Employee Engagement And How It Affects Retail Businesses

Employee engagement is a hot topic in the retail industry. As companies work to reduce their worker turnover rates while improving performance, the issue of engagement continues to pop up. When employees aren't driven to put forth 100%, the company suffers as a result. And unfortunately, few companies are operating with a high percentage of "engaged" employees.

So, what exactly is employee engagement? While some companies may have their own definition for the term, the easiest way to describe it is the measurement of enthusiasm, determination and motivation of employees to perform their job. It's important to note that employees may continue to show up to work even if they aren't engaged. Instead of going above and beyond the call of duty, however, they may lack the enthusiasm and drive to perform certain obligations of their job. Regardless of what specifically for your retail store sells, you must work on improving employee engagement; otherwise, you run the risk of losing customer, sales and tarnishing your brand name.

The key to improving employee engagement in a retail business lies in motivation. Far too many store owners and managers believe that sending a paycheck to their employees is enough to keep them motivated. While it may be enough to prevent the employee from quitting, it's not enough to motivate them to excel. Think of how you can encourage your store's employees to work harder and more efficiently. One of the most effective ways is to set reachable short and long-term goals along with various rewards. For instance, if your employees are able to gather a certain amount of zip codes or email addresses from customers at the checkout register, then perhaps you can throw a lunch party. Another idea is to hand out gift cards as a bonus for employees who sell X amount of product in a given time frame.

Along with higher sales and profits, engaged employees will also result in better customer service. It's no secret that customer service is a critical in the retail industry. If you aren't friendly and polite with each and every customer that walks through the door, your sales will suffer as a result. Thankfully, engaged employees will naturally put more effort into customer service. You'll likely see more employees greeting customers immediately when they enter and leave the store, and they may also take the initiative to help customers locate the items they are looking for. It's the small things such as this that really set a retail store on a higher level above its competitors.