Hiring

Studies have proven that more diverse teams and organizations perform better. Yet progress with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives remains stubbornly slow for far too many organizations. During a panel session at Total Retail Tech last month, three leaders from At Home, Build-A-Bear Workshop, and Bandier discussed how their companies have been working to…

As the thermometer drops and the holiday season draws closer, that signals the beginning of a slew of opportunities for retailers in the coming months. However, despite the promise of the holiday shopping rush to help retailers’ bottom lines and set businesses on course for a successful new year, it's imperative for them to consider…

If you've spent any time at a major retailer recently you know the holiday season is rapidly approaching. Retailers all over the United States are preparing for what's typically their busiest time of the year. However, this year, retailers are finding it difficult to find qualified employees to fill their seasonal hiring needs due to…

U.S. retailers will hire the lowest number of seasonal workers for this holiday season since 2008, due to increased labor costs and shaky consumer confidence, according to a report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas provided exclusively to Reuters. Retailers are expected to add just 410,000 seasonal jobs this season, according to an analysis of non-seasonally…

As the overall quit rate continues to rise and the labor market further tightens, retailers across the country find it extremely difficult to hire enough well-trained workers to deliver a good customer experience. But while many generations are shrinking in the workforce, Gen Z is a rapidly growing generation eager to work and ready to…

Over 90 percent of the impact most consumer goods companies have on the environment can be attributed to their supply chains. Emissions from supply chains are 11.4 times higher than a company’s own operational emissions, according to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). That is more than double previous estimates. And since the past eight years…

After the past few difficult years it seemed the tough times might be coming to an end, yet I believe too many are beginning 2023 with more trepidation than hope. They have fears of a recession and see headlines filled with news of various organizations laying people off. While there are businesses that are struggling…

In recent years successful brands have been able to meet and exceed customer expectations at a period when demand skyrocketed and in-store shopping was limited. The reason? Investments in technology. By applying the same digital ingenuity that brands used to enhance the customer experience, retailers can combat staffing issues. Retailers are facing staffing shortages and…

In episode 376 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Jenna Arca, director of workforce development at The Home Depot, the largest home improvement retailer in the United States. Arca discusses the launch of The Home Depot's Path to Pro job-seeker marketplace for skilled tradespeople and hiring trade professionals (0:47), the origin of the…

Since the onset of the pandemic, the future of the retail industry has been marked with uncertainty. Currently, retailers are trying to prepare for a looming threat of recession and inevitable changes to consumer spending in the face of continued high inflation. With so much unpredictability ahead, labor planning can be a particularly daunting task.…