Reginald (Reggie) Johnson is the SVP, North American Field Human Resources & Chief Diversity Officer for Signet Jewelers, the world’s largest retailer of diamond jewelry.
The world of HR is a multi-headed and rapidly evolving beast with new practices and challenges coming down the pike on a seemingly daily basis. This is especially true in the current climate where the industry is being dominated by problems attracting and retaining fresh talent, and the constant advancement of digital technology.
As the country’s largest brick and mortar retail brand, Walmart is responsible for a vast number of employees and must constantly work to ensure this enormous workforce is properly managed and kept happy – especially considering the current labor market.
I our previous article in this series, we discussed how a more attractive package of compensation and benefits can help make the retail business more attractive as a career path to a higher quality of candidate.
Like many other industries right now, the retail business is experiencing a talent crisis. Ever since the global COVID-19 pandemic, retail brands have struggled to attract high quality talent to staff their stores in both customer facing and back-office roles.
Most people (not counting a handful on the more extreme fringes of the discourse) agree that promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion at all levels of our society is ultimately a positive thing for humanity and the planet.
The COVID-19 crisis has brought many challenges to the world of business, from how to continue operations in a safe and secure manner, to facilitating remote work and handling an increased number of requests and questions from customers. However, one area of industry which has arguably been hit more than most is the hospitality business. With kitchens and front of house roles going unfilled, the future of hospitality seem rather uncertain right now and it’s going to take innovative thinking to ensure a brighter tomorrow.
As financial institutions undergo their own digital transformations, they need to be attracting employees with the skills to effectively apply new technologies and digital services as they are developed. So - what can be done to attract the right people with the right skills and retain them for the long term?
If employers and HR directors at financial organizations are to prevent a talent exodus, they must embrace career and professional development initiatives to ensure employees feel like they are valued by the organization and to prevent future gaps appearing in the workforce.
It is increasingly hard for financial institutions to hire the innovative and well-trained talent they need to complete their digital transformation, combat security issues, deal with increased regulations, and conduct effective big data management. Let's take a look at five of the key challenges facing financial service HR and recruitment right now.
As we move further through the COVID-19 crisis, businesses all over the world are having to rethink how they carry out almost every element of their business. HR officers have been working hard to make sure new and returning staff have everything they need to continue serving customers and managing inventory, while remaining safe and healthy. Dollar General is one such retailer and the Goodlettsville, Tennessee headquartered retailer has been revamping its training programs in order to better facilitate staff development.
Since we all started drifting back to work after the easing of lockdown measures, workplaces the world over have had to make some challenging decisions, and nowhere is this arguably more relevant than in the retail business. Employees need support and employers need to provide it. If workers don’t feel safe in their work, chances are they’ll start looking elsewhere as no job, especially relatively low paid and plentiful jobs such as in retail, is worth getting sick or assaulted over.
We know that retailers are struggling to attract enough staff to fill the roles they have open, but that’s only one face of the coin. On the flip side, retailers need to focus on the staff they already have and make sure they are happy and content in their work. This is where workplace culture and employee engagement come in.
The COVID-19 has had a significant impact on almost every industry – although, for some, such as ecommerce, this impact has been largely positive – but it has arguably disrupted the retail industry more than others. In terms of this impact, the retail business was forced to introduce multiple layers of precautions to ensure customers could shop and employees work in as safe a manner as possible. From installing Perspex screens at checkouts and laying social distancing guidance stickers on the floors, to sanitization stations, allowing limited numbers into stores at one time, and queuing, the level of adaptation required to meet both regulations and recommendations was significant.
We are seeing a substantial change in the way people interact with one another and, since the civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s, social issues have rarely been such a hot topic as they are now. These factors and more are having a transformative effect on the jobs and roles people are looking for and HR officers need to be aware of and react to these changes if they want to continue to attract the best talent.
The world of retail was already going through something of a paradigm shift even before the COVID-19 crisis changed everything. Facing an existential threat from the world of ecommerce was challenging enough, but now a transforming labor market is compounding those issues. Whereas many office workers were able to continue working their jobs from home, this wasn’t an option for retail staff, and it’s significantly changed the labor market in the space – perhaps permanently.
