In furniture retail, your team can make or break your business.
You can have the best store and the best products, but if your staff aren’t doing their bit then the rest of it becomes incredibly difficult.
Finding good staff is difficult enough however, and keeping them can be even harder. Stats show that the average annual turnover of retail staff is 22%, while research suggests that 51% of retail employees are at risk of leaving their jobs during peak seasons.
This demonstrates just how important it is to create a work environment in which people not only want to stay in, but actively want to join.
Here’s 3 tips to help shift the balance of power, and boost your staff retention rates in your furniture store.
Create the role they want – as well as the one you need
Different people need different things from work. Money is one, and a supporting, enjoyable working environment another. Tick those two boxes, and if they’re undertaking a fulfilling role, you’re pretty much sorted. Easier said than done. Often, retail jobs are filled with mundane manual processing tasks, as well as a seemingly eternal battle with retail systems – both of which increase stress levels and take them away from the customer. By reducing the reliance on manual processes, by for example, implementing the Swan Retail System, you can create the time for staff to focus on the customer, increasing their enjoyment.
Bring in software that’s easy to use
Many of us have been there. A new software program is introduced, it’s incredibly complex to use, and it’s a struggle. It ends up taking more time than you actually save, and for whose benefit? Certainly not the people on the floor actually using the thing. A good retail system can be brilliant for your store – but it’s got to be easy to use. Otherwise, it doesn’t get used, job satisfaction decreases and frustration goes on the up and up. The Swan Retail System is intuitive and super simple to use, while delivering some seriously useful business benefits – as well as helping improve customer experience too. All of which add up to a happier, more productive workplace.
Empower staff to make decisions – and reduce the opportunity for mistakes
We all like to feel as if we’ve got a bit of control over a situation, and in the workplace it’s no different. A sense of responsibility and trust helps build investment and loyalty – and with that comes staff retention. With a strong retail management system, you can give staff parameters in which to make decisions – discounts or special offers, for example – while ensuring they always have good, reliable and up-to-the-minute information at their fingertips too. By empowering staff with easy-to-access, current information on, for example, stock levels and availability, you can help create a positive environment in which they can excel.
While you may think a retail management system only impacts the business itself, it’s important to look at the peripheral benefits, too. By creating a more professional retail environment, you can remove small problems that snowball into big issues, and ensure that your staff can invest their time and energy into your customers – therefore creating a far more appealing and attractive role.
Attracting and retaining staff is one of the key challenges facing furniture retailers at the moment. Download our ebook to explore other challenges and how Swan can help provide the solutions.
