An Ultimate Guide to Motivate Your Retail Store Employees

The retail industry has one of the highest turnovers as compared to any others.

For that, employees have to spend their long shifts standing all day. Most of the minimum wages are not that beneficial either.

According to research, 41 million people quit their job on their own in 2018. And the number increased by up to 8% in 2017. Well, in 2020 is going to complete, the number will be 47 million.

In such a scenario, the basic reasons behind why people are leaving can be obvious one i.e. lack of motivation.

The retail industry treats its employees as physical assets instead of treating them as human.

For any employee, motivation is the key component that keeps them interested in their job.

Keeping the job monotonous will make them bored and aimless that eventually leads to quitting the job.

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Why Motivation Employees Are Important In Retail?

Employee motivation is a basic rule that leads a business to success.

Image source: pingboard

The more employees are committed toward their work, the better efforts they will put to meet the company’s goals.

If your employees are not motivated, they will do their work at a slower pace.

They will take more time to complete the task, not just it will waste the important hours for the company but also affects the overall workflow.

It wastes the resources of the company and affects sales.

Since your employees are directly connected to the customers. Their lack of interest in work will make your customer drive away too.

When your employees are motivated, they have –

Better Productive Levels

Motivated employees are more interested in performing well. They aim to deliver their work efficiently and faster.

With this, your company gets better results and more opportunities to sell.

Reduce In Absenteeism

Motivated employees feel happier when they work. Along with that, they have goals to achieve which makes them energized to work on time.

They don’t miss their work without having any reason. Also, they are much more invested in work, so they avoid taking leave or absent.

Increase In Innovation

The motivated employee does not just perform their work efficiently. But also make sure to keep innovating new ideas and apply them to achieve desirable results.

They work for improving their skills as well as enhancing their work.

Tips To Follow For Motivating Your Retail Store Employees

Motivating people never works. According to Doug Fleener, a formal director of Bose Corporation says instead of trying employees to motivate, the key here is to inspire their motivation.

Also, remove the things that can motivate them.

On making your retail store employees motivated, here are some tips that you can consider.

1. Give Them Challenging Work

Monotony in the retail job is most common and it’s the reason why people feel disengaged.

To combat this situation, you can give them more work than holds importance. Not just it will lessen your workload, but the employee will feel valued and important too.

Consider a job that you can let your employee handle, for example, taking care of the store when it’s closing or checking floors when a day gets busy.

Adding responsibility and challenging work will help in nurturing their interest in work.

Takeaway: Working in retail can be repetitive, Challenging your employees by sharing responsibility for work will change their mindset in working.

As an owner, you will also understand the value of your employee. Such works can help you in seeing the improvement and growth in their work.

2. Investment For Retail Employees

For a business to achieve success, it’s crucial to treat your employees as a valuable asset.

This becomes more important when it comes to the retail industry. Since your employees are the one who is going to interact most of the time with customers.

It becomes vital for them to have well equipped and all needed things to perform their work.

Focus on the investment, make sure you are paying attention to their right training. Get technology and items which can help in reducing time waste and efforts.

Also, give them support so they can confidently work and do their job.

According to the State of the American Workplace report, there are 30% of workers reported to have all the needed tools to do the work correctly.

Takeaway: Having the right tools and training boost the efficacy of your employees. Also, it gives them confidence which boosts your sales and overall workflow in the retail too.

3. Recognize The Work Done Culture

Getting recognized for their efforts can do a major boost to your employee’s confidence. It will motivate them to work much harder as well.

Image source: Bonusly

Make sure you have a culture of recognizing good work. You can build a recognition program in your retail company.

Such programs help in streamlining the performances of employees. It can be on performances like covering shifts for others, staying late, helping out, taking less lunch break, etc.

Anything that the employee is doing from their side to do their job properly should be recognized and praised by the company.

Takeaway: Recongzniantion in their work helps the employee to understand that someone is watching them. Not just they get praised but it makes them feel good about their work too.

You can encourage your team frequently for their efforts. Ask their peers to do the same.

4. Create Easy To Communicate Ways

Lack of communication between you and your employees can increase the gap. It makes you unsatisfied with their work whereas the employee feels disconnected and unmotivated.

Having easy communication options will boost the engagement of their work.

Make sure that your employees know what you expect and vice versa.

Don’t depend on individual goals but make sure you share the vision and goals for the company as well.

