TOPIC

A STUDY ON
RECRUITMENT &
SELECTION
OF A RETAIL STORE
EMPLOYEE

Human resource management involves recruiting, selecting, training, compensating and

supervising personnel in a manner consistent with the retailer’s organization structure and
 strategy mix. Personnel practices are dependent on the line of business, the number of
employees, the location of outlets and other factors. Since good personnel are needed to
develop and carry out retail strategies and labor costs can amount to 50% or more of
expenses, the value of human resource management is clear.
HUMAN RESOURCE ENVIRONMENT OF RETAILING

A LARGE NO. OF INEXPERIENCED WORKERS

LONG WORKING HOURS

HIGHLY VISIBLE EMPLOYEES

HUMAN
RESOURCE
ENVIRONMENT

VARIABLE CUSTOMER DEMAND

DIVERSE WORK FORCE

PART TIME WORKER

By considering above mentioned characteristics following points should be taken in concern,

while recruiting and selecting a retail store employee:
a) Efficiently generate sufficient applicants
b) Career development path
c) Group behavior
d) Personality development programs
e) Training manuals

HIRING RETAIL PERSONNEL:

 The goal is to obtain and retain employees. When applying process ,diversity ,labor laws & privacy should
be considered.

CONSIDERATIONS FOR HIRING AN

EMPLOYEE

DIVERSI LABOR EMPLOYEES’ PRIVACY

A Retailer must not -

FAIR & OPEN WAY Hire underage workers Gather & store necessary data

NO DISCRIMINATIONS Pay workers “ off the books” No free dissemination of data

(Gender, Ethnicity & others) Violate safety regulations

Illegal acts

Recruiting Retail Personnel :

Recruitment: generating a talent pool of job applicants.
Elements of a good recruitment policy:
(a) Organization’s objectives- short term and long term.
(b) Identification of recruitment needs- preparing profiles for each category, section,
departments.
(c) Preferred sources of recruitment- internal or external
(d) Criteria of selection & preference
(e) Cost of recruitment & financial implications.
Recruitment Sources & their characteristics:
I. External:
1). Educational Institute: high school, business school, universities.
Good for training positions, ensure min. educational requirements are met,
especially useful when long term contacts with instructors are developed.
2) Other channel members, Competitors: employees of whole sellers,
manufacturer, competitors
 Reduce extent of training, can evaluate performance with prior firm, must instruct
in company policy, some negative morale if current employees feel bypassed for
promotions.
3) Advertisement: newspapers, trade publications, web sites.
Large quantity of applicants, low cost/applicant and additional responsibility
placed on screening.
4) Employment Agencies: private/professional organizations.
Good for applicant screening, specialist in personnel.
5) Unsolicited Applicants: walk-ins, write-ins
Wide variance in quality must be carefully screened, kept for future positions.

II. Internal: -
1) Current & Former Employees: Promotion, Transfer, Part-time, Rehiring
Knowledge of company policies & personnel and good for morale.
2) Employee Recommendations: Friends Acquaintances, Relatives.
Value of recommendation depends on honesty & judgment of current
employees.

Selecting Retail Personnel:

Selection- commencing from the preliminary interview of the applicant and ending with the
contract of employment.
Process of Selection Process: -

2.Pre. interview
4.Psychological Test
6.Final selection
8. placement
.Reception of application
Selection Process
3.Application Blank 7.Physical examination
5.Background Investigation

Job analysis consist of job description & job specification. A goal oriented job description
can enumerate basic functions, the relationship of each job to overall goals, the
interdependence of positions and information flow. A job specification describe the
attributes & characterstics of job holder.
A sample attributes for a mgt. trainee at a retail store:
1) Analytical Skills: - Retail executives are problem solver. Knowledge & understanding
of past performance and present circumstances form the basis for action & planning.
2) Creativity: - Retail executives are idea people. Successful buying results from
sensitive, aware decisions, while merchandising requires imaginative, innovative
techniques.
3) Decisiveness:- retail executives are action people. Whether it’s new fashion trends or
customer desires, decision must be made quickly & confidently in this ever changing
environment.
4) Initiatives: - retail executives are doers. Sales volumes, trends & buying opportunities
mean continual action.
5) Leadership: - retail executives are managers. Running a business means depending on
others to get the work done.
6) Risk-Taking: - retail executives are courageous. Success in retailing often comes from
taking calculated risks and having the confidence to try something new before
someone else does.
7) Stress Tolerance: - retail executives are resilient. As the above description should
suggest, retailing is fast paced & demanding.