KEY POINTS:
In February Retailworld Resourcing surveyed 150 retail businesses on staff turnover and employer branding.
The survey revealed that nearly one in four retail employers with more than 200 staff do not have any employer branding.
It also indicated that one-third of retail businesses with 100-200 employees and 80
per cent of retail businesses with fewer than 100 employees do not have employer branding.
Only 55 per cent of businesses in the survey reported a decrease in staff turnover over the past 12 months.
The survey showed that staff turnover is greater in bigger retail businesses. This may mean that they are paying too much attention to attraction rather than retention. An effective employer branding strategy focuses on both of these elements.
An employer brand is not just about stimulating the original interest in working for an organisation, it is also about delivering on and fulfilling the expectation once someone is employed. That is even more important in establishing loyalty to the brand than the initial attraction is.
The entire employment experience is similar to buying a product.
It begins with an information search, identifies alternatives, analyses the alternatives, makes a decision to purchase and then evaluates the decision.
Every step of the process affects whether you buy or not. How the product delivers on your expectations will affect whether or not you experience post-purchase dissonance (the unpleasant feeling you get when you have just bought something and it is not quite right) or continue to buy the brand.
Employer branding can be defined as a set of attributes and qualities - often intangible - that make an organisation distinctive, promise a particular kind of employment experience, and appeal to those people who will thrive and perform to their best in its culture.
Simply put, your brand is what people say about you when you leave the room.
In a tight labour market, employer branding is becoming increasingly important in attracting quality people to your organisation.
A strong employer brand should connect an organisation's values, people strategies and HR policies and be intrinsically linked to a company brand.
A company's employee value proposition is key to attracting the right calibre of candidates to its brand - that is basically what employees get for what they give. There is a growing view among employees that development is now an entitlement and regular opportunities for growth and promotion are expected in return for loyalty and discretionary effort.
Even though employer branding is particularly attractive to the Generation Y audience, it is important for retailers to consider baby boomers and wrinkles in establishing their employee value proposition.
Not every shopper is Generation Y, therefore having a workforce that reflects your customer base can be useful.
It is important to think outside the square. Your employee value proposition is not just about remuneration and training - it is about communicating to your target audience what your company offers over and above these things. It may include: career opportunities, work-life balance, social club, study assistance - both in the form of financial assistance and study - family-friendly policies, company sports teams, incentives, parties, birthdays off, increased annual leave in return for loyalty to the company.
Expectations of the company begin at recruitment and continue throughout the entire employment relationship. The key to working towards lower staff turnover is to establish and communicate an attractive employee value proposition through your employer brand and deliver on expectations. This will position you as an employer of choice and help you attract and retain high-calibre candidates in a tight labour market.
2008 RETAIL SURVEY
Retail businesses with less than 100 full-time retail shopfront staff:
62 per cent have a staff turnover of less than 20 per cent.
54 per cent reported an increase in staff turnover compared to the past 12 months.
88 per cent do not undertake employment branding initiatives.
Retail business with between 100 and 200 full-time retail shopfront staff:
93 per cent have a staff turnover of greater than 20 per cent.
63 per cent have a staff turnover of more than 30 per cent.
31 per cent have a staff turnover of more than 40 per cent.
42 per cent reported an increase in staff turnover compared to the past 12 months.
69 per cent have not undertaken employer branding initiatives.
Retail business with between 200 and 500 full-time retail shopfront staff:
75 per cent have a staff turnover of more than 20 per cent.
50 per cent have a staff turnover of more than 30 per cent.
25 per cent have a staff turnover of more than 40 per cent.
71 per cent reported a decrease in staff turnover compared to the past 12 months.
78 per cent have undertaken employer branding initiatives.