Back to Basics: How Sourcing is Changing in the Retail Industry

-

The retail industry is facing a major dilemma: Due to the recent worker shortage, retailers are fighting tooth and nail for the colossal crop of unemployed workers who aren’t rushing back to their in-store positions. An industry that previously supported 52 million jobs in the United States, retail has been sluggish to rebound from the havoc caused by Covid-19. When consumers changed their shopping habits in 2020, retailers pivoted to focus their efforts from storefronts to customers’ front doors.

Retailers have responded to a pandemic-fueled increase in eCommerce by introducing new technologies and processes to expedite shipping and meet consumers’ evolving expectations. This has led to new job opportunities across the supply chain, such as software developers, computer operators, and commercial and delivery drivers, all of whom are responsible for filling and delivering orders.

Regardless of where the retail industry is headed, hiring managers must stay on top of hiring trends to attract the best talent, starting with the first step: sourcing. Keep reading to learn how to improve sourcing to find the best talent in today’s volatile hiring market.

Although in-person events have been ramping back up across the country, retailers should continue virtual recruiting whenever possible. Amid the uncertainty of Covid-19’s future, recruiters must be able to make fast changes as trends come and go.

Take a moment to consider this: If a job opening pulls in 250 resumes and it takes a recruiter an average of six seconds to scan each resume, screening can easily take three to four days for just one open position. Automation features like text to apply and self-scheduling interviews can drastically cut the time it takes to finally extend that offer. Performing these tasks manually may result in a missed opportunity for a great new hire who was able to find another job faster.

At the bare minimum, incorporating an applicant tracking system (ATS) into your recruiting process allows you to automate the tasks that don’t necessarily require a human touch, like the first few rounds of data gathering.

Applicant tracking systems not only organize and follow applicants as they float through the hiring funnel, but also enable candidate rediscovery. If a candidate has impressive qualifications but is beat out by someone else for any reason, recruiters can store the rejected candidate’s information within the ATS and contact past applicants when new positions become available. Building an internal candidate pool also saves costs on external job postings.

Job boards can rake in thousands of applicants with just one click, but often the best place to find talent is in the brand’s own fanbase. Brand loyalists already support and believe in both the brand and its mission, and are more likely to jump on a chance to work for a company they love.

Social media sites are great places to start sourcing for potential candidates—reach out to followers via direct message. Consider using email campaigns to keep your followers informed of job opportunities in their location.

Tapping into existing brand supporters can also help shift how you hire. Rather than focusing on relevant experience and hard skills, you can assess applicants for other qualities like enthusiasm, friendliness, and willingness to learn, which translate to positive customer-facing team members.

Creating and nurturing a talent pool from which to source candidates for future opportunities requires three key actions: personalization and catering to individual needs.

Retailers have a particular advantage when it comes to personalization as they can employ the same personalization tactics they use to elevate customer experiences to build a talent pipeline. Steady and consistent communication throughout the hiring process can improve candidates’ impressions of the company and keep them engaged. A Talent Board study revealed that candidates who received job-related feedback within one day of their interviews were 52% more likely to accept the job, re-apply, or refer other applicants.

As previously mentioned, building a mailing list of candidates who applied but didn’t get the job gives you easy access to your audience if and when future job openings pop up.

According to a survey conducted by the National Retail Federation (NRF), 37% of part-time retail workers reported taking a retail job specifically because of the job’s flexible schedules. Eleven percent of these respondents needed this flexibility in order to take care of children.

In the same vein, retail workers may be more likely to accept a job when there is potential for career growth. The same NRF survey revealed 82% of retail store managers reached their current position by starting as a store associate and “moving up the ranks.”

Sourcing applicants isn’t just about pumping the front end with strategies for attracting and engaging talent; it also requires post-hire analysis to identify what works and what doesn’t when sourcing retail candidates.

One way to use metrics is to monitor the performance of hiring campaigns. Using software integrations, you can view click-and-open rates for emails and text messages and discern which sourcing language tends to be most effective in getting recipients to engage.

These data also allow you to identify which recipients are engaging so that you can segment them into prospective candidate funnels for future job openings.

Whether you’re hiring for a busy season or looking for long-term, goal-oriented workers who want to grow, implementing some of these practices can help you stand out and attract more qualified candidates in a crowded marketplace for retail hiring.