The future of retail hiring rests on the labour applicant tracking system

Fountain is a Business Reporter client.

The retail industry added 30,000 jobs in January 2022, the same month positions in the sector were ranked at the bottom of a “best jobs” list released by US News & World Report. Clearly, there’s a major gap in the retail jobs market, complicated by a negative perception of the nature of the work.

Retail workers’ schedules can be unpredictable, leaving less flexibility for those who have outside-of-work commitments such as family. Benefits aren’t always part of the deal, and store associates may have to work long hours on their feet. The dispositions of these fatigued workers inevitably affect productivity and can translate into how they interact with customers.

Faced with this perpetuating cycle of worker burnout and customer dissatisfaction, retail businesses are forced to look at the root cause and begin repairs as early as possible in the cycle. In this case, customer satisfaction starts not only with the people you hire but also with how you hire them.

How to optimise hourly retail hiring

Because the customer experience is so dependent on your candidates’ experience when they apply to work for you, it’s imperative to invest in a hiring process that provides a fast and frictionless track to a job. More specifically, hiring managers need to employ the following tactics to ensure the journey from applicant to new hire is as seamless as possible, for both the applicant and the recruiter.

Appeal to applicants through your employer brand

Successful companies know how to tailor their brand to resonate with their target customers, but cultivating an engaging and relatable employer brand also is beneficial when building a team of people who will represent your business, even when they’re not working.

Automate wherever possible

If you’re not using an applicant tracking system (ATS) specifically designed to hire hourly workers, also known as a labour ATS, you may already find yourself behind. This type of ATS is built for high-volume hiring and can automate menial, time-consuming tasks such as preliminary skills screenings, background checks and document signing. Automating such tasks frees up time for recruiters to be more available to, and interactive with, candidates, which only enhances their journey to hire.

Another prominent benefit of automation is speed. With an industry average time-to-hire of 20 days, a labour ATS such as Fountain can slash this time to as little as 7.5 days.

Engage candidates early with AI

Adding artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to your career site means you can engage applicants as soon as they show interest. Take advantage of AI to answer straightforward questions, collect applicant information and even schedule interviews.

Get to know the person

Automation is an asset when it comes to manual tasks, but to get a better sense of the personal attributes of your candidates, you’ll need to include assessments, interviews and other stages. Assessments can test for things such as personality traits, work style and communication skills, while interviews can be pre-recorded by the applicant or requested on demand through your ATS.

Learn from your wins and your losses

Any quality labour ATS will have data and reporting capabilities baked in. Dedicate time and focus to analyse what’s working in your hiring process while also using insights to learn where you might need to make changes.

Think outside the shop

Retail workers are no longer confined to the four walls of a brick-and-mortar shop. The industry encompasses logistics, warehouses and call centres as e-commerce takes off in a post-pandemic direction. Keep these workers in mind when building your hiring workflows, which can be customised through your ATS based on the people you’re trying to reach.

Impact on business outcomes

A roadblock-free hiring process increases the likelihood that only the best candidates make it through the automated stages of the funnel, which means your hires are likely to be engaged and enthused from day one. When candidates feel seen and taken care of from the earliest stages of employment (the application), they’re less likely to leave, which means reduced turnover rates and increased retention. And as we’ve established, your workers’ feelings about your business as an employer spills over into their interactions with customers.

At the end of the chain of satisfied workers and customers is a successful and reputable business, one where both employees and customers reap value from their investment.

To learn more about how Fountain, a labour ATS, can streamline hourly hiring and get candidates to their first day of work faster, click here.