Why Retail Needs Great HR Managers

Excel Recruitment has established a dedicated HR recruitment department to further support our client’s needs. Head of HR Recruitment Sean Thomas breaks down just some of the reasons why great HR talent is a necessity not a bonus for retail businesses.

With
only 4 months left in 2019, we’re continuing to see excellent growth in the
economy and the market shift towards full-employment. We are seeing people
prosper, building sites all over with new homes being built, banks’ lending again
and young couples finally becoming homeowners. Excellent right? While retailers
across the country have reaped the benefits from all of this positive growth,
such a buoyant employment market is causing headaches for retailers of all
sizes when it comes to recruitment.  An
experienced HR Manager can support owners and organisations in all industries
but below are just a few reasons why retail in particular should make HR a priority.

The customer is key

To
state the obvious, exceptional customer service is at the centre of any
successful retail business. The key to this is the front-line employees, the
people who are in direct contact with customers both instore and online. They
are the public face of the company and often, what customers remember most
about their experience of a brand. They are essentially ambassadors of the
brand and key to achieving customer service goals. This means making sure that
the workforce is properly trained in the appropriate skills and happy and
motivated to deliver exemplary service. This is where a solid HR team can
shine, not only in devising, co-ordinating and implementing complete 360
training for in-store teams but also in terms of ensuring employee engagement
and motivation, devising incentives for rewarding and recognising key staff or
planning team bonding exercises.

Turnover

Retail
can have a high rate of employee turnover due to seasonal demand, employing
high numbers of students who work part-time and then move on or people working
their way up the business quickly. High staff turnover can be time consuming
and expensive for businesses and can impact customer loyalty if customers keep
seeing a new face every time they enter your store. A solid HR management team
can keep turnover to a minimum by managing the interviewing process, asking the
right questions to ascertain how a potential hire will fit in with the existing
team and communicating the role and its responsibilities and requirements fully
to candidates being interviewed.  This way, there’s no surprises when the
candidate starts a job, for either them or the employer.

Seasonal Demand

Retailers
often experience fluctuations in staff numbers, such as needing to add
temporary staff in the run up to Christmas or summer to cope with increased
footfall. This can be stressful for businesses without sufficient HR support
trying to recruit large volumes of people quickly and for full-time workers who
may have to assist new colleagues thrown into the thick of it. Again, a
specialist and dedicated HR manager is the best person to manage this process,
highlighting to permanent staff what’s expected of them and onboarding
temporary workers successfully.

For
both head office roles and on the floor in the stores, we are seeing exactly
how important it is having a strong HR manager with expertise in reward,
L&D and recruitment.

A strong
L&D leader can develop talented members of the team, giving them the
confidence to take the reins in the business or take up specific support roles
in other areas of the business. They can also assist a business in motivating
and retaining their top performers, leading to internal promotions and
increasing harmony within the store.

If you have any HR recruitment requirements or are an HR
professional on the lookout for a new move, get in touch with Sean today
at 
sean@excelrecruitment.com or call 01-8148747

 

Irish Barista Academy to tackle skills shortages

Excel Recruitment and sister company Futureproof Training are delighted to add barista training to the menu by establishing ‘The Irish Barista Academy’ to meet skills shortages in the hospitality industry.

The academy’s foundation earlier this month comes in direct response to increasing requests for skilled baristas from a variety of hospitality businesses . Shane Mclave, Director at Excel Recruitment says “It’s clear to see how coffee culture has exploded in Ireland in recent years and with the employment market the way it is, there is a dearth of trained and passionate baristas across the country. The barista school came about because of the sheer number of our clients requesting knowledgeable, fully-trained baristas. We have 100s of fantastic staff that are great at customer service, bar and wait staff duties, they just need the additional knowledge piece.” Shane continues “The school will be mutually beneficial for clients and staff. Staff will be able to add another string to their bow and clients have skilled, accomplished baristas readily available for their businesses’ needs.

The Irish Barista Academy will also partner with Skillnet, Ireland’s national agency responsible for workforce learning. Shane Mclave also explains how important the partnership with Skillnet is. Shane says “We’re incredibly proud to be partnering with Skillnet on this initiative. Skillnet’s ethos is very similar to our own, empowering the workforce by offering valuable learning experiences while ensuring businesses have a highly skilled workforce essential to their competitiveness.”


The new Irish Barista Academy will offer full barista training courses including equipment and maintenance, coffee theory, customer service and more. According to Senior Trainer Eimhear Ó Dálaigh the barista training is designed specifically with Excel’s clients in mind. She says “as soon as the training is completed, each barista is able to immediately and seamlessly work on any of our client’s teams.”


The school will be run in partnership with Futureproof Training which already offers a full range of blended training for hospitality professionals. Futureproof operates at the forefront of training providers with fully accredited trainers and a variety of learning methods, including online, app and classroom based.

For more info on The Irish Barista Academy, visit www.irishbaristaacademy.ie or www.skillnetireland.ie

Book your place today: http://www.irishbaristaacademy.ie/contact-us/

Laurence Rogers- Excel Recruitment Senior Hospitality Consultant

Why Chefs Should Use LinkedIn More

Senior Hospitality Consultant Laurence Rogers on why chefs need to be making the most of their LinkedIn profiles and his top tips for getting started…

 

I spend quite a lot of my time as a Recruiter on LinkedIn and it always surprises me how hospitality people, and especially Chefs, seem to put the bare minimum into their profiles on the platform. Funnily enough, the content that I enjoy the most comes from Chefs who do use LinkedIn to their advantage and showcase the foods, brands, and concepts that they are currently working on. It helps me keep in touch with culinary trends both nationally and internationally while putting industry experts as well as up and coming talent on my radar. But why do I recommend LinkedIn over other social media platforms….

Online Community

For one, LinkedIn gives you access to an online community of likeminded people working in your industry. You can join groups, build a network of professional chefs, swap ideas, pictures, recipes, techniques, projects… the list goes on! You get an opportunity to interact with industry experts and peers as well as the chance to become a mentor and influencer and build your own personal brand. LinkedIn is the only platform that allows you to engage with your industry on a professional level.

Find Jobs

This is a fantastic way to find a new job as LinkedIn is like an interactive jobs board! Not only can you see what jobs are available, you can also see who is already working there, what kind of food they produce and what kind projects they are working on. You no longer have to use a job advert to try and work out what the company would be like to work for, you can just pop on to their company page and do all your research on LinkedIn.

Career progression

LinkedIn will, without doubt, give you access as a professional to a lot more opportunities. If you can get your talent and experience across on your LinkedIn profile, it will open all sorts of doors for you. The best profiles will get noticed first but how do you make sure that your profile gets noticed…

Profile Tips

  1. Profile picture – keep it professional, make sure your chef whites are spotless and make sure you are smiling or at least look happy!
  2. Keep your dates of employment up to date – this is essential, we know chefs are not known for their amazing CVs so this is a great way around it.
  3. Add specific skills and interests – Cooking techniques, pastry skills, butchery, zero waste… the list goes on! Let people know what makes you stand out.
  4. Content, content, content… – Like posts from other Chefs, post links to videos and articles, post pictures of your own dishes, share recipes… The more active you are online, the more doors it will open for you.