This document discusses innovative hiring practices for the retail industry. It notes that the retail industry in India is growing again after an economic slowdown. There is a need for various retail jobs at different levels. Frontline sales and customer service staff are key to success. The document recommends implementing an integrated recruiting and selection process using technology to source from a large applicant pool, filter candidates through online assessments, and conduct interviews only with qualified candidates. This approach could increase the number of qualified applicants, reduce costs per hire, and lower time-to-fill positions compared to traditional hiring methods.

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TALENT SCAPE IN THE RETAIL INDUSTRY
The retail industry in India is booming again after the slump that it witnessed during the global economic
slowdown. In fact, just two-three years ago, it was the most thriving industry in India with established players
expanding and new players setting foot in the retail industry in India.
Owing to this growth, there has been a spurt in the number of retail jobs in India. The hiring outlook in the
industry is again picking up with big players hiring people for
the new outlets coming up. There are various types of jobs in
the retail industry at all levels that one can join according to
temperament and interest.
Undeniably, the front-line sales or customer service staff that
is key to the success of any retail organization. The way sales
executives interact with the customers and convince them
about the products is quite important in closing a sale, besides
the worthiness of the product in itself.
For front-line positions, there is no specific educational qualification required. Right from a simple 10+2 pass to
graduate or an MBA, firms are hiring candidates for different sales jobs positions. What is most essential for
becoming a good retail sales executive is:
a. Ability to communicate well
b. Effective interpersonal skills and efficient communication skills
c. Pleasing personality
d. Presentable and congenial at all times.
Being at the front end, your staff have to deal with different types of customers and need to handle various
queries. Candidates from commerce, statistics, economics, business, communications and management
background are most preferred because they have a starter’s advantage over others. However, in the long run,
even people from other backgrounds can succeed in the retail industry owing to their ability to sell any
product or service.
With big names in the industry pumping in money in the retail industry, the number of opportunities in retail is
also bound to rise. The growth prospects in the retail industry are also bright.

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INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS FOR RETAIL HIRING
Given the current state of the economy there is no reason why retail hiring goals can’t be met more cost
effectively. Yet, filling all your positions at the right time, with the right person for the right pay is a challenge
at times.
If the end goal is to hire all your open positions with qualified candidates in a timely manner, then
implementing an integrated recruiting and selection process is critical. The following document will discuss
basic recruiting and selection principles that can significantly improve your business results.
CHALLENGES IN RETAIL HIRING
EMPLOYER CHALLENGES:
- The challenge of sourcing from a large employable population that is dilute
in its size
- Clutter in identifying themselves as an employer of choice
- Processing large numbers of candidates can be very resource intensive
- If your process isn’t efficient, candidate friendly, and quick to make
decisions you will lose qualified candidates.
CANDIDATE EXPECTATIONS:
- Earning power and independence
- Instant gratification (feedback and interview as quickly as possible)
- Prospect for growth within the company
- Good work environment and lower process pressures
KEEPING UP TO DATE:
- Channels for candidates constantly change. The use of social networking and
web 2.0 technologies are changing the recruiting landscape at a very rapid
pace. Often companies can’t keep up with the pace.
- Company home pages and career pages are often old and/or outdated. The
use of simple forms to collect basic candidate information is inefficient.
- Securing web resources to maintain the careers section of the company
website is often difficult.
As a result of these challenges, companies are often overwhelmed by the options,
costs, number of resumes, tracking of data, responding to candidates, etc. This paper will provide a simple
framework that can help a retail companies meet its frontline hiring goals.

