Samsung KX puts staff personalities, skills and personal passions at the heart of its recruitment drive

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd opened the doors to Samsung KX – a brand new experience space located in London’s Coal Drops Yard – in July 2019, and with the opening created a new kind of retail role. Samsung KX is the latest venture by the brand as it adapts to the demands of modern consumers and looks to redefine the traditional retail concept. This includes the central role of the traditional ‘shop assistant’ – Samsung KX staff are selected on their passions, skills and personality to help bring the space to life, instead of focusing on traditional sales targets.

Creating 85 jobs for Londoners, with 166 applications for every one position on offer from a pool of 14,673 applications, Samsung KX broke the mould by looking for candidates outside of traditional tech retail roles in areas such as in hospitality, theme parks, and the entertainment sectors – people who understand how to put the customer first and can be much more theatrical in the way they engage with consumers. This allows staff to focus more on using their diverse skillsets, passions and training to bring the KX experience to life for guests and do the best job they can, showcase their personalities, and bring their unique style to their role, secondary to selling product. With some members of the team speaking up to five languages, and with others trained in signed language, the KX team makes the space accessible and open to everyone.

Samsung KX is a truly unique space which requires unique members of staff. Reinventing the role of the ‘shop assistant’, Samsung KX employed a range of multi-talented individuals, including Great Britain and national level athletes in sports including skydiving, American football, golf and swimming, barristers, performing arts professionals, photographers, broadcasters and creatives, to name a few.

To give staff freedom in their roles, Samsung KX worked closely with Mash Staffing to provide an entirely new and bespoke training programme. At a purpose-built training venue, staff were given personal and professional development training over a four-week period prior to opening. This not only ensured they were fully comfortable with Samsung KX’s new style of retail customer service, but built a sense of teamwork across the staff to tie in with the focus on community, starting inside the space.

Mash, alongside Samsung KX, explored ways to aid the development of these multitalented individuals, creating a bespoke KXi app which acts as a staff portal, where staff can experience everything from training content, weekly schedules and a wellness hub. The app encourages staff to digitally “check-in” after each shift, sharing with Mash how they are feeling and why, to help measure overall engagement. Happy staff make for better experiences and Samsung KX puts great emphasis on creating a positive experience for its guests.

Tanya Weller, Director of Samsung Showcase, KX said: “Samsung KX team members are customer experience ambassadors, who we want to feel empowered in their role and bring our showcase of products to life using their personalities. A big part of the training programme was to inspire staff with the vision for Samsung KX, and move away from a mentality of selling products – we’re doing this because we’re confident that we’ve cracked what makes retail great.”

Chris Wareham, Managing Director, Mash Staffing said: “Mash has been privileged to work with Samsung KX on their mission to redefine retail. Through combining Samsung’s attitude to innovation with Mash Staffing’s people skills we have created a unique environment where technology and human interaction meet. In response to the Samsung KX team’s eagerness to invest in people, Mash applied the latest techniques in staff training and development. We’re confident this approach will bring the future of retail to today’s world.