilled in order to motivate us. A sense of safety comes next, then a sense of belonging. In other words, we need friends or colleagues. After that, we need a sense of self- esteem and, finally, self-actualisation. How is this relevant to the workplace? Well, having our needs met is a great motivation for loyalty and continued productivity.
Ensure the physical safety of your staff. People won’t risk their health and lives in a retail role. Encourage a sense of job security. If they make mistakes, consider it a learning experience. Encourage them to correct errors and try again. Try to avoid a blame culture – insecurity can reduce motivation and productivity.
Also make sure you provide a happy workplace, giving them a sense of belonging. Building a team is so important to motivation. Deal with conflict and protect and gain the trust of the team. People work best for people they trust.
Provide training and development to meet their self-actualisation needs. Staff training can be a great motivator, as it not only provides learning, but shows that the business values them. In fact, developing staff skills is often cheaper than recruitment and can add great value to the business. You might ask, what’s the point if my staff leave? Instead, you should be asking, what if they stay – and how can I
keep them from leaving?
There are also the obvious sales commission incentives, why stop there? Why not ask your team what motivates them? Don’t assume it’s just money.
Staff retention
People who are engaged and feel listened to are often more committed. Ask yourself honestly: is your existing team a supportive one? Is the working environment all that it should be – and if not, what can you do about it? Your customer-facing employees are often the ones who understand customers’ needs best. Listen to them. Empower them to help your business grow. Properly treated and motivated, they will perform well and be great advocates for your business.
People who are engaged and feel listened to are often more committed. Ask yourself honestly: is your team a supportive one? Is the working environment all it should be? If not, what can you do about it?
March 2018 kbb Birmingham Special Edition kbbreview 63
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