ALEXANDRIA, Va. – On this week’s episode of Convenience Matters, “Your People Are Your Best Assets,” NACS hosts Jeff Lenard and Carolyn Schnare discuss with Joanne Loce, managing partner for Fortify Leadership Group, how retailers can make their workers their greatest benefit.
In today’s challenging labor market, “the fundamental responsibilities of human resources in convenience store industry are not going to change,” Loce said. The central questions for HR will continue to be
- How do we find potential candidates?
- How do we recruit them?
- How do we get them on board and trained?
- How do we get them ready to provide a great customer experience and deliver results for the organization?
“The area that’s the most innovative has to do with how we’re attracting and finding those candidates in the marketplace,” she pointed out. For example, using social media to put out job postings as well as create good PR about what the organization is doing in the community, which can spur applications. “It’s supporting employee growth and development, and using social media to really provide a stepping stone for potential candidates to see what it would look like to work at that organization,” Loce said.
Reframing employees as brand ambassadors can be crucial to connecting with customers—and retaining workers. Loce encouraged retailers to think beyond the point of sale but also how employees will engage in social media on their own. “How can we leverage that to help people understand what it’s like to come work for us,” she said.
“We’re spending a lot of time with people and we’re not just going to be store clerks—we are in relationship with the community,” Loce pointed out. “Having your team members understand what your brand is and live out your culture and be an ambassador for it” is vital for creating that store everyone wants to visit.
Each week a new Convenience Matters episode is released. The weekly podcast can be downloaded on iTunes, Google Play Music and Stitcher and at www.conveniencematters.com. Episodes have been downloaded by listeners more than 39,000 times in more than 95 countries.