Boost Retail Success: Smarter Workforce Management for Reduced Waste
Navigating the fast-paced retail landscape demands smarter workforce management. Rising operational costs, labor shortages, and the shift to omnichannel retail put retailers under pressure to work more efficiently. Effective workforce management not only helps minimize waste but also supports employee satisfaction and enhances productivity. This article explores essential trends driving the need for smarter workforce management and reveals how advanced WFM software like MANUS can optimize labor costs, streamline operations, and ensure the right staffing levels across retail channels
Economic uncertainty, technology, and changing consumer behaviors are all disrupting the retail industry. There’s a growing emphasis on operational efficiency, and effective workforce management (WFM) practices are key to helping retailers meet customer demands, reducing operational waste, and minimize costs. Effective WFM can also improve the employee experience and lead to improved workforce productivity.
In this article, we explore the factors driving the need for smarter WFM and how organizations can use a comprehensive workforce management solution in order to adapt and stay ahead.
The Need for Smarter Workforce Management
Several factors are driving the demand for greater efficiency in workforce management within the retail sector.
Cost Pressures
Retailers face ongoing pressure to control costs. In fact, research by McKinsey shows that 76% of European grocery retail CEOs were still concerned about challenging market conditions earlier this year, with 36% expecting conditions to worsen compared to last year. Margins have been tight in recent years, and McKinsey notes the potential to fuel profitable growth by driving efficiency savings.
With labor costs being among the most significant operational expenses, more efficient WFM practices should be a focus, helping organizations to optimize staffing levels and reduce unnecessary overtime.
Labor Shortages
Many regions are experiencing retail worker shortages, increasing the need to optimize existing staff utilization. In fact, retail is among the top 10 sectors in Europe with labor shortages, and 80% of EU employers (across sectors) are struggling to find staff with the right skills.
Deloitte reports on the fact that the European retail workforce is set to transform due to demographic changes, with working age populations set to reduce by 8 million and 12 million by 2030 in the eurozone and EU, respectively. This trend is expected to continue at the same pace in the decades to come.
Compensating for the Shortage
In anticipation, retailers are investing in labor-augmenting capabilities including automation, as well as establishing more flexible working models and doing more to attract and retain talent.
To be precise, 73% of the companies involved in the research are investing in digital transformation to a moderate or major degree, with a view to improve operational efficiency as well as the customer experience. Companies considered as ’leading’ were more willing to invest in automation and upskilling than the two thirds of respondents below them.
64% expect labor shortages to have a detrimental impact on the customer experience, which was one factor driving such changes.
Omnichannel Retail
With retailers operating across multiple channels, they need more sophisticated workforce planning to align staffing with demand across channels. What’s more, the increased demand for online shopping sparks the need for a better in-store experience.
This requires more knowledgeable staff capable of offering expert advice; adequate staffing levels to ensure customers receive prompt attention; and staff trained in both product knowledge and in-store digital tools to bridge online and offline experiences.
Waste in Workforce Management
As well as the current challenges discussed above, there is always the need to remove waste from WFM. Waste typically stems from overstaffing and understaffing, both of which can have significant financial implications and impact customer satisfaction.
Having more employees on the floor than necessary can lead to higher labor costs without delivering proportional benefits in customer service or sales, while a lack of employees during peak periods can result in long wait times, poor customer experiences, and missed sales opportunities.
Effective workforce management helps eliminates these inefficiencies through technology that provides accurate demand forecasting and adaptive scheduling.
The Future of Workforce Management Software in Reducing Waste
WFM software leads to streamlined processes and less time spent on administrative tasks – but that’s the tip of the iceberg. The future of WFM lies in using data-driven insights and automation to optimize every aspect of staffing. Today’s advanced software handles much more than attendance tracking, absence management, avoiding scheduling conflicts, and so on; here are some ways it can assist.
Smart Employee Scheduling
Optimized scheduling ensures that the right number of employees are in the right place at the right time. For example, predictive algorithms within WFM platforms enable labor forecasting, assessing when a store is likely to be busiest and when there’s less foot traffic. It can then create schedules that reflect these patterns.
The ability to adjust schedules in real-time also allows retailers to accommodate unexpected changes, such as a surge in customer traffic or an employee calling in sick.
This approach reduces the risk of over or under-staffing and improves employee satisfaction. What’s more, when employees are scheduled according to their preferences and availability, it reduces the likelihood of burnout, improves morale, and contributes to a more positive working environment.
Flexibility
Flexible scheduling tools are becoming essential for retailers to accommodate employee availability while ensuring adequate staffing during peak periods. Workforce management software can facilitate this by allowing employees to swap shifts or request time off easily through self-service portals.
WFM software also makes it easy to schedule for a broader contract mix, helping provide greater customer satisfaction.
Automated Compliance Management
Retailers must navigate a complex web of labor laws, including regulations around working hours, overtime pay, and break periods. Automating compliance management is yet another way to improve efficiency, ensuring that schedules adhere to these regulations while maintaining flexibility and agility.
Workforce management software can automatically flag potential compliance issues, such as employees being scheduled for too many hours without the required breaks, and offer suggestions for adjustments. This saves HR teams time and reduces the likelihood of costly errors.
Optimizing Staff for Omnichannel Demands
With the help of workforce planning software, retailers can create integrated staffing plans that account for both in-store and online demands. For example, an employee might spend part of their shift handling in-store customers and the rest fulfilling online orders. Using data to balance these roles effectively, organizations can ensure they are meeting customer expectations without overloading their staff.
In addition, cross-training employees to handle multiple functions (such as working the sales floor, managing customer inquiries, and processing online orders) improves efficiency and flexibility, ensuring that staffing resources are utilized to their full potential.
Supporting Upskilling
Modern workforce management solutions can support retailers in meeting the development needs of their employees by analyzing performance metrics. From there, they can identify areas where additional training may be beneficial. In turn, this enhances efficiency and customer service quality, and boosts employee engagement by supporting the development opportunities they seek.
How Our Enterprise Workforce Management Software Can Help
MANUS WFM offers a comprehensive solution to address the evolving needs of retail workforce management:
- Data-driven scheduling: Our software uses sales data to optimize staffing levels, ensuring the right number of employees are scheduled during peak and slow periods. It also ensures schedules meet cost targets, and with automated alerts, schedule changes are managed promptly, minimizing the need for costly, last-minute arrangements.
- Effective communication: The Employee Self Service App provides flexibility and facilitates clear communication between managers and staff so that everyone stays informed about schedule changes and related updates.
- Cross-branch optimization: MANUS WFM enables retailers to streamline operations across multiple locations, from retail stores to logistics centers.
- Employee development: Our system helps identify training needs based on performance metrics, supporting cross-training initiatives across different roles and departments
- Compliance management: MANUS WFM has an advanced compliance engine, helping retailers stay in line with labor regulations. It manages by exception, reducing the efforts required of your HR team.
Conclusion
The future of WFM in retail is about working more efficiently. The ability to be flexible makes organizations resilient when economic challenges arise by ensuring that labor costs are optimized when margins are tight.
With an advanced workforce management system like MANUS WFM, retailers can navigate the complexities of modern retail operations, meet customer expectations across all channels, and create a more engaged and productive workforce.
To learn more about how it can reduce your labor costs by up to 10%, contact us today to request a demo.
Optimize workforce efficiency with smarter workforce management by MANUS. Stay ahead of retail demands. Contact us today to see how our software can reduce labor costs by up to 10% and elevate your retail operations.