Retail Skills Framework — A Benchmark for Recruitment in Retail Sector
Retail will be more than a trillion US dollars by 2020 says PwC. The industry is investing heavily in developing products, services, infrastructure, omni-channels etc but there is very little thought on taking a structured approach to find and develop a competent workforce to man the growth.
When building something for high performance, things are much more manageable if we can deal with standard components. This is also the case when building a high performing team — i.e. recruiting and developing staff — whether assigning them to jobs or departments or constructing projects or service teams.
Let's take an example of a lifestyle retail store in a premier mall. You have an atrium facing location, modern interiors, contemporary designs, inviting offers, best sizes, slick inventory management and what not but an untrained salesperson can spoil it all. So what to do? How to find the right talent?
A modern retail store broadly has the following job types (a person may have multiple roles) -
- Store Manager
- Sales Associate
- Cashier
- Store Ops Assistant
- Trainee Associate
We did a very detailed exercise inviting representatives from reputed retail chains, malls, assessment agencies, government bodies, training institutes, consultants etc and identified a set of skills which are critical to the success in above roles.
Following a series of consultations, reviews, updates and yes fights, we are delighted to introduce Retail Skills Framework (RSF).
What is a Retail Skills Framework (RSF)?
RSF is a practical resource for people who manage talent/human resource in the retail sector. It provides a common reference model in a two-dimensional framework consisting of skills on one axis and levels of attainment on the other. It describes professional skills in retail at three levels of competence. Currently, it lists 13 skills along with their observable behaviours across three levels of attainment.
Employers use it to write objective job descriptions, prepare quality checks, filters and assessments. Training Institutes prepare curriculum and training plan to this effect. Job seekers understand what exactly is expected from them when a retail organization demands Customer Centricity skill at say at Intermediate level.
How do the Retail Skills Framework work?
The employer picks up skills that are needed for an individual to perform well at the particular job role from Retail Skills Framework.
For example, a generic job description for a sales associate may look like the above using RSF.
Retail Skills Framework clearly defines the observable behaviours for the skills at the desired levels. Selection checks, filters and assessments are built to ascertain that the candidates possess them.
Working with ‘gut feeling’ is now avoided. Business risks are minimized. Candidates who demonstrate the required ability are selected.
Ritu (Table 01) gets selected as she has what it takes to do a Sales Associate Job Role successfully.
While Ria (Table 02) has skill gaps which she is suggested to address before she becomes a successful Sales Associate. Using RSF, she can pick the right training course for her and training institutes can develop a curriculum based on what exactly employers are needing.
Applications of RSF doesn’t end here. Post recruitment, RSF helps talent managers in managing skills inventory and capacity building for organizations. It will be a useful tool in performance management, transparent appraisals and promotions. Retail Skills Framework builds a common language that can be used across the complete talent management value chain in retail.
The Retail Skills Framework is an honest step to develop one common language which all stakeholders — employers, skill development institutes, retail professionals and policymakers — can use. It significantly helps in minimising misunderstanding between the industry and academia.
So what next?
This is only a start. We invite HR Leaders, Talent Acquisition Heads, Recruiters, Consultants and Thought Leaders from the Retail industry to come forward and provide their views, comments and feedback to make a robust RSF which will significantly help in making India Retail dream a success. All comments welcome!
We took a pledge to make Retail Skills Framework (RSF) open source so that anyone who is interested in developing assessments, screening, curriculum development and training plans can get help and support in quickly establishing a standard way to manage skills in retail.
Please send me an email at amit@hireira.com if you need a copy of the framework.
Thank You
Amit Srivastava
Founder & CEO, Ira — An AI Powered All-In-One Recruitment Software with Intelligent Chatbots
Founder & CEO, RoadToNaukri.com — Trusted place to recruit job-ready candidates
