2022

Retail Trends for

HR Leaders
Business Change | Business Need
Capability to Build

darwinbox.com
 Table of
contents

01 Introduction

Trend #1
02 Taking the Cloud Way for Engagement,
Recognition and Productivity

Trend #2
03 The Rise of the Inclusive Retail Workforce

Trend #3
04 Spike in Volume Hiring

Trend #4
05 Big Data and Analytics To Treat
Customer Experience and
Employee Experience at Par
 2022 Retail Trends for CHROs

Introduction
Most industries across the globe are embracing technology-driven
transformation in some capacity. As consumers, we often see the impact
of this change manifest in many ways, but nowhere does it impact us
more directly and frequently than at the places we shop from.

Retail, therefore, is not just an industry; it is a key enabler of people’s

lifestyles all around the world, and over the years it has undergone several
vital transformations. It is also one of the largest employers across the
globe.

Estimatedly

142 million people

work in the retail sector in developing countries according
to The International Labor Organization.

on average

10 to15%
accounts for retail employment of the job market in
any country.

With projected total sales of

$26.7 trillion in 2022

retail continues to be one of the largest private industries
in the world. While the impact of the pandemic has been
unexpected and overwhelming.
Whether we consider systems that enhance operational efficiency with the
evolution of new age, hybrid retailing models, or channels to manage the
workforce, the adoption of advanced technology in retail is happening faster
than we imagined. The key facilitators of this growth have been IoT, process
automation, artificial intelligence, big data, analytics, and augmented reality,
actively driven by a more inclusive, efficient, and digital model of HR
management. The workforce in the retail industry at the store level form the
public face of the organization. To realize the dream of hyper growth in retail,
the talent strategy in the retail sector needs to be reimagined. What is the
best way for CHROs to align business impact with talent and tech needs?

The first step is to build a compelling case for HR tech in 2022.

Here are some trends driving the

retail industry that will help
in building that case:
Trend #1

Taking the Cloud Way for

Engagement, Recognition
and Productivity
Business The pandemic has accelerated cloud migration across
Change sectors. Microsoft’s Satya Nadella mentioned how they
observed two years’ worth of digital transformation in
the first two months of the pandemic. While it might
seem like an added expense in the short run, cloud
migration has been proven to reduce IT infrastructure
expenses, maintenance expenses and result in long
term cost savings.

More than 90% of global

enterprises will rely on cloud solutions for business
operations by the end of 2022, According to a
March 2020 report.

Business It is a challenge to keep the retail workforce motivated

Need and productive under ever-evolving, unprecedented
circumstances. Implementing a powerful cloud-based
HR solution that can enable better engagement and
recognition will result in more communication and
transparency in the system, potentially boosting
employee morale, and productivity.
Capability Closing the feedback loop
to Build With each wave of the pandemic the workforce at
the storefronts found themselves battling the headwinds.
Over the last two years they have worked tirelessly to
ensure business continuity. Therefore, it is important for
them to feel heard and represented in an organization’s
strategic processes like performance management. This
can be enabled via a 2-way feedback process. Organizations
need to shift towards a more 360 model of feedback that
captures feedback from the bottom up as well smoothly
closes the feedback loop.

Keep it continuous
Continuous, year-long feedback forms the bedrock of a solid
performance management strategy. It provides more insight
into employee performance to managers and paints a clear
picture of the overall organizational strategy to the workforce.

There is ample opportunity to quantify, reevaluate, and

realign goals and priorities based on feedback received,
which keeps everyone on the same page. A cloud-based
system like Darwinbox can enable this seamlessly for your
retail workforce with features like performance journaling,
requesting feedback at any time, accessing historic
feedback summaries, and more. The best part is that all
this can be done on mobile devices, which makes the
process even smoother.
 Individual level focus
Through individual focused development planning, and
cascading of org-level goals, employees can gain a better
clarity of business objectives. This helps them see the role
of their everyday contributions in the larger picture.

Driving recognition
Cloud based, mobile oriented systems provide a great
channel to recognize an employee’s good work, while
boosting the visibility of the recognition. They also provide
a way to translate the recognition received into exciting
rewards and experiences via redemption channels.

While it might seem like an added expense

in the short run, cloud migration has been
Business
proven to reduce IT infrastructure expenses,
Change
maintenance expenses and result in long
term cost savings.

Implementing a powerful cloud-based HR

solution that can enable better engagement
Business
and recognition will result in more communication
Need
and transparency in the system, potentially
boosting employee morale, and productivity.

- Closing the feedback loop

Capability - Keep it continuous
to Build - Individual level focus
- Driving recognition
Trend #2

The Rise of the Inclusive

Retail Workforce
Business More retailers are at the risk of facing a backlash for
Change neglecting diversity and inclusion (D&I) in their business
model. As retailers go global, diversity and inclusion are
more relevant than they have ever been. Historically,
attempts to showcase D&I have reflected in only changes
in store layouts, promotional images, and marketing
strategies, however, now D&I efforts are rapidly translating
to a more inclusive work environment for employees.

Business Traditional models of HR were not really built to account

Need for issues like D&I. But a diverse workforce can lead to
business impact in the form of more innovation, better
customer connections, and greater profits. It is imperative
to attract and retain diverse talent for better
business outcomes.
Capability Removing subconscious biases
to Build
One of the key steps
in the hiring process is structuring the job description well.
Therefore, the language used in any such posting must
not be discriminatory or offensive. A system of checks
and balances must be put in place to look for undesirable
words/phrases. For example, it is not a healthy practice
to write a job specification that will appeal to only one
group of people, such as men. Think about the words being
used: “dominant” and “competitive”, these are seen as
positive traits for men, but as negative attributes for women.
Similar constructs apply at a racial level too. The use of
such words in JDs can be flagged via technology.

