Three Signs You’re Using Outdated Workforce Management Tools

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a highly dynamic, agile, and ever-changing business? Retail. Right?

The retail industry and the technology it uses are evolving at a rapid rate. Yet many retailers continue to use inefficient tools in their day-to-day operations. These antiquated tools can decrease their revenue potential!

No aspect of retail operations suffers more from this than workforce management. Workforce management is one of the most crucial aspects of running a successful retail business. As time has gone on, it has become increasingly more sophisticated and involved. It’s the one area of retail where stores shouldn’t cut corners and shouldn’t stick to outdated or less expensive tools due to inertia.

Let us do a reality check and identify the top three indicators that highlight if your workforce management solution requires an upgrade.

It does not give you optimised schedules

Store employees are critical to the company’s overall growth. If store employees are not performing at a proficient level, the business will not reach its full potential. Their schedules must be strategically planned for the best chance of success. Current scheduling methods developed by managers using traditional tools often don’t take each individual’s performance levels into account. Those simple retail scheduling tools are a thing of the past.

It does not plan your peak hours

Employee scheduling is both difficult and time-consuming. Visualizing peak traffic times will help you reach your business target goals. The flip side of that is, by failing to account for this information, you are jeopardizing your chances of meeting weekly revenue targets. Remember, it is during the busiest 20 working hours every week that you are best able to hit these goals. If your scheduling tool doesn’t help you manage these 20 hours most efficiently, it’s time to upgrade.

It does not increase real-time productivity of your staff

Kevin Graff commented on the difficulties surrounding workforce management in a blog post. “Maximizing productivity isn’t easy, especially for retail store managers who have to deal with achieving high sales targets with store staff [who] might be inexperienced, part-time, or seasonal.”

Given the seasonal nature of retail staff, one of the most important functions your Workforce Management tool should include is real-time productivity. It should consider the success data of your employees, customer capacity in the store, and the conversion rate of sales. If it does not, it needs an upgrade.

If even one of these points applies to your workforce management solution, then your business has room for improvement! We have the solution for you that can help your specialty retail business realise its maximum revenue potential. StoreForce is a complete retail workforce management solution with a full suite of features that will enhance the efficiency of your people and promises to improve your business within just the first few weeks.

Click here to schedule a consultation to learn more about how to optimise your business with StoreForce.