Technology that makes the job easier will greatly alleviate workplace stress.
Retail owners and managers spend a lot of time worrying about the customer experience. They want to make sure that every person who enters the store gets his or her needs met. But what about the employees? During this hectic holiday season, retail employees are often stuck on survival mode. They just want to get through the workday in one piece. The problem is that even if they do survive the holiday chaos, they may never want to work there again. Owners lose a lot of talented people because of workplace stress. However, there is a solution.
While retail jobs often get a bad rap, there are a few retail chains that are highly esteemed by employees. In addition to improved benefits, flexibility, and employee discounts, communication technology can also ease the burden that employees feel.
Glassdoor just released its annual survey of best places to work, and a few retailers earned a place on the list.
Benefits and employee discounts
H-E-B supermarket chain claimed the highest spot of all retailers, at number seven of 50 companies listed. According to Glassdoor findings, employees overwhelmingly approve of their billionaire CEO, giving Charles Butt a 96 percent rating. H-E-B workers rated their pay and benefits 26.5 percent above the average, and the company’s 401K plan and employee discount received high praise.
At Costco, a popular membership warehouse club, workers gave the salary and benefits particularly high ratings, with an average of 4.3 on Glassdoor’s 1 to 5 ranking system. Most recently, Costco earned goodwill for its refusal to open on Thanksgiving Day to allow employees time off with their families.
Clearly, salary and benefits are important if you want happy employees.
Flexibility and vacation time
Salary isn’t the only factor. Fast food chain In-N-Out Burger made the list at number eight, making it the second most attractive place to work in retail for 2015. An impressive 91 percent of employees would recommend it to a friend seeking employment. Workers commended the company for its flexible, generous vacation and paid time off.
Even though flipping burgers doesn’t seem like an ideal job, providing adequate vacation time is one way to make sure employees remain fresh and full of energy.
Technology to save employees from headaches
Other factors can also make a huge impact – good management, a friendly work environment, and clearly set expectations.
Technology from LRS can alleviate stress for retailers. Paging systems improve organization and efficiency by better connecting employees. No more shouting across the store, or wasted time hunting for a manager or wayward employee. On Cue manages incoming guests with a simple wait list system. It creates visibility into operations, service levels, and staff performance. Employees do not need to fear potential traffic bottlenecks or consumer hordes on busy days. Finally, Check Point can be a simple way for owners and managers to gain discreet, anonymous feedback from employees that they can use to improve processes in the future.
While the customer experience is vital to your success as a retailer, happy employees make for happy customers. Evaluating your benefits, time off policies, and work flexibility is important, but technology that makes the job easier will greatly alleviate workplace stress.
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Jason Barge is a marketing manager at LRS and an expert in communications for the hospitality industry.