United Kingdom, July 6 2011
Retailers are missing sales opportunities due to poor labour modelling
Retailers are missing out on vital sales opportunities and disappointing customers simply because they are not organising staff in accordance with labour demand, according to workforce management specialists.
A high proportion of retailers are providing poor customer service and losing sales due to non-existent labour modelling.
RITEQ in collaboration with Brown et al are advising companies in the retail industry to schedule staff driven by labour demand which is based on sound labour modelling principals and accurate sales forecasts footfall and budgets.
The biggest danger when hiring new staff is that idle time will increase; if they are recruited to staff at the wrong time and get accustomed to a set shift pattern. (i.e. hiring staff into the right roles or scheduled to the right activities based on visibility of a detailed picture of the labour demand for each store)
RITEQ and Brown et al have recently created a Collaborative Workforce Optimisation system that will help companies to visualise labour demand forecasts, monitor performance in individual branches, control staffing issues and reduce labour costs.
Using the system, the central operations team define parameters for the entire estate such that individual branches can work out a forecast of the amount of staff needed, giving branch managers the opportunity to ensure the right amount of staff are scheduled based on the business forecasts for each week and branch in the future; increasing productivity, customer service and preventing idle time.
Managing director of RITEQ Jason Holdsworth said: “Our Collaborative Workforce Optimisation system will give full control to the management of retail companies and also give outlet managers the opportunity to use the information they receive to give customers and staff 100% satisfaction.
We use many factors including sales history and can also use metrological data to forecast sales for any given day by using a correlation between the weather and previous sales trends.”
“By reducing idle time and having the right amount of staff on shift at peak times; companies can reduce labour costs and increase productivity.
“Branch managers can then update the system at the end of the shift giving the head office details about the branches performance - making it easy for them to see where improvements need to be made.”
The Collaborative Workforce Optimisation system also frees the time of branch managers meaning they spend more time with staff and customers; something that will increase customer service levels.
Matt Brown, managing partner of Brown et al said “The system as a whole will help branches to function efficiently and drive consistent brand experience for both customers and staff across the estate. It will also help head offices to understand and highlight areas for improvement.
“It makes monitoring performance easier and allows management to set targets that are realistic. Ensuring the corporate strategy for Workforce Management is understood and developed prior to implementation will provide the foundation for success.”
“In a way it makes monitoring performance easier and allows management to set targets that are realistic.”
RITEQ begins the process by holding a consultation with companies looking to use the Collaborative Workforce Optimisation system.
The key focus is recognising the company’s goals and how this fits with the customer experience strategy to determine a corporate labour model and get the most out of the corporate data available to achieve these goals.
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