Reckoning with the Retail Talent Crisis

The retail industry is no stranger to constant change, intense pressure, and high turnover, but the last few years have tested even the most battle-hardened among us. Today, a shortage of qualified talent — and the competition for it — is creating a serious employment crisis, and it’s heating up just as retailers are staffing up for the all-important holiday season.

Recruiting has always been a full-time, year-round initiative in the retail industry, but the Great Resignation has heightened the stakes and brought these workforce challenges into sharper focus. While retailers added 15, 400 jobs in June, that notable gain isn’t enough to make up for the huge deficit in May, when the sector shed almost 61,000 jobs.

In Deloitte’s 2022 Retail Industry Outlook, 70% of retail executives said they expect labor shortages to hamper their business’s growth. The biggest concern is in the stores, with 74% of executives expecting shortages in customer-facing positions.

Recruiting is a challenge for retailers in the best of times, especially considering the industry’s high turnover rates. The high-volume hiring required to meet seasonal demands makes things even tougher. Not only do leaders have to be able to find the right fit to represent the brand (and show up every day) during this critical time, they also have to make sure they’re structuring the jobs and the work environment to attract the best talent and retain existing staff.

Most leaders struggle to find and place the right talent because they start recruiting and interviewing candidates without defining exactly what it is they’re looking for. Going with your “gut” isn’t enough, particularly now that the labor market is tighter, customer expectations are higher, and so much hinges on your frontline. 

Where to begin? At MOHR, we view the process through the lens of this formula:

(Job Structure + Training + Boss) x Great Candidate = Best Results

We recently checked in with Paul DeSousa, Vice President Talent Management at Ulta Beauty, and others to learn more about what they’re doing in these areas. Read on to hear what they said and to pick up some valuable insight and ideas on attracting, developing, and retaining great retail talent.