We’re living in a time where customer-facing organizations are being pushed to reimagine the concept, intent and function of the ‘store’ experience. This includes industries like restaurants, banking and hotels that traditionally have a heavy emphasis on the in-person customer experience. Pressure is being driven by constant change, including the emergence of generations as buyers with different consumer and technology expectations (i.e. digital natives), an increasingly tight economic and employment market and an increasingly intense competitive landscape.
This mounting external pressure on how organizations ‘show up’ in the market is creating internal operating challenges, as well. Among them, more than ever, organizations are struggling to compete for talent – with turnover rates in many of these industries well over 60%, finding and hiring workers is becoming a constant stress on the business. With 82 million Americans in hourly paid work (Bureau of Labor and Statistics), why does hiring the right people remain a challenge?
First, we have to consider that less than 30% of organizations that predominantly hire hourly workers have a dedicated talent acquisition or HR function to help navigate these obstacles (The Forgotten Workforce, Aptitude Research). In a study of over 600 Talent Acquisition professionals in these industries, industry analyst and founder of Aptitude Research Madeline Laurano cited, “Many of these companies do not have access to the right resources, teams, or solutions to support the unique needs of hourly workers. The focus is on filling seats rather than building relationships.” In fact, companies in industries focused on hourly workers (retail, restaurants, automotive, and hospitality) underperform when compared to all other industries with improvements to quality of hire, the candidate experience, and first-year retention (see Figure 1 below, ‘The State of the Hourly Worker is Bleak’).
I know the pressure these organizations feel all too well, bringing me back to my own career running a store with a retail giant - long before I ventured into the world of recruiting and recruiting tech. I was taught 4 basic principles of running a store – and, while technology is changing how physical locations (stores, hotels, restaurants, banks, etc.) operate, these are still relevant to any customer-facing business today:
- First impressions matter. Look in from the outside – and, pretend you’re a customer. The customer experience is quickly diminished by an unkept lobby, aisles or tables.
- Guide people to what they need. If there’s something you’re promoting, put it out front – right when they walk in.
- Make it easy. Imagine walking into a store, finding what you need – but then not being able to pay. Abandoned carts equal lost sales.
- Engage your customer. Possibly the most important lesson – greet them, check on them and get to know their needs. Create an experience that is pleasurable, not transactional, and they’ll keep coming back.
So, what do my lessons as a store manager have to do with hiring today? As it turns out, everything! Let’s look at those four basics, now with an eye towards the Talent Acquisition process:
First impressions matter.
When was the last time you tried to apply for a job at your own company? Is it easy and intuitive – or lengthy and complex? Is it easy to find what you need (i.e. the right job for your skills)? Now, try to apply for a job at a competitor in your industry or region. What impression does that process leave on a job seeker compared to your own? While 64% of companies have a dedicated role managing the customer experience, only 8% of companies with hourly workers have a dedicated role for the candidate experience (‘Thinking of Candidates as Customers’, Aptitude Research). By failing to treat candidates like customers, companies are jeopardizing organizational growth.
Think about the experience you’re creating (not-as a transaction), and give job seekers a reason to spend their time considering you as their ideal employer - rather than the store down the street.
Guide people to what they need.
Do you need people specifically to unload trucks on 3rd shift, and you’re paying a premium? Feature that job prominently, and make sure they know it. Do you have cashier positions available at two locations within a mile of each other, but one has an abundance of applicants and one has none, where you really need them? It’s often a cumbersome process for job seekers to figure out which opportunity is right for them – leading to frustration or abandonment.
Curate the content and recommendations for your applicants in the same way you curate products or services for your customers – make it easy to find the best-fit role or location without spending time searching.
Make it easy.
Convenience is king - 97% of shoppers have backed out of a purchase because it was inconvenient to them (National Retail Federation). If your applicants are your customers, why wouldn’t they also back out of the job-seeking process when it’s inconvenient? How long does it take to apply? How many clicks or systems do I interact with before I can submit an application? Why am I asked to create a login or upload a resume for an hourly job? Are we thinking mobile-first?
Recent research found that while two-thirds of shoppers check their phones in stores (according to eMarketer), only 41% of hourly job seekers had the option to apply for a job through a mobile device.
Treat your applicants like customers, remove the friction - make it easy and enjoyable while still being compliant.
Engage your customer.
If you are in a customer-facing business, chances are your applicants are already your customers first. So why then, do we not treat applicants like customers? It’s often not easy for candidates to get answers to common questions, or to know where they are in the process. Eighty-four percent (84%) of North American hourly workers who applied for a job were not hired last year (Talent Board), and 62% never even received a response (The Forgotten Workforce). Imagine treating a customer in your store this way – you’d be sure to lose them.
Make it ridiculously easy for candidates to find the job they’re interested in, and then make sure you keep them informed and excited. And for true differentiation from your competitors, have a strategy for keeping them happy even when they don’t get the job.
If you want to keep your ‘store’ fully staffed with the right people, you have to treat the recruiting process like you treat the rest of your business priorities.
Just like you’re not the only game in town for your customers, your candidates have choices. You’re no longer just competing with the store down the street - today, you’re competing with other industries, other types of work (gig, salaried, etc.), other locations and even for the attention of people happy in their current jobs (i.e. low unemployment). If you want to win, you have to invite them in, make them feel at home, make it easy for them to get what they want, and give them reasons to keep coming back.