Canadian Retailer - Spring 2013 - 48

RETAIL QUICK TIPS
DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN
REDUCE STAFF TURNOVER AND
INCREASE PERFORMANCE BY
HIRING THE RIGHT PEOPLE?
BROUGHT TO YOU BY RETAIL COUNCIL OF CANADA AND GRAFF RETAIL GROUP
IT ALL BEGINS and sometime ends, with your staff. A friendly greeting, knowledgeable advice, efficient service
and an appreciative smile. Your success in achieving better staff performance begins with your ability to hire
properly. So how do you hire properly? Let’s look at some quick tips that will help you select the right staff.
Reduce your staff turnover first!
The fi rst step in a strategic approach to recruiting
is to slow down your turnover rates.
Here’s how you do it:
• Start fi guring out why employees are leaving.
Conduct exit interviews. You can’t fi x the
problem if you don’t know what it is.
• Spend more time coaching and talking with
each member of your team. In the process,
you’ll improve your relationship, meaning
they’ll stay with you longer.
• Make them successful. People typically don’t
quit when they’re winning. Give them the
training they need to succeed.
• Do a comprehensive job of onboarding new
employees. Give them everything they need
to feel comfortable and to be successful in
the fi rst month of employment.
Get out of your store, find your next employees
If you wait for candidates to show up on your
doorstep, you’ll wait a long time. Go visit the
other stores in your shopping area and get the
word out that you’re looking for great staff .
Networking will get you great results when you
invest time in doing it.
Look for candidates like your top performers
Figure out what similarities exist between your
best performers, including education, previous
job experience and even personality types.
Then, look to hire candidates that match that
profi le. It doesn’t guarantee they’ll be successful,
but it certainly improves your odds.
Conduct a minimum of two interviews
You can’t accurately predict a candidate’s success
after spending just 20 minutes with them.
Also, what message are you sending to the candidate
if they get the job after a 15 to 20 minute
interview? How important do you think they’ll
believe the job is? Make them earn it.
Standardize your interviews
All candidates must go through the same process
and be asked the same questions. You can’t
compare candidates accurately unless you ask
them the same questions. Figure out what the
best questions to ask are and stick to them.
No short-cuts!
Use assessments
Eliminate as much subjectivity as possible in the
interview by having the candidate complete objective
assessments that could include sales and
service aptitude assessments, personality profi les,
integrity assessments and leadership profi les.
Check references
Take the time to call previous employers to
gather as much supporting evidence as possible
about the candidate you’re about to hire. Would
they hire them again? What responsibilities
did they have? Were they successful in meeting
those responsibilities? The best indicator of
future performance is past performance.
The Graff Retail Group has been working with major chain stores and top merchants across North America and the
world for more than 24 years, designing and delivering award winning retail training programs. Kevin Graff, president
of the company, will be delivering a webinar this spring hosted by Retailer Council of Canada to help retailers hone
their hiring practices. For more information about The Graff Retail Group, visit their website www.graffretail.com. For
more information about the RCC webinar series, visit the association’s website www.retailcouncil.org.
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Canadian Retailer - Spring 2013

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