How to hire the right retail talent in 2023

The retail sector is a fast-moving and hugely important industry. It was valued at £465 billion in 2021, and recent research has shown that the sector supports three million jobs and 300,000 retail businesses. Retail is also undergoing a far-reaching digital transformation. In fact, over the course of the pandemic, the share of retail sales accounted for by e-commerce rose to over one third in January 2021, up from around one fifth in 2018. 

With continuing sector change a fact of life in retail, it has become more important than ever to hire the right people. This is especially the case for senior positions, from store managers and area managers, right up to roles of strategic importance such as regional managers and retail directors. 

Today, we’ll be discussing the importance of hiring the best people in the retail, and how to make sure you get your recruitment strategy right.

Why do high-level hires matter in retail?

Hiring the right people for strategic and management roles is important in any business, but particularly in retail, where there can be a significant trickle-down effect. Coherent strategy at the top of the organisation provides leadership and direction, which in turn allows store managers to get the best productivity from their employees.

Sarah Johnson, Senior Manager at Michael Page Retail, explains:

The impact of making a mistake in hiring will feed down, depending on the level that you hired for. For example, if you hire a poor retail director, they are not going to be able to execute a strategy properly. If you hire a bad regional manager, how are they controlling those area managers? It has a more granular effect the lower down you go. If you hire a poor area manager, they won't engage with store managers, creating a domino effect.

Below management level, this can result in a lack of direction and low morale among shop-floor employees, leading to poor productivity, and a rise in absenteeism. For a solid business and a happy workforce, it’s crucial to hire well at the highest levels. 

How to recruit the right people in retail

Finding the right candidate for retail roles is not always easy. Employers need to think laterally and vertically, placing individuals who can deliver the kind of leadership that is needed to achieve a positive trickle-down effect right down to individual stores, shop-floor staff, and ultimately to customers making buying decisions.

Experience and a proven track record are valuable, but as the sector increasingly departs from the status quo of the late 20th century, retailers need to be ready to adapt. We have already seen many of those that clung to the old model fall by the wayside during successive recessions and retail lockdowns.

Ultimately, the right person must be a good fit for your organisation and a strong link in your vertical hierarchy. This allows employers to feel confident in the hire, and in the knowledge that the candidate will deliver value no matter what trends emerge in the coming years.

With so many roles out there and a deficit of candidates to fill them all, retailers are competing for top talent. As a result, higher salaries and better benefits packages have become a truly essential component of hiring strategy. To find out what you need to be paying your employees, check out our 2023 Guide to Skills and Salaries in Retail. 

What do top retail candidates bring to the table?

The best retail candidates will be able to demonstrate an awareness of the trends shaping the sector. Due to the dramatic shifts seen in the retail sector in recent years, sector-specific knowledge is more valuable than ever, combined with soft skills such as people management, and an ability to adapt rapidly to changing conditions.

Plus, as we continue to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic, geopolitical turbulence, and the ongoing upheaval caused by Brexit are all creating pressures for retail strategists. Here are some of the key challenges that businesses are facing in 2023: 

• Bottom lines: Significant pressures have eroded sales margins, especially for large bricks-and-mortar operators, renewing the need to protect profits.
• E-commerce: Not all consumers will revert to pre-pandemic behaviours, which means that the displacement of the high street model by online shopping is set to continue. 
• Supply chain difficulties: High post-pandemic demand has put already struggling supply chains under immense pressure, resulting in a goods shortage.
• Sustainability: With more than half of shoppers saying they would pay more for low-carbon products, retailers must make smart choices about adopting net zero policies. Plus, retailers will find it easier to hire top talent with this approach. 

Top retailers should be on the look-out for prospective hires who are able to speak to these issues – and even more so if they have the expertise to directly contribute to solving them. 

There are many elements that go into an effective retail operation, but few are more important than its people. Even amid dramatic circumstances like those seen over the last couple of years, employees with the right attitude and great skillsets can maintain strong results and facilitate pivots to more effective commercial models. If you want to succeed in 2023, this could be the place to start. 

At Michael Page Retail, we help to place skilled retail candidates into top-level roles where they can deliver transformational change and productivity for their employer. To speak to our retail recruitment consultants, request a call back.