“Employee engagement” is a topic that arises frequently in retail business conversations. Is it a business trend, or is it something that we should explore? Just how important are the engaged employee benefits for retail customer service?
Here at Zipline, we think that employee engagement is crucial for every retail company to invest in. Engaged employees are the link between the innovative ideas your brand has created and the customers you’re trying to reach.
In order to understand the business value of engaged frontline workers, let’s break down the ways that retail employee engagement can benefit your company.
Engaged Employees Boost Productivity & Execution
With countless shopping options available, brick-and-mortar retailers need to perfect the in-person customer experience to stay competitive. And we know that customer experience is inextricably linked with the employee experience.
To reach customers, retailers should first focus on increasing engagement among their frontline store employees.
Studies tell us that only 29% of direction that is sent to stores from HQ is actually executed correctly. This is because most frontline workers haven’t been given the tools they need to be successful. This is why it is so important to connect what store employees need to know and what they need to do in a way that provides context and enables them to make better decisions.
The good news is that we built Zipline with a real understanding of the challenges that retail companies face. We know how important it is to cut the clutter and the noise so that your retail communications can drive employee accountability and empower flawless store execution.
How Does Employee Engagement Affect Customer Satisfaction?
It’s no question that boosting retail employee engagement ultimately improves the customer experience. By setting up your frontline workers for success, they will feel empowered to represent the brand and be the voice of the company.
That customer connection also translates directly into measurable sales floor revenue. When store associates are engaged and equipped with deep product knowledge, they naturally suggest relevant add-ons and cross-sell merchandise, which will lead to increasing average customer spend and number of units per transaction (UPT).
With robust communication tools that provide context, your employees understand their role in accomplishing the greater mission at hand. We all know that when we understand how our job tasks, even the most mundane of duties, make us part of a bigger picture we are eager to go the extra mile and contribute our very best work. A platform that connects the dots for your people to create a sense of purpose and encourages discussion and feedback will improve the customer experience, ultimately reflected in your company’s bottom line.
It’s time to stop sending communications to stores through obsolete channels and start communicating directly with your people. Bringing a brand to life means aligning the people who make up an organization, from HQ to the storefront. Since employee happiness drives better store engagement, Zipline prioritizes people-first communication that promotes engagement throughout your team.
Retail Employee Engagement Reduces Turnover
Keeping employees motivated and engaged is a top priority in any organization, but it’s especially important in retail, where turnover exceeds 60% (compared to 15% across the rest of the US!). This high turnover rate results in a huge loss in productivity and staggeringly high costs in recruiting, hiring, and training new workers. This disruption does more than hurt your business’ financials, it also impacts your customers’ shopping experiences.
If low employee turnover isn’t one of your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that you use to measure the success of your stores, it should be! Implementing tools for employee engagement and retention will not only increase customer satisfaction and boost sales, but will lower the time and money you invest in recruiting, training, and monitoring employee performance.
It is crucial to equip your employees with proper training, tools, and information to ensure they deliver excellent customer service, all the time. By implementing easy-to-use technology that tracks performance, engagement, and streamlines communication you can keep your employees happier and lower turnover.
Engaged Employees Reduce Shrinkage and Protect Margins
Inventory shrinkage is a costly challenge to store profitability, yet one of the most overlooked engaged employee benefits is loss prevention. When store teams are disengaged or overburdened, vigilance slips, stockroom procedures break down, and shelf maintenance falters. This creates an environment vulnerable to theft and administrative error.
Retail research consistently proves that frontline culture is your first line of defense. According to Gallup’s global workplace meta-analysis, businesses with high employee engagement experience 28% less shrinkage alongside 63% fewer safety incidents.
Engaged retail associates take an enhanced interest in their store environment. They deliver proactive customer service that deters shoplifting, closely follow inventory auditing SOPs, and identify damaged stock before it erodes margins. Investing in retail employee engagement doesn’t just build morale; it provides the operational discipline required