How to Improve Organisational Culture in the Retail Industry
A thriving organizational culture in the retail industry significantly affects employee satisfaction, customer experience, and overall sales performance.
However, there are specific complexities to fostering a positive culture in the retail space. Retail managers encounter plenty of different obstacles, including high employee turnover, high customer expectations, and operating multiple locations with consistency. The task becomes increasingly difficult for international retailers and their HR teams, who need to keep a unified workplace culture across multiple markets.
In this blog, we will discuss the impact of HR on organisational culture and explore some practical ways to tackle these challenges, creating a thriving company culture that adds value to employees, customers, and business owners.
What is organisational culture in the retail industry?
Organisational culture in the retail industry is the collective values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours that shape how work gets done within an organisation. In retail, this culture manifests in the way employees treat each other and their customers.
Never Miss a Retail Update!Retail organisational culture often manifests in the following:
- An excellent service orientation that drives a customer-first mindset
- Great teamwork, cooperation and collaboration of front-line and back-end staff
- The sense of evolving and creative solutions to fast-moving consumer trends
A workplace where people are treated positively and inclusively keeps the employees motivated and loyal
One way that retail businesses can get a leg up is to build a strong culture that attracts and retains top talent. Workers are more likely to stick around in companies where they find support, respect, and alignment with the brand’s mission.
Types of organisational culture in retail
Knowing the type of organisational culture in your retail business will shed light on both its strengths and areas for opportunity.
There are several common types of cultures, including:
- Clan culture: breeds teamwork, mentorship, and a home-like feel
- Market culture: based around performance, competition, and customer results
- Adhocracy culture: encourages innovation, agility, and risk
- Hierarchical culture: ensures a clear structure, procedures, and leadership roles.
There are pros and cons to each of these cultural types. In reality, many successful retailers combine aspects from various cultures to fit their individual goals, team dynamics, etc.
Actionable Strategies to Improve Organisational Culture in Retail
Company culture cannot be improved overnight. It requires ongoing efforts, management buy-in, and employee engagement.
Here’s how to start.
Implementing Effective Employee Training and Development Programs in Retail
Training isn’t limited to onboarding. Provide ongoing development opportunities to show employees you care about their growth.
This can include:
- Training modules that are specific to the retail sector
- Leadership development tracks
- Online learning platforms
- Training across departments
Staff who can see an obvious route to career progression are more likely to remain engaged and loyal. Certifications or opportunities to move into management are especially motivating.
Fostering Open Communication and Feedback Channels in Retail Teams
Building a culture in which all the voices matter and one that welcomes feedback is key.
Here’s how to build it:
- Minimise the extent of meetings and maximise the frequency.
- Implement anonymised suggestion boxes or online feedback forms
- Train managers to actively listen
- For HR teams and people working at a desk, communicate via tools such as Slack or Microsoft Teams for easy updates
When employees feel their voices are being heard, morale and, with it, performance improve.
Recognising and rewarding employee contributions in the retail workplace
In the retail industry, recognising and rewarding employees increases morale, encourages employee engagement, and nurtures a positive work atmosphere. Recognition doesn’t always have to be monetary, but should always be impactful.
Some of the best ways to show your gratitude include:
- Monthly commendations for outstanding excellence
- Praise in team meetings
- Peer-nominated recognitions
- Performance-based bonuses
- Industry awards
Retail awards are one of the best ways to highlight employee excellence. These initiatives only aid in shining a light on those who make special contributions in the industry. This culture of appreciation naturally fosters higher engagement and boosts morale.
Beyond formal awards, monetary incentives, such as performance-based bonuses for hitting specific targets or achievements, also serve as powerful motivators. These schemes not just provide recognition for the achievements but also inspire employees to achieve their best.
Creating a Positive and Inclusive Retail Workplace Environment
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are not just buzzwords but key ingredients for a successful retail workplace, as also highlighted by Charlotte Rees-John, partner and Head of the Consumer Sector Team at Irwin Mitchell, who said:
“In today’s rapidly evolving society, businesses must recognise that supporting equality, diversity, and inclusion is not just a choice, but a necessity.”
An environment that is really inclusive, generates a positive work environment, and supports employee wellbeing includes:
- Introducing employees from all walks of life
- Ensuring recent graduates are given the confidence and the ability to progress in their careers
- Encourages respectful dialogue and lifelong learning
- Promote pay equity
- Parental Leave Policies
- Increase diversity during hiring
Explore more diversity strategies in our blog: How can retail HR promote diversity & inclusion in the workplace?.
