Retailers must appeal to a money-motivated generation to retain workforce
Retailers must ready themselves for the wave of workers entering the industry today who are placing far higher importance on salary than the generation before them, according to a Randstad report.
In 2012, post-recession, only nine per cent of retail workers said salary was a deciding factor in the company they worked for. At the time, those surveyed simply said they cared less about compensation because they were grateful to secure a position.
Fast-forward to 2015 when over 20 per cent of those surveyed said compensation was the most important factor they consider when choosing to work for a company.
The survey of 10,728 Brits from Randstad comes as retailers ready themselves for changes to be implemented by George Osborne, who promised a hike in the national living wage for over 25s from April 2016 of £7.20 an hour, increasing to £9 an hour by 2020.
Osborne has also promised to relax Sunday trading hours and permit all-day Sunday opening by larger shops. Research in wake of the announcement suggested just two extra hours of Sunday trading would create an estimated 3,000 additional retail jobs in London alone.
These significant changes come as a warning from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills that retailers need to attract graduates and workers with digital and customer services skills if they are to boost productivity in the sector.
“For those entering the workforce now – who were sheltered from the recession in education or training – the landscape is bursting with opportunity,” said Ruth Jacobs, managing director of Randstad Business Support.
“Overall, with the growing UK economy lighting up the horizon, and a skills shortage sweeping across the country, the outlook is rosy for this latest generation of job hunters. They can afford to be picky about pay, and negotiate their true market worth.”
Retailers are now under increasing pressure to meet all of these demands and attract skilled workers.
The UK’s largest grocer, Tesco, said the rise in living wage alone could reduce profits by as much as seven per cent.
In response, retailers could be forced to reduce staff on shop floors to make way for more self-service devices and/or ramp up their online strategies at the expense of operating bricks and mortar stores.