When you have open and easy communication with employees, they feel like part of the company instead of workers. This also boosts their personal goals and encourages them to fulfill the company goals too.

5. Encourage Your Employees To Feedback

Feedbacks are important. Employee feedback is a conduit between what your business does and what your customer thinks.

Hearing the feedback from your employee can be the most credible resource. They interact with your audience every day and understand their requirements closely.

They work on floors which means how much your plans are working and how your customers are reacting, they know the difference.

For this, you can schedule the meetings monthly. Ask your employees to submit their feedback. Make them involved in questions like how to improve the business, and what can do better.

Make sure you are paying attention when they are talking. Here you need to work on active listening skills.

Don’t interrupt them or lose your focus. Make them believe that you are listening to every word.

You can do surveys as well.

Takeaways: Asking your employees to give feedback makes them feel like they play an important role.

Also when the above authorities pay attention to what their employees are saying, it makes them feel motivated too.

6. Break Big Goals in Small One

A massive project or delivering the results to achieve big goals can be difficult. Big goals require much more time and it can be too aspirational and unmotivating for employees.

Author of Smarter Faster Better and The Power Of Habit Charles Duhig researched productivity. He found the most effective approach.

He said that dividing work into big goals and following S.M.A.R.T goals can be helpful.

With the big goals, it will keep attention on what to achieve and S.M.A.R.T goals will help in keeping the process light.

S.M.A.R.T goals are divided into –

Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Timeline

Dividing the big goals into these five points will reduce the stress on your employee. Also achieving small goals boost the confidence that leads to better productivity.

Doing something and getting success motivates too. It will make them eager to achieve the finish line much faster.

7. Get A Reward System

Getting a reward for their work is one of the highest motivating steps.

You can reward them with a bonus, gift cards, customized rewards, etc. The key point here is to make your employee understand that you genuinely appreciate their hard work.

With the help of a reward system, you can encourage other employees to perform well in their work.

Reward system helps in energizing the employees to add extra and keep their interest in work too.

8. Encourage Their Career

For lots of retail employees, they don’t take their job as something more than cash.

Well, it can be the biggest launch point for them if they know how to use it.

To your employee, why the opportunity is useful and how it can grow their career development should be understandable.

The retail industry is difficult and laborious. But being an owner you can reduce the stress. Also, show them the path so they can work towards it.

When your employee has their personal growth, they will feel more motivated and do their best to achieve it.

Start with their training to draw the outline of the career trajectory. You can explain how the management hierarchy works in your company.

Share the stories of people in your business who achieve their post and how it can help them to do the same.

9. Create An Interesting Break Room

Taking a quick rest is what your employees get after standing complete day and attending to customers.

Image source: Rosseto

As an owner, it’s your responsibility to make those quick rest comfortable for them. Such breaks can help your business to take some time break and get their energy recharge to work better.

Well-rested employees will focus more unlike the tired ones. Such employees have more focus on the clock to get done with their shift.

To create an interesting break room, here what you need to follow

Create a break room that doesn’t look like a closed prison.
Avoid walls like grey, dull and lifeless cement
Keep the room clean, engaging and add things your employees like
Add quiet music and create space for snacks
Use lighten up walls with warm and inviting colors

Takeaway: Make sure your break room looks like a place where your employees like to spend time. It should be something you employees can get revived to continue their day.

10. Schedule One To One Meeting

Employees in the service industry should have regular communication with their superiors. Not just it makes them feel connected but valued too.

Schedule your one to one meeting that can help you in understanding more about your employee and work.

Also, such meetings are important for several reasons, including

It helps you in getting mutual feedbacks
You both stay aligned and have information
It helps in building trust
You can address important prone too.

With the help of meetings, you can check on how your employees are working. Also, they can tell you about the requirements or updates that might help you in designing better plans.

Also, both will be communicated that increases the workflow and removes the chance of misunderstanding.

11. Gamify The Important Works

Work can become a chore when it gets too much. Well, to make sure your employees feel motivated, you can introduce gamification to your work.

Use the gamification for turning important tasks into fun and enjoyable.

For example, SnackNation applied the same thing in the workplace. They introduced the game based achievements as well as rewards programs.

Image source: snacknation

They designed it similar to a video game where team members get badges unlocked when they hit the milestones.

Well, here they used the actual buttons which are designed by the members. The employee gets the buttons punched according to their achievements.

To spice it up, every month they reward the employees for performing outstandingly in their field.