One of the best examples of a company showing the way to DEI is Boots, which recently received the JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Award) for its trailblazing diversity initiatives. This mission to foster an equitable and inclusive workplace across the retail sector is commendable.
Investing in DEI helps brands create a united workforce, boosting employee experience and leading to sustainable growth.
Leveraging Technology to Enhance Employee Engagement in Retail
Presently, technology is a driving force in enhancing employee engagement and maximising HR efficiency in the retail industry. As such, digital tools are transforming how retailers talk to, train, and manage their teams, enabling them to be flexible and efficient in their operations.
Technology is already starting to make an impact in various ways.
A few key impact areas are:
- HR platforms for onboarding, scheduling and payroll management
- AI-based analytics to monitor employee performance, satisfaction, and engagement
- Apps for internal communications and team collaboration
- Tailoring learning, development, feedback, and recognition based on individual employee data and preferences using AI-powered platforms.
HR software and digital tools are revolutionising retail HR, and AI is emerging as a particularly powerful asset for gaining data-driven insights into employee performance and engagement.
You can learn more about this trend in the Retail HR Summit Review, which discusses how flexibility and technology will shape the future of HR success.
Flexibility is Key
Flexibility is a key value for today’s workforce, especially Gen Z. But this desire for flexibility is not limited to just one generation. As HR leader Alana Inness, Global Head of Talent & Resourcing at Specsavers, explains, “we’re all individuals and flexibility is for all ages.”
Retail, which runs seven days a week, offers opportunities for flexible work hours, shift scheduling, job sharing, and even remote offices for back-office staff.
Retailers can do this by enacting policies that promote work-life balance and, through them:
- Reduce burnout
- Improve retention
- Enhance the attractiveness of retail roles
- Reduce employee mental health issues
As Inness explains, “Managers need to understand the team and recognise hard and fast rules don’t work anymore.” For a true work-life balance to thrive, “the work-life balance requires flexibility from companies.”
Such flexibility is critical in establishing an effective and sustainable retail workforce.
Measure the Success of Your Retail Organisational Culture Initiatives
To genuinely improve your retail organization’s culture, it is important to track your initiatives and measure their impact. If you are not measuring, how will you know if your work has an impact? Gathering and processing employee data is an essential component of this.
Some of the best tools and techniques to gauge success include:
- Conducting performance reviews and regular employee satisfaction surveys: These provide you with an insight into how employees feel towards the workplace culture and job satisfaction.
- Retention and turnover analysis: Track employee retention rates to see if the cultural changes are paying off in terms of employee loyalty.
- Implementing exit interviews and new hire feedback: Employees who decide to leave and those who are new to the organisation can provide valuable insights into the organisational culture.
- Performing pulse checks after launching new programmes: This helps you gauge the immediate experience and impact of the program.
You can see which areas are doing well, keep track of your trends over time, know where to improve, and be ready to make adjustments as soon as the data tells you that it is time. Measuring regularly will help your culture initiatives, making sure that they are on the right path.
Don’t Forget About Leadership!
Leadership is very important for shaping an organisation’s culture, particularly in the retail sector. The company culture establishes the tone for the whole organisation and can have a direct effect on employee morale, team dynamics, and customer engagement. It’s worth mentioning at the same time that, when managers and executives lead with empathy, clarity, and consistency, all of which contribute to a positive, supportive atmosphere, it ultimately increases team performance and job satisfaction.
Great leadership is the glue that builds trust and inspires people to stay at the company and collaborate. Clearly communicating and acting in line with that communication helps employees feel safe and ensures their goals align with the company’s values. When leaders are empathetic, people are more likely to engage and remain committed.
Customer service is also impacted by leadership. Leaders of customer-first brands encourage their teams to enable great experiences, which also improves brand loyalty and satisfaction. On the other hand, bad leadership can result in disengaged workers and poor customer service.
In summary, great leadership is vital to creating a team that wants to learn and a mindset of customer success.
Final Thoughts
Creating a better organisational culture in the retail industry can take time and consistent effort. You can attract and retain top talent by implementing training programmes, rewarding employees visually, encouraging DEI initiatives, and utilising technology.
By following these retail employee incentive strategies, retailers can align their overall organisational culture and reap long-term benefits for the business, including improved retention and a better overall consumer experience. These strategies are key to producing improved business results, regardless of whether you are a global retailer or a local boutique.
Learn more about retail human resources innovations and network with peers at the Retail HR Central. Book now!
