Recruiting top, enthusiastic talent should be a major priority for retailers in the coming year. Customer service is changing, and an outstanding team is an important part of helping your retail business thrive and sell as many products as possible.

If you can attract the right type of candidate you will have a more efficient and intuitive team throughout the company. So where do you find these better quality candidates? Where are they looking for new positions and what’s the fastest way to get them to apply?

Here are a couple of methods we’ve found that are transforming the way retail brands recruit.

Job perks

Work perks are a huge reason why a candidate will pick one job over another in most industries. If the applicant is getting something free or a benefit in return for choosing you over a competitor, you’re more likely to attract them to the position.

Work perks can come in lots of shapes and sizes. They can be outside of work benefits, discounts on products across stores or even just things that make their work lives easier.

Think about what you can offer your staff that will actually benefit how they perform, that you’re competitors are less likely to be offering. You can do better than free fruit. Is there equipment that would help them do the job faster and eliminate any frustration?

You can even tailor the perks to specific staff member’s needs. For example, if a lot of staff have long drives into work you can make the payment process easier for them by supplying them with a fuel card. Fuel card manufacturers iCompario have cards for a range of fuels to suit your staff’s varied needs.

Offer training

Top and high potential candidates are constantly thinking about the next step in their careers. This is the type of applicant you want, not someone who will be disengaged with the job the moment they sign a contract. If you can offer a progression path within the role and company you will catch a higher quality of candidate.

This requires investing in or developing your own training plans. High potential applicants who may not have a lot of experience will still be thinking about what happens 6 months or a year down the line.

If you’re advertising a customer service position you can entice them by showing the path towards a managerial role, complete with industry approved qualifications along the way. This is a great way to tell top candidates that you care about your employees and want to keep them on a long term.

Social media advertising

Consider not just the design and message of your advertising, but where you’re presenting it. Where are the best candidates going to look for new positions, and where can you cast the widest net to catch them?

Social media has developed into a brilliant place for advertising new position. It’s advertising features in-depth targeting that allows you to distill results down to specific locations and interests. Here you can make sure you are advertising only to candidates you want to reach on platforms with userbases in the hundreds of millions.

The majority of young users will also spend the majority of their time online on social media websites, making it a great place to reach young, enthusiastic talent with engaging messaging tailored to their ambition. Think outside the box of traditional job advertising websites and consider how social media, including employment specific ones like Linkedin, might be a better fit for your recruitment strategy.

Appeal to fans and advocates

In retail, enthusiastic staff make all the difference. Your brand or branch will see the most success if you have a team engaged with the company, its aims and it’s products. Customers notice enthusiasm from staff and respond positively to more attentive and personalized customer service experience that can only be achieved through great knowledge.

Try and find candidates in brand advocates or people who are already invested in your business. This is where social media targeting can come into play again, as you can search by fans of your business. See who is talking about your brand and compare it against the skillset you’re looking for.

You will want all your staff to be brand advocates when they do work for you, so save time and effort by hiring candidates that already care.

Finding appropriate staff is a difficult and important part of operating within retail. It’s important not to rush the process and jump into the first candidates that apply. Take these more nuanced steps and you’ll attract better candidates in no time.

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