Retailers, we’re sure you have heard the news: operational costs are set to climb as the government’s budget adjustments come in to play. Just the mere prediction from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) forecasting an extra £7 billion in retail costs next year is enough to make us all feel a little uneasy.
Where does this leave retail executives? Drowning with anxious thoughts on how they will manage soaring expenses, keep employees happy, and stay ahead of the competition without burning the midnight oil.
But rising costs doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom. What if we told you that, as HR leaders – you’re the secret weapon in this fight?
No, that does not mean you have to resort to being the glorified firing squad, cutting down costs by letting go of talent. In fact, if we look at the research, these knee-jerk reactions to cutting down operational costs rarely deliver the intended financial benefits.
Instead, what if we told you that with a little bit of technology and some strategic initiatives, you can be the key to combatting rising retail costs.
No longer will you have to fear the immense pressure of the c-suite badgering you to cut headcount, because we have the ultimate tool to help overcome this challenge—without breaking the bank or the team.
1. Staff smarter, not harder
Let’s start with the not-so-elephant in the room: labour costs. They’re big (contributing to 39% of total operating expenses), unwieldy and hard to wrangle.
Are they necessary? Absolutely. Expensive? You bet. But the key is to staff smarter, not harder, especially when every extra hour on the rota counts.
How to win the staff scheduling game
- Smarter scheduling: Imagine knowing exactly when your stores will be bustling and when they’ll be ghost towns. With the right workforce management tools, you can do just that (think foot traffic, sales spikes, and even the weather), helping you schedule the right number of staff at the right times.
- Labour cost insights: Got too many staff on the floor? That’s wasted money. Not enough? That’s grumpy customers. Find the sweet spot to make sure every shift hits the Goldilocks zone by incorporating advanced forecasting tools to predict staffing requirements based on historical data, local events, and even weather patterns, ensuring you’re neither overstaffed nor understaffed. All you need to do is ensure all your operational, HR and workforce management tools are aligned and voila! Goldilocks approved scheduling!
But working smarter, not harder, doesn’t just mean having these insights. In fact, without automation, having all these insights can quickly become a headache—taking up valuable time and resources trying to piece together the perfect schedule.
In order to truly work smarter, you want a workforce management system that takes all the information and figures out the best possible schedule in minutes. These systems don’t just create schedules—they offer dynamic functionality like automatic shift adjustments based on employee availability, overtime thresholds, and compliance with UK employment laws.
Save those templates. Use them again. Plus, with built-in notifications, you can instantly alert employees to changes in their schedules, minimising confusion and last-minute disruptions. And spend that saved time focusing on something else—the next point.
2. Prioritise employee happiness
As operational costs continue to rise, employers struggle to raise wages, leaving employees to deal with mounting expenses – ranging from higher rents to skyrocketing grocery bills and holiday spending. This stagnation in pay pushes many to seek greener (or better-paying) pastures, leading to higher turnover costs that can burn a hole in your budget. A 150% – 400% hole for that fact.
So, what can you do to keep your team happy and reduce turnover costs when pay raises aren’t always an option? Simple—show them you care in other ways. This means investing in an all-in-one HR system that streamlines processes, empowers employees, and makes managing their day-to-day work lives effortless.
Give power to the people. And by that, we mean a self-service HR system that lets employees book time off, control their schedules and swap shifts – all without having to pester HR or their line manager. To ensure compliance, the HR system restricts shift swaps to employees in the same role. For example, sales assistants who are trained on the till can only swap shifts with other till-trained colleagues, guaranteeing that everyone has the right skillset to perform the tasks required on their shift.
ELLA, elementsuite’s AI HR Assistant, makes the process even smoother by providing real-time responses to employee queries, like checking shift availability or requesting HR or scheduling changes. With ELLA, employees have a virtual assistant at their fingertips, making HR interactions faster, smarter, and much more convenient.
It’s a small thing, but feeling in charge can work wonders for morale.
Celebrate the wins. Use your all-in-one HR management software to identify and reward your rock stars. Recognition goes a long way when pay raises are off the table. So use your performance management tool to reward your top talent.
Flex those schedules. Before you completely dismiss this point – hear us out. We know that the retail industry can be hard to accommodate flexible schedules. There are certain hours of the day when all hands on deck are needed. But, if there is a way you can accommodate some level of flexibility—do it.