It’s a new day for diversity, equity, and inclusion. If the racial equality protests of 2020 taught us anything, it’s that it’s not good enough to simply talk about these issues anymore, we have to take positive action to change the world for the better. A more diverse, equal, and inclusive workforce will benefit businesses at the bottom line as well. People bring their culture, social experience, and culture along with them and that diversity of thought can generate the kinds of ideas which take a company to the next level.
The home improvement and gardening industry shifts into high gear when springtime rolls around, and firms often need to pad out their autumn and winter skeleton crews with much more staff very quickly. This led The Home Depot to look to digital technology as a way of quickly recruiting 80,000 new people.
Amazon's status as an employer is often in the news, and often not in the most favorable light. However, when it comes to hiring new staff, the ecommerce mega-corporation has a few unique tricks up its sleeve.
Walmart is not only the world's largest company in terms of revenue but, with nearly 2.5 million employees around the globe, also boasts its biggest workforce. Being responsible for that many people would be an insurmountable challenge for many businesses, but Walmart has a rock-solid strategy to help keep things under control.
As a big disruptor in the eyewear industry, Warby Parker is all about making sure it has its focus on the right issues. This is especially true when it comes to building an inclusive and diverse team.
When members of the armed forces return home from active duty, they can face many issues trying to assimilate back into normal life, or "civvy street" as is the term used by the vets themselves. However, Dollar General is creating opportunities for veterans with its progressive recruitment policies.
As digital technology permeates almost every corner of every industry, the modern workplace is a very different animal from the one that existed only a decade or two ago. Now, Best Buy is using AI, machine learning, and other leading technology to - somewhat counter-intuitively - put the human touch back into human resources.
Not only does Walmart need to innovate in the way it serves its customers, but also in how it attracts the talented individuals and teams which are required for it to do so.
Williams-Sonoma's National Hiring Day aimed to carry out interviews for 4,000 positions across its portfolio of brands with this hiring strategy.
While the customer remains the prime focus of The Home Depot's efforts, the company's own associates are also given priority as people, rather than employees.
Discover how Nordstrom is adjusting recruitment and retention strategies to secure the future of their workforce
How Bonobos uses "People Teams" to increase employee engagement
Starbucks shows how connecting employees with purpose brings measurable business impact.
Angela discusses her mission to help every individual embrace their value.
Since Walmart started using Oculus Rift to train employees in simulated scenarios, it has expanded the use of VR to its recruitment and promotional process.
Taco Bell, Shake Shack, and other fast food restaurants are throwing hiring parties to attract and screen job applicants effectively.
Learn tactics on how to keep your employees engaged, productive, and happy.
Digital transformation hits the HR department with technologies that support remote work opportunities, employee wellness, training, and assessments.
Technology allows employees to develop skills in more areas than ever through training from various mediums.
CVS Health is including CBT-based insomnia treatment app Sleepio in its employee benefit package to help American workers get better sleep.
DICK's Sporting Goods takes job applicants to in-store interviews on National Signing Day and onboards staff with digital platform to prepare for the holiday.
Indeed automates part of the job application process to eliminate unconscious bias and create an inclusive recruitment pipeline.
Nordstrom carries out a large-scale revaluation of wage to achieve 100 percent pay equity across gender and race.
Lowe’s is re-engaging its employees with virtual reality technology and carrying out regular employee surveys to boost morale in the workplace.
Starbuck is raising mental health awareness and putting employee wellbeing first with HR offering of counseling, inpatient, and outpatient mental health care.
Learn how to improve staff retention by creating multiple touchpoints for feedback, offering perks, and driving a healthy work life balance.
The home improvement and gardening industry shifts into high gear when springtime rolls around, and firms often need to pad out their autumn and winter skeleton crews with much more staff very quickly. This led The Home Depot to look to digital technology as a way of quickly recruiting 80,000 new people.