HR Talk : Retail Bites

As the Indian IT industry is expanding on an astonishing scale, the way
people shop for IT products has also changed. Customers demand a better look and
feel of the product and above all, fancy a more personalized attention.

The best way to meet the expectations of customers is through showcasing the
products in a lavish manner and that has been possible through retail stores
where all their demands are met in a sophisticated manner.

The retail wave has already swept through the metros, wherein almost all the
premier channel partners have opened their multiple retail outlets. Upcountry
markets like Ajmer are gradually adopting the retail retail trend with partners
investing heavily in building their retail stores.

Besides the channel, vendors too are focusing heavily on building exclusive
outlets to increase their brand awareness. Retail, thus has become the next
revolution in B and C-class cities.

Partners have identified the potential that retailing offers in attracting
large chunk of customers. They are today paying more attention to the basic
requirements that could give a different environment to their outlet, to get
more walkins.

Essential factors

Before investing in a retail showroom, partners must outline various
factors. Besides infrastructure and ambience, one major aspect that is important
to make the retail store a profitable investment, are efficient employees who
possess the art of attending customers in a personalized way.

Chandrashekhar, Director Utkarsh Staffing Solution

Employees or attendants, groomed to offer quality services to customers play
a credible role in binding customers with the store. They should be patient and
hospitable so that they can assist the customer in choosing the best product as
per his choice and budget.

Moreover, in a small town like Ajmer, where customers are more comfortable in
using the regional dialect, it could be beneficial if the attendants are also
accustomed to the local language. This helps in developing a strong bonding
between customers and employees.

Also, employees should be polished and groomed in their appearance. They have
to be alert and attentive enough to give right assistance to the visitors.

Obstacles on the way

Though the number of retail outlets is increasing in metros as well as in
the upcountry, the availability of qualified human resource is scarce. Channel
partners either spend a good amount of energy and time in fishing the right set
of people with apt knowledge and experience of handling custo­mers in retail
showroom or they end up compromising with the available resources.

Majority of the potential manpower in upcountry is keen on moving to metros
with the hope of finding better jobs and more money. So a large chunk of capable
employees are drained away. Those who are in the town are not so keen to gear up
with the requirements.

Moreover, it takes a lot of time to groom the new set of people and elevate
them to the required level.

The available manpower are not trained enough to handle the customers in a
professional manner and unpolished attendants end up losing the regular
customers. These pose a big problem for channel to meet the required elements
for a successful business.

The problem of attrition and poaching poses another threat for partners to
hold their employees for a long time. Most often, when a person switches to
another job, a large amount of energy and time gets wasted. This in turn also
reduce the opportunity on part of employees to grease their efficiency and prove
their potential. Thus, it hampers the growth of partners in the upcountry market
in a big way. They are paralyzed to work on new projects or to expand their
business in the absence of qualified manpower.

Even if a partner is lucky to get good set of people to manage their
customers, retaining them for a long time is another issue of concern.
Developing a faithful relation with the employees takes a long time for which it
is necessary that the employees adhere to the company for a long time.

Partners should thus plan strategies to retain their employees before they
venture into retail business. They should weigh their available resources before
they plunge into any new project to add profitability to their business.

Feasible options

Before venturing into the retail business, and while working to find the
feasible solution of scarce manpower, channel should analyze the potential of
available human resources as to who would be most suitable for handling retail.
It is not advisable to appoint fresh people for such task as the employer and
employees need to share a relationship that is trustworthy and responsible.

An employer alone cannot handle different stores, so he needs an assistant
who can take better charge of new assignments and inform the employer of all
updates. Therefore, only such people should be assigned that have set skills,
understand the nature of task and share a very strong relation with the
employer.

One should not spend his resources in training new set of people, but instead
the old lot should be elevated to perform new jobs. This would not only give
them new opportunity but also boost their confidence and trust for the employer.
The new group of people should be appointed to handle other tasks rather than
looking after retail outlets.

Training and grooming of old employees sparks a lot of energy in them, which
makes them feel important and more responsible.

Whatever decision a partner takes while selecting the right set of people for
new retail stores, it should be done wisely and keeping in mind the factors that
would bring profit from the new investment.

Shalabh Agarwal is CEO of Symbiois Computer Visions, Ajmer