How You Can Improve Your Retail Employee Retention Rate

The retail job turnover rate is high due to various reasons related to company benefits and employee morale. For companies to prevent this from occurring, they must emphasize attracting qualified employees through incentives such as competitive wages and bonuses. When their personal needs are met, workers will want to stay longer with the business rather than looking elsewhere. This is the best way to improve employee retention.

Retail Employee Turnover Rate Facts

It is no secret that the employee turnover rate in the retail industry is high, but how high is the turnover rate exactly? Here are some key statistics that prove retail employee turnover is a big problem:

• The average total cost of a new hire at a retail business is $9,000.
• A study by OfficeTeam found that 24% of all managers interviewed said they were likely to have fired an employee for being late to work.
• An estimated 1 in 8 American store employees has been employed within the last year at one of the 63 million retail workplaces in this country or 650 job titles surveyed. Close to 40 percent of workers plan on leaving those positions.

What Is The Average Employee Turnover Rate In Retail?

Over 80 percent of retail workers are likely to leave their jobs within the following year. This statistic proves that the retail employee turnover rate is causing problems in productivity in the industry.

But why are the employees you hire leaving?

• Low wages
• Lack of opportunity for advancement
• Unsatisfactory working conditions

Retailers lose millions in revenue each year because of this trend. In this scenario, employers are forced to replace people at an alarming rate to ensure that customer service is still consistent in their stores.

It costs companies money and hurts their bottom line. Customers often find poor quality service unappealing, which ultimately hurts sales.

Why Do Retail Jobs Have High Turnover?

The turnover rate for retail jobs is high primarily because of the lack of benefits and advancement opportunities employees feel they will receive by staying within a particular company.

The low wages offered to retail workers make it impossible to sustain themselves and their families without outside help such as government aid or second jobs. Additionally, this furthers the amount of time a person spends unemployed, as they look on the job market for a position with a high enough annual salary to support themselves.

In addition, many retail positions don't offer health care, retirement plans, or other necessary perks. Without these, it can make it challenging to come to work each day, knowing no matter how hard you work, you still won't be able to afford to put food on your family's dinner table. It shows a problem with employers rather than employees considered disposable commodities instead of human beings.

How Do Employees React?

The high turnover rate in retail means a significant amount of worker displacement within the industry, meaning employees are constantly looking for new jobs and training to improve their craft since an average career in retail has such a low chance of advancement.

This means lost revenue, lower morale, low employee engagement, and a poor customer experience, which can often be dangerous to the retail brand's reputation.

The only way to stop this trend is to provide better opportunities and experiences for workers in retail. Retail store managers should look at the bigger picture and offer better benefits and more staff members instead of overworking those they currently have. Otherwise, the remaining workers do not flee in search of better opportunities.

What Is The Effect Of High Turnover Rates On The Company?

Turnover is incredibly high within the retail sector due to poor working conditions and a lack of career advancement opportunities. If employee satisfaction is low, they will leave their jobs more quickly, causing a business revenue loss.

To prevent this issue in the future, employers should focus on providing better benefits so that workers can stay longer with their company. It would lead to higher morale and reduce the high employee turnover rates.

Retailers should also offer training or incentives for employees to advance in their careers within the company rather than seeking new employment when they want to move up. This would help create loyal workers who will not jump ship when an opportunity arises elsewhere.

How Many People Are Typically Employed In A Retail Establishment?

The BLS reports that 1.5 million Americans work part-time in retail and earn an average of $408 per week before taxes and other deductions. Part-time workers typically receive few benefits such as health insurance coverage from their employers, which helps explain why many seek employment elsewhere as this opportunity presents itself.

2.3 million Americans work full-time in retail environments, where they typically work 40 hours each week for an average of $692 per week before taxes and other deductions. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median weekly pay for full-time workers was $756.30 in December 2015, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

These numbers reflect total wages, including bonuses and commissions that boost earnings closer to $1,000 per week. However, these numbers include only those working 30 or more hours each week.

Why Do Retail Employees Leave Their Jobs?

Retail workers leave their jobs for many reasons. Each reason is mentioned below to show that workers may like their work and enjoy their team but tend to find their ability to sustain themselves and their families non-existent.

Low Pay And Benefits

They leave due to low pay and benefits. The industry seeks improvement in this area by conducting job fairs and providing better opportunities for advancement within their companies.

Expensive Or Nonexistent Health Coverage

Another reason is that only 20 percent of retail employers offer health care plans which many businesses find too expensive, even though nearly 75 percent of employees get coverage through their spouse's plan or another source outside the company.

Leadership Burnout

The constant need for new employees also means an increased turnover rate within retailers which can be costly when training new people who may not stay with the company long-term. This lack of loyalty causes managers and other top executives to seek employment elsewhere to receive higher pay.

Work-Life Balance

No one takes into account a work-life balance in the retail industry. Most stores are open most days of the year because holidays make the most money. However, this isn't ideal for individual workers who may want to take vacation days for various reasons.

Some employees simply can't afford to miss work because they depend on their job's income or need the hours during the holiday season. It is not only an issue for employees but also their family members.

Ways To Avoid High Turnover Rate In Retail

Retail cashier jobs have one of the highest turnover rates in the industry. When employees feel unmotivated, they are more likely to leave their jobs for another company that pays more or simply allows them to advance faster.

With that said, companies need to motivate workers more, starting with paying them a higher salary and offering better benefits. When they feel that their employer is invested in their success, workers will be more likely to stay with a company. Check out flair's Payroll feature for help managing salaries, bonuses, compensations, sick leaves, and time-tracking all in one place!

Give Workers A Voice

Employees thrive when they have a voice in their company and receive feedback on improving. They also want to know what the future holds for them and their position in the company. Harsh criticism and poor treatment erode morale and cause people to lose faith in management, leading them to look elsewhere.

Better Benefits And Compensation Packages

Retail sales associate positions are also often viewed as dead-end jobs where workers cannot move up within a company. It is why many seek employment elsewhere after being hired into these types of positions. Companies need to offer more than an easy way to make low income with better benefits and compensation packages.

The turnover rate for retail is high because people get low wages with few benefits. It may be possible for some retail companies to battle the problem by offering more competitive salaries and bonuses that give employees reasons for staying with the company longer rather than leaving for another career path once they have enough money saved up.

Better Training

Increased customer service levels can lead to higher profits. Retailers should invest in staff training to improve morale and create loyalty among employees while providing them with skills to help them do their jobs better.

Management should pay more attention to developing professional development opportunities to feel like part of the team instead of just another number.

Employee Retention Through Incentives

Retailers should improve benefits so more people will stay with their team longer, rather than seeking employment elsewhere. Many stores offer discounts or special offers that increase loyalty from customers and staff members since they get great deals on products while staying with the company longer because of improved morale.

Conclusion

Avoiding high turnover rates in the retail industry is a definite challenge, but it can be done if the right strategies are in place. Retailers need to find ways to increase employee engagement and improve morale. This can be accomplished by giving workers a sense of purpose in their jobs, opportunities for advancement within the company, and fair wages. Without making changes, retail companies risk losing skilled workers who can easily walk out the door.

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