Why Retail Employee Comms Is Different…
A large amount of my working life has been in retail. I started out as a shop assistant (more than 20 years ago now!) and moved across to the “dark side” in head office, which is where I eventually became the Head of Internal Communications. (I also had responsibility for the intranet, which started me on the path to ClearBox.)
Technology has progressed significantly in that time, with the smartphone revolution, explosion of social media, launch of SharePoint Online, and the more recent AI bubble marking significant waypoints. Some of the challenges I faced have been improved by these tech advances, but there are still retail-specific issues that comms folk and intranet managers face.
Employees’ time and streamlining their experience
While everyone at work is busy, retail assistants’ time is directed firmly on store-based tasks. For those who don’t know: I mean stock rotation, shelf filling, display management, tidying and cleaning, and of course customer service. In fact, customers are the primary focus for most retail assistants as it extends beyond the till into finding items for them, placing orders, and answering questions. If these store-based tasks don’t get done ultimately the company won’t make any money, so they are understandably fiercely protected.
While it’s not possible to demand more of their time, it is possible to use their time as effectively as possible. Ask yourself: how many systems are people expected to know and log into, for example for booking holiday, viewing payslips, accessing benefits, logging an IT or maintenance ticket, or reporting a health and safety issue? If my experience is anything to go by, I suspect it’s a lot.
Intranets and similar platforms offer an agnostic approach to digital workplace services and can provide an experience layer to simplify things for employees. This means an effective platform will facilitate activities that actually take place in other systems, such as through deep integrations or links, so that employees don’t need to know or care what’s behind the hood. Any tool you choose for the frontline should be task-focussed and reduce the cognitive burden of the digital workplace that extends far beyond an employee’s typical working day.
Ease of accessing a tool
The previous point assumes individuals logging on and using a platform to provide the best experience; however, I know this isn’t always the case. In fact, despite working for a retailer of many thousands my user database was only around 500 – as the majority of people were using a shared device (the till terminal) to access the intranet. Where people had started to branch out into using their mobile phones (for context, I left this org in 2017), there were problems with wifi and general signal strength. Oh, and policies about whether mobiles should be on the shopfloor at all were constantly under discussion.
Fast forward to now, and I still think shared devices can work well. Using this approach audience targeting won’t be as sophisticated and permissions need to be carefully considered, but it gets the platform in front of people in a reliable way. Understandably, some organisations elect to stop people using mobile phones on the shopfloor but that doesn’t mean you can still choose a mobile-first solution. That way people on lunch break or on the bus can look at information, or use an office-based machine if they need a larger screen for a task. Mobile-first solutions often come with benefits like low bandwidth modes or options to save content for offline reading, which can tackle many access issues.
Breaking down “us vs them” through careful design
In the eyes of a retail assistant, “head office” is there to make their lives more difficult. Short-notice price changes, new point of sale material to install, a sudden initiative to sell more of something, mystery shoppers, restructuring – whatever the good reasons behind each of these, they help perpetuate that feeling of “us vs them”.
Much of this is associated with company culture, which you can influence even if you can’t make changes. For example, providing clear channels for operational, strategic and engagement-related communications will help people understand what they must see (vs what’s maybe not essential, but is nice). When I only had an intranet to facilitate all communications, I did this through specific homepage feeds of news and naming conventions of articles.
Social and community spaces can help break down silos, but for people who aren’t expected to be on their devices frequently this may end up being a barrier. Mobile access and providing practical tools may mean employees drift into the fun stuff too. Alternatively, community spaces could be used for location-specific conversations, or region-wide sharing of best practices and small notices. In the past, I’ve used discussion forums as a way to give retail assistants easier access to relevant experts so they could easily ask a question and get a quick answer. This was hugely valuable in encouraging an open and positive culture across the organisation.
Justifying the cost in a low margin organisation
Making the case for employee platforms can be a challenge, especially where the organisation has low margins making money tight. Some tools are expensive when you look at pure licensing costs, but can save money by replacing other systems or streamlining processes. Others may appear cheap but have hidden costs; SharePoint is a prime example as it’s “free” with M365 accounts, but a M365 account may not be suitable for all employees and there are hidden costs littered throughout too.
Sometimes the best way to argue a return on investment or justify a spend is to explain what happens if you don’t implement a solution. Alternatively, look for ways time, effort or money could be saved. This means looking beyond hit rates and dwell times, which are less relevant, and look to reduction in calls to service desks, or improved standards across locations. One of my proudest moments was making the guidance around bomb and terrorist threats more robust and easier to find. The flagship shop, which was notorious for doing their own thing, found that guidance in a crisis and accurately followed it, even praising how clear and simple it was once the dust had settled.
Final thoughts
Whether you have a solution in place or are looking for something new, here are some tips to help you ensure your retail colleagues are getting the best experience they can:
- Make the tool practical-first, with everything else a nice added benefit
- Provide good access on mobile, regardless of shopfloor policies
- Do research with your employees to find the best solution for them (and keep channels open)
- Think creatively about costs to help you argue ROI
- If you are looking for something new, download our free review report to make the best decision for your organisation