Culture of inclusion
Retail businesses need to offer individual employees a work
atmosphere where everyone can contribute and succeed.
And they also need to work to actively promote this culture
through internal and external channels. Social intranets like
Vibe by Darwinbox gives organizations a means to achieve
this objective by providing a channel to showcase best
practices, forming interest-driven connections beyond work,
reinstating organizational values of inclusion, and more.
 Support and redressal
In case of a D&I breach, a key part of your mitigation strategy
is your support and redressal plan. It can start by providing
FAQs, easily accessible answers, wherever and whenever
employees need them. Such a system can be powered by
chatbot, helpdesk, communities that let your employees
chat, ask questions, create tickets, track status, and provide
feedback. This can be extended to various channels to
safely lodge complaints, and anonymous reporting of
breaches. Also, reaching your employees where they are is
key. Therefore, this infrastructure should be deeply integrated
with other business/communication apps like Teams, Slack,
WhatsApp, and more to make it even more relevant and
useful for employees.

Historically, attempts to showcase D&I have

reflected in only changes in store layouts,
Business promotional images, and marketing
Change strategies, however, now D&I efforts are
rapidly translating to a more inclusive work
environment for employees.

Business Traditional models of HR were not really built to

Need account for issues like D&I.

- Removing subconscious biases

Capability
- Culture of inclusion
to Build
- Support and redressal
Trend #3

Spike in Volume Hiring

Business One of the most common themes in retail analyst and
Change SME discussions in 2021 was volume hiring. After Covid
hit, and there was a loss of employment for countless
people, and candidate numbers for jobs in the retail
industry went up from hundreds to tens of thousands per
month. This in turn, brought to light several issues like
high turnover rates, tedious selection processes, and a
not-so-ideal job application experience.

Retailers are now trying to craft their volume

hiring strategy in a way to make their processes more efficient
and streamlined.

Business This is a chance for retailers to capture and nurture talent

Need efficiently. Retailers need to prepare themselves by investing
in reducing redundancies in their current hiring processes.
In a volatile market, recruitment agility becomes the most
crucial factor in the success of a retail hiring strategy. For
organizations that operate in multiple geographies, there is
an added layer of complexity because they must deal with
different rules within each sub geo. As the supply and
demand of labour, local laws and compliance, and cultural
expectations differ in each area, the market is not
homogenous. Retailers aspiring to scale and improve their
operations must be prepared to adapt and have the correct
technology and strategy in place to stay one step ahead of
market changes while serving multiple local realities.
Capability Systematic Organization
to Build An easy-to-use, efficient system that gives you the power
to structure and systematically organize the entire
recruitment processes while facilitating faster, unbiased,
and reliable application processing will reduce time and
cost per hire. By enabling competency mapping and creating
a connect with candidates throughout the entire recruitment
process, your organization will experience multi-fold gains
from the investment eventually.

Manager Empowerment
The traditional hiring process often becomes a long
chain of laborious, time consuming, and repetitive
manual tasks for managers. New age technologies
backed by AI and Machine learning have the potential
to make the hiring process from discovery to
onboarding super smooth. Features like stack ranking,
resume parsing, schedulers, and candidate portals can
make recruitment a smoother ride for managers.
 2-Way Matching
Retailers often face the problem of high turnover rate despite
having a large pool of high performing people. So, more than
keeping good performers in the system, it is important to
introduce good performers to the system. To ensure the fit
and longevity of a retail hire, it is important to match applicants
to jobs properly in the first place. This can be achieved via a
talent matching framework that can identify the characteristics
that are predictive of success in the specific role and match
them to the skill set of candidates applying for the role.

After Covid hit, and there was a loss of

employment for countless people, and
Business
candidate numbers for jobs in the retail
Change
industry went up from hundreds to tens
of thousands per month.

Business In a volatile market, recruitment agility becomes

Need the most crucial factor in the success of a retail
hiring strategy.

- Systematic Organization
Capability
- Manager Empowerment
to Build
- 2-way Matching
Trend #4

Big Data and Analytics To

Treat Customer Experience
and Employee Experience
at Par
Business While retail was one of the first industries to recognize the
Change importance of leveraging data and analytics to deliver
wonderful experience to their customer ecosystem, there is
a push to provide an at-par treatment to the customer within–
the employee.

Business Employees are key to delivering results and driving a

Need company’s competitive advantage. It is imperative to nudge
internal processes in a direction that enables and empowers
employees. It helps with brand building, attracting great
talent, and retaining valuable top performers.
 Capability Predictive analytics
to Build There is a rising need to implement digital solutions for
employees in retail. One of the advantages of such
solutions is that you can actively capture employee feedback
and sentiment. By using predictive analytics models on this
data, strategies can be put into place to tackle turnover and
attrition. These measures can enhance organizations’
tretention game.

Real time data capture

Your analytics is only as good as your data. And data
is only as good as it is relevant and recent. There is an
urgent need to capture information in real time. To
manage a large volume of information at scale,
advanced methods like big data analytics can come in
handy for retail organizations looking for a way to
understand their workforce better.

Business There is a push to provide an at-par treatment

Change to the customer within – the employee.

Business It is imperative to nudge internal processes in a

Need direction that enables and empowers employees.

Capability - Predictive analytics

to Build - Real time data capture