RSR Study: Cultural Challenges Outpace Technology for Retail Workforce Management Implementations
According to a new RSR Research report, retailers recognize that workforce automation requires much more focus on change management than typical retail technology implementations. But the report finds that such automation is more important than ever as store employees are being asked to do more than ever in the downturn.
The report, "The Human Side of Workforce Management: Retail Best Practices," sponsored by RedPrairie, notes that retail executives, store managers, employees, and even the public at large have long been wary of efforts to automate workforce management. Obstacles have run from current and former employees complaining to the press about losing hours, to cynical consumers expecting a reduction in service, even to resistance from store managers who see a reduction in responsibility and control.
However, automation has become even more critical to retailers not only due to the pressures on labor hours as a result of sales shortfalls, but also because of the rise in cross-channel shopping and an increase in non-sales work demands on store employees.
"Retailers are facing a big squeeze when it comes to their workforce right now," said Nikki Baird, managing partner at RSR and co-author of the report, in a statement. "They have to provide superior customer service to keep the customers they have, but with store traffic down heavily, they simply can't justify the labor expense of business as usual. Winning retailers recognize that they need automation tools to keep up, but they also recognize that this is employees' lives and livelihoods they're dealing with, and they need to manage this kind of change much more carefully than with, say, a merchandising implementation."
The report features case studies based on conversations with executives at four U.S.-based retailers from across retail verticals. Among the recommendations:
- Create an information‐asset roadmap in advance before tackling a WFM automation upgrade;
- Don't rely on one communication program;
- Make sure your executive sponsor is a "front-line person";
- Get front-line ownership of labor standards;
- Fully utilize task management.
"We wanted to highlight the best practices that retailers have found for making sure that workforce automation implementations are successful, not just from a technical point of view, but from a cultural point of view," said Steve Rowen, managing partner of RSR and co-author of the report. "We specifically wanted to highlight that it is possible to meet a retailer's labor budget needs while still serving front-line employees well, and what it takes to make that happen."
Discussion Question: What do you think has been holding back workforce automation at retail? What are the best practices to ensure an optimal workforce at a time when the labor budget has never been under more pressure?