Retail Recruitment: How to Hire the Best Employees for Your Store

How can I improve my retail recruitment process?

If you’re part of a HR team, or you’re a hiring manager looking to recruit for your retail store, chances are that you know that finding the right people can sometimes feel a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack.

With loads of job boards to post on, and plenty of applicants raring to go, how do you hire the best employees for your store? Here’s our top tips…

1) Define your ideal candidate

One of the first steps of good retail recruitment is to define your ideal candidate. This will help you to write your job description, and head into the hiring process clued up on who you’re looking for.

What skills should your future employee have?

Strong communication and customer service skills are a given, a positive attitude and the ability to work (and thrive!) in a fast-paced retail environment. But are you looking for anything else?

You might be looking for someone with a keen eye for fashion, or someone super-organised with future leadership potential. Whatever you’re searching for, try to nail down your expectations and needs ahead of time, so that you’re going into the hiring process ready to spot the right candidates.

You might also expect your ideal candidate to have experience, or you might be willing to invest time into additional training for someone who seems like a great fit but will be coming into their first retail role.

Maybe you find someone excellent who has no prior retail experience, but who has loads of transferable skills. Before starting the retail hiring process, consider how much experience you’d like your future employee to have, as this will save you time and effort in the long run.

Don’t forget about your brand culture. For example, if you’re a sports retailer, you’ll want to find someone who has an interest in sports. For a high-end fashion role, you’ll need someone who can advise customers on styling luxury pieces.

Defining all of these criteria early in the retail recruitment process will help you hire more effectively, finding candidates who can contribute to your store’s success from day one.

2) Craft the perfect job description

So, you’ve got your dream employee (or employees) in mind, now it’s time to flex those writing skills and craft the perfect job description.

As it’s one of the first things candidates will check out, writing a great job description is important.

You’ll want to use this space to not only clearly outline the responsibilities, expectations and required qualifications for the job, but also to showcase the perks of working at your store. Maybe you offer an amazing employee discount, or you can support flexible working. Whatever the case, be sure to shout about what makes working for your brand great.

3) Use multiple recruitment channels

Think you can simply post your job on your company site and wait for the applicants to roll in? Think again.

While this will get you some applicants, you want to be advertising to a wider pool of candidates so that you attract the best talent.

Make sure that you’ve posted on a range of job boards and on your social media accounts. You could also offer an employee referral scheme as a perk to your team.

Not sure where to start with getting your job ad out there? Talk to us.

4) Nail the hiring process

So, the job ad is out, and the first applications have started to come in. What now? You’ll want to make sure you’ve got your hiring process mastered or work with a recruiter who can help.

From that initial sift through CVs, to pre-screen phone calls and structured interviews, hiring in retail can take time. Consider if this is something you’d like to do internally, or if you’d prefer to hire a specialist recruiter who can make hiring the right talent easier from start to finish.

5) Consider using assessment tools

Another part of the hiring process that can help you whittle your hiring pool down to great applicants ahead of the interview is assessment tools.

For in-store roles, skills tests, such as customer service scenarios or sales simulations can help you to assess individuals’ abilities directly in the context of the job, ensuring that your potential new employee can handle situations they’ll face in-store. Some employers also find personality tests handy, as these can help to gauge whether a candidate’s traits align with your team’s dynamic and the culture in-store.

Assessment tests help you to employ candidates that aren’t just qualified, but also capable of delivering exceptional in-store service.

6) Understand the current retail climate

Attracting and retaining the right people for your team can be challenging, so it’s important to check that you’re offering a competitive salary and benefits package that’s up to industry standards.

Offering perks and benefits that meet (or exceed) the current UK retail standard will be advantageous in attracting high-quality applicants – plus, it’s a strong incentive for your current team too.

When you’ve chosen who you’d like to hire, make sure that the package you’re offering them is up to scratch – you don’t want to miss out on a great new employee!

7) Focus on employee retention

You’ve got your toolkit for hiring the best in the industry. Now, it’s time to make sure that you retain the talent on your team.

To do this, you’ll want to have a thorough onboarding process to help new hires adjust and succeed in their roles quickly. Plus, having a great onboarding process is a positive in any employees’ eyes – it can help to build trust as they know they’ve been through all of the correct procedures.

Encourage growth and development in your employees, consider offering continual training and development opportunities so that they can improve their skills and continue to grow within your brand. By helping your employees to upskill, you’re showing that you’re invested in them and their growth within your brand.

Last, but certainly not least, is fostering a positive working environment. Company culture is everything in the eyes of your employees, so make sure that their working environment is positive and supportive.

Choose a recruitment agency that understands the industry

If you’re thinking of outsourcing recruitment to help you hire for your store, then you should speak to an agency that specialises in retail recruitment.

Our team of expert recruiters not only have extensive experience helping brands to hire for a wide range of retail roles, but they’ve also all had previous experience in retail and hospitality, so they have firsthand experience about what it’s like to be on both sides of the hiring process.

Chat with us today to see how we can make your retail hiring process efficient and hassle-free – it’s what we do.