There’s no question that in retail, turnover’s high and employee training takes time, money, and effort, but it behooves retailers to invest in their most valuable asset — the associate.
From sound hiring practices to the functional yet disruptive technologies that aid them in their role to improve the customer experience, the retail associate is still your strongest link to the customer — even in this modern, digital age of retailing. An informed, personable associate inside the brick-and-mortar store is crucial to the sale. Equip them with technology — and here’s the kicker — that they’re comfortable using, and you’ve set them up for customer engagement success. But even if associates are knowledgeable and friendly, it’s hard to create an environment where they can cater to the customer. Without the aid of task management and scheduling tools, traffic analytics, associate-facing mobile devices, to name just a few, even the most well-intentioned associate is mired in various and sundry things, which don’t always include assisting customers.