5. RECRUITING SOLUTIONS
While there is no single solution to address all issues companies face today there are numerous solutions that
will enhance an Organizations’ hiring success.
LARGER APPLICANT POOL
Based on 30+ years of assisting organizations with their recruiting and
Global Talent Metrics has found that
you a greater chance of finding more qualified candidates
process will lead to significant savings
processing a large applicant pool can be difficult.
FILTER CANDIDATES
Secondly, filtering candidates through
and scheduling future activities definitively saves an o
minimum qualifications and assessing the
accuracy.
INTERVIEW
Using the interview as the last step in the process allows the interviewer
have not been gathered through the assessment questions. This makes the process much more accurate,
more time efficient, and more cost effective.
Below are two charts that show how the content and technology can
INFO / GET INFO (CONTENT FLOW)
In today’s job scene candidates
information via social networks
Many candidates are only willing to give the organization
information if they get some information in return. So it is
crucial to develop content that not only gathers information
from the candidate but gives them easy access to
they are looking for—differentiate your company.
w w w . s t a r g t m
While there is no single solution to address all issues companies face today there are numerous solutions that
will enhance an Organizations’ hiring success.
assisting organizations with their recruiting and selection needs,
found that (all other things equal) a larger applicant pool gives
you a greater chance of finding more qualified candidates. And a systematic hiring
process will lead to significant savings for the organization. However, finding and
processing a large applicant pool can be difficult.
filtering candidates through a funnel by using technology to administer basic assessment questions
and scheduling future activities definitively saves an organization time and money. In addition, defining
minimum qualifications and assessing the candidates’ skills will statistically predict job performance with
Using the interview as the last step in the process allows the interviewer to focus solely on those aspects which
have not been gathered through the assessment questions. This makes the process much more accurate,
more time efficient, and more cost effective.
Below are two charts that show how the content and technology can be used to streamline the process:
TENT FLOW)
In today’s job scene candidates are always looking for
social networks and other virtual worlds.
Many candidates are only willing to give the organization
information if they get some information in return. So it is
crucial to develop content that not only gathers information
from the candidate but gives them easy access to whatever
differentiate your company.
t m . c o m Page 4
While there is no single solution to address all issues companies face today there are numerous solutions that
,
a larger applicant pool gives
nd a systematic hiring
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ster basic assessment questions
rganization time and money. In addition, defining
statistically predict job performance with
to focus solely on those aspects which
have not been gathered through the assessment questions. This makes the process much more accurate,
streamline the process:

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BUSINESS BENEFITS
By filling your positions faster with better qualified candidates—your company will benefit financially in terms
of real measurable rupees as well as intangible benefits. The intangibles are improved customer experiences as
a result of better hires and ultimately more spending in your stores.
These charts depict the current state of affairs for the average company looking to fill frontline staff (0-3 yrs)
for new store opening and your expected results by installing a recruiting and selection process detailed
previously.
SUMMARY
Frontline hiring for Retail in particular New Store Opening is chaotic and difficult to manage. To properly
recruit for these positions, you should look to cast a net on a wide audience of potential candidates. To do this
effectively, we suggest a refined, yet simple technology-based hiring process.
1. Minimum Qualifications - starts with establishing minimum qualifications and access a wide pool of
talent and systematically screen your prospects.
2. Assessment - Use a predictive behavioral assessment to accurately determine personality traits that
determine performance
3. Technology- Use technology to make the process more efficient by allowing candidates to gather
information via the Web, schedule for appointments via the web, and to ensure that recruiters are
only speaking with qualified candidates.
In summary we suggest that you set your expectations high and look forward to:
- Increased number of qualified job prospects
- Finding more currently employed prospects
- Minimum administrative burden to process high ratio of prospects to open positions
- Consistent evaluation of all respondents
- Extremely low cost per position filled
- Administratively simple
- Reduced time to hire
- Reduced turnover
- Increased bottom line
New Store Openings
Current State
(for most companies)
Attainable Results
Cost of resource acquisition (including
screening, advertising, hiring, training, etc.)
6,000 to 8,000 30%+ Decrease
Interview to Hire Ratio 10:1 7:1
Time to Fully Staff New Store Opening 6 to 8 weeks 3 to 5 weeks
Estimated Turnover 30% - 100% 30%+ decrease