All aspects of business have been affected as a result of the pandemic, but most noticeably the retail sector, in particular, has been affected significantly with dramatic falls in high-street shoppers and immense increases in online shopping and self-made boutiques.
Once upon a time, the thrill of heading out on the high street for some retail therapy would have been a dream. However, with lockdowns, national restrictions and the “Hands, Face, Space” government initiative consumers have turned to online shopping to buy their goods, leaving high street stores lying dormant.
This shift in buying habits is likely to stay for some time, meaning the way the retail sector recruits new members of staff is also likely to change. Store closures and bankruptcy have become more and more common. However, online-exclusive companies like the Very group which offers a wide range of merchandise for women, men and children reported a 36% growth in its online sales in the second quarter of the year.
The pandemic has pushed companies to become more technology-led with the use of technologically advanced warehouses that allows for faster processing of customer orders and returns. How employers hire and manage workers is also changing, take a look at some future predictions for recruiting in retail below for more information.
How recruitment is changing
Competition in the recruitment sector is heating up, with employers trying to attract high-quality candidates that meet their desired skillset. This battle has steered employers to take a multi-channel approach rather than using traditional methods of recruiting.
As the UK’s aging workforce starts to retire the number of millennial and Gen Z workers is beginning to increase. Employers and recruiters in the retail community need to tailor their recruitment tactics to appeal to this demographic. Job boards are likely to be accompanied by the use of social media accounts for promotion and brand awareness purposes, as well as, social media advertising and short-form content such as video media and AR experiences.
For example, a large clothing company might post a job on LinkedIn but would then follow that up with a post on Twitter to spread the word using relevant hashtags, and perhaps an Instagram Reel to showcase their office space and get to know some of their team.
Using current employees to help source candidates is another big change in the recruitment industry. Employers are starting to rely on the judgement of fellow employees to find new qualified talent via employer referral programs. This not only reduces hiring and recruitment time but also brings labour costs down.
Remote interviews and the need to quickly hire staff is a priority for many employers. Same-day hiring, where workers are interviews and hired in one day could become a common process in the retail sector moving forward. This will allow employers to quickly hire qualified talent before they get chosen by another competitor in the market.
The digital landscape is changing across the recruitment sector, however the uptake of digital services in retail is rising astronomically, enabling consumers from across the globe to browse goods, place an order and have them delivered easily. This rollout in advanced digital technology is set to replace even more operations when it comes to recruiting in the retail industry. Recruitment chains, job advertising, remote interviewing and even managing workers once they have been hired may all become automated.
How we can help
We’re the market-leading supplier of innovative end-to-end recruitment solutions. We provide HR professionals, recruiters and hiring teams with innovative cloud-based technology aimed at streamlining their recruitment process, making it quicker and easier to recruit whilst significantly reducing the time and cost to hire.
As early pioneers of multi-job posting technology our expertise extends into candidate response management, CV comparing and scoring, search capabilities through to candidate onboarding and more.
Our involvement starts with the design and promotion of your career’s website. It is imperative that your careers page attracts the right kind of talent. It is also essential that your careers page promotes your brand and ethos and is also quick, secure, mobile compatible and has a seamless application process.
Our applicant tracking software system can cover everything a recruitment team could possibly need to hire directly from the initial job posting through to onboarding and everything in between. We uniquely design the solution for you and only include what you need. If you need something we don’t have – we will work with you to build the technology you need.
Some of our features and functions include; client branding, multi-posting, task management, SMS communication, onboarding, detailed and bespoke reports, second stage applicant forms.
If you’d like more information about our recruitment software services and solutions, click here. Alternatively get in touch and chat with a member of our team using our LIVE chat tool on our website.
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