12. Make Their Schedule ASAP Available

Late schedules make your employees not ready for their work properly. Receiving an early schedule will help them in improving the quality of life too.

Well the reason behind this, when they receive their schedule early, they can start managing their day according to that.

Also, they can manage their time depending on what to do first and what to do next.

This makes them ready for their work and it feels much more motivated too.

With this, they can take some time off for their work too. In their free time, they can contact their family and friends.

13. Random Surprises

Sometimes the best way of keeping your employees is to surprise them. Instead of doing it on their birthdays or special events, you can surprise them randomly.

It will help in breaking the monotony and will make your employee happy too.

For example, if you have Saturdays fully packed and your staffs hardly get a break to rest. You can surprise them with baked items.

Either make it yourself that will show your appreciation. If not, you can pick the favorites of cookies or donuts.

Even the gesture is small. Employees feel appreciated that you are looking after them.

You can also give an early day off, or invite the diner to congratulate their efforts.

14. Express Your Gratitude

Gratitude is not the same as recognition.

Recognition is about giving acknowledgment to the individuals for their work.

Whereas gratitude is expressing your feelings and showing them how important they are.

Gratitude helps in improving mood. It releases dopamine and serotonin-like chemicals which makes your employee feel good.

Content Image: Easy Ways To Show Gratitude Towards Employees

Greet them
Surprise with coffee, lunch, or treats
Respect their time
Say Thank you
Appreciate their efforts

It boosts brain function. When people are stressed, their brain activates the stage called fight or flight.

When someone shows gratitude, the released chemicals in the mind helps in calming the environment, It gives a safe and comfortable environment for the mind to relax.

With this, your employees feel motivated and engaged to work better to experience the same thing.

15. Celebrating The Success

Your retail employees play a vital role in your success.

On important days, make sure you properly thank them. Also on smallest to biggest achievement, celebrate success with them.

Involve them with good times so they understand the value of their contribution.

When people feel like their small contribution is making huge changes. They feel motivated to do it on a bigger and bigger scale.

And taking a break to celebrate the hard work of your employees, also helps in giving them a moment to appreciate themselves too.

Takeaway: Employees who understand self-love and appreciate their efforts don’t need motivation from outside.

They are capable of doing their own and helping others to feel the same. It keeps the environment charged up and positive to perform the task.

Mistakes To Avoid When Motivating Your Retail Employees

According to Gallup data, 30% of employees are interested in their job. And there are $450 billion costs that disengaged workers do per year by losing productivity.

Boosting confidence and motivating them can help in decreasing the cost. However when you do that, here are few mistakes to avoid.

Micromanaging Your Employees

Micro managed not just to take the freedom from your employees but also it’s something no one wants to do.

Instead of micromanaging them, focus on providing a task where they are responsible for accountability.

It will help in empowering them and with a new challenge, it will boost their motivation too.

Avoiding Their Career Goals

The biggest reason behind people quit their jobs because they don’t see the scope for growth.

Everyone in their life wants to achieve something and to that, they need improvement in their career.

Neglecting such points will make your employee leave the job much faster.

Make sure to offer a plan by which they can achieve their career goals too.

You can do one to one meeting and ask them to share their vision. Let them answer what they see after five years and how they want to plan their future.

Coordinate with them to boost their career goals so they feel motivated to do better.

Taking Credits

In business, it’s common to see people taking someone’s credit and receiving the praise.

Not just it’s depressing but also unmotivated your employee to do better in the future.

To make sure you don’t do such things to your employees, manage a recognition program to celebrate their achievements.

Bonus, raise and monetary rewards are one of the ways to motivate your employees.

But it’s not the only way, also according to research, your employee feels much better when you share your gratitude with them.

They are much more interested in what you think about their work.

Frequently Asked Questions ( FAQs)

How unmotivated employees look like?

The basic symptoms that are common in unmotivated employees are lack of focus, more absence or leave from work, lack of punctuality, and slow working pace.

Such employees affect the level of engagement, increase employee turnover, and damage the productivity of the business.

Why is motivation needed in retail?

Motivation is needed to cheer up your employee to work their best. With the help of motivation strategies and tips, you can get the best potential results from them.

Motivating them increases the chances of taking less time and giving better outputs that benefit the company.

What is the common reason for unmotivated employees?

The common reason that unmotivate your employees can be an unrealistic workload, lack of recognition, and a stressed environment.

It can be a reason which is disturbing your employee and losing their interest in their work.