If you can work around Sandra’s childcare schedule by having your workforce management system consider her availability and preferences, she’ll be more likely to stick around. Or, if you can let Mark, the university student, have a temporary alternate schedule for his exam season, he’ll be more than grateful to continue working with you.
In short—and we cannot stress this enough—prioritising employee happiness is not a cost, it’s actually an investment. If you want loyalty in a time of uncertainty, show your team you’re in their corner. It’s that simple.
3. Cut the admin chaos
Nobody goes into HR dreaming of manually processing payroll or fixing rota mix-ups. Okay, maybe the odd few – but they are definitely anomalies.
Jokes aside, during retail cost pressures, manual tasks can suck away time you could spend on more strategic projects. And as we all know, time is money (thank you, Benjamin Franklin). So, embrace automation.
However, despite being in the age of AI and digital transformation, far too many retail HR teams are stuck in a manual rut—spreadsheets, paper forms, and endless emails. But when cost-cutting is top of mind during economic headwinds, wouldn’t you want to save 30% in admin costs by going digital?
- Accurate time management and attendance: When it comes to time management and attendance, during times of economic pressures and tight budgeting, you need to make sure that every penny you spend is justified and accounted for. This can be super helpful during the holiday rush. Staff can clock in via mobile, managers can monitor attendance in real-time, and with alerts for no-shows or excess overtime, you can avoid overspending while ensuring the store floor is never left short-staffed.
- Go digital on notifications: Or, take for instance, there is an identified gap for a colleague with pricing labelling experience next week. While, yes, your workforce management and scheduling system should automatically update you on available and capable staff, you also want to keep the whole workforce in the loop (with minimal administration). To do this, put out a notification on your internal newsfeed and give team members the chance to step in and take on extra responsibilities. This will help them develop new skills, keeping them motivated and engaged. You might even uncover new talent for future openings, reducing recruitment costs while fostering a more versatile team.
Your HR technology has been put on this earth to make your life easier. It’s time to let it do just that.
But, and a big BUT… before deciding on the right HR technology for your business, we highly advise that you take thorough care in deciding what needs augmenting and what doesn’t.
Check out our FREE HR toolkit, which will supply you with free heatmaps and HR tech questionnaires to help you understand what processes within your HR function would benefit from automation and augmentation. Not only will the toolkit help you identify the pain points and inefficiencies in your current processes, but it will also ensure you target specific areas for improvement with the right technology solutions.
4. Using workforce data to stay two steps ahead
We have a saying here at elementsuite: Numbers don’t lie, but they also don’t mean much unless you can use them.
If you don’t know your accurate and real-time headcount numbers, it’s nearly impossible to manage labour costs effectively. Similarly, if you don’t know your historical sales data or foot traffic trends, it becomes difficult to predict future staffing needs and plan accordingly.
Use your data to see the bigger picture and identify trends that can help you tackle rising labour costs.
Take, for instance, overtime costs. By analysing your HR data, you may see that certain stores or departments have a higher rate of overtime than others—potentially pointing to scheduling or staffing issues that need to be addressed. Or, if you notice a trend of higher foot traffic during certain times or seasons, you can adjust your schedules and staffing levels accordingly to ensure optimal coverage without overspending.
When you can see all this data (and more) on one single source of truth – what’s not to love? No more jumping between spreadsheets or different systems, just one unified and secure view of your workforce data that can help you make informed decisions. And with elementsuite’s forecasting capabilities, predicting future staffing needs becomes even easier – helping you save both time and costs.
Operational costs are tough, but you’re tougher
It’s clear that rising operational costs in the retail sector aren’t going away anytime soon, but it also shouldn’t be the stumbling block for your HR strategy.
Use these tips and tools to keep your labour costs in check, retain top talent, and streamline your HR processes during economic headwinds. After all, as the saying goes, “a stitch in time saves nine”. Yes, we quoted Thomas Fuller’s book Gnomologia.
By embracing HR and workforce management tools such as elementsuite, you can show your team, your leadership, and your customers that you’ve got what it takes to navigate tough times with ease.
From smarter scheduling to happier employees, automation to data-driven decisions, workforce tools are essential for survival in today’s retail landscape.
Endurance, perseverance, and innovation are key to thriving through any economic turbulence. And with elementsuite by your side, you can do just that.
Book a demo today and see how elementsuite can help you weather the storm of operational costs while setting your HR strategy up for long-term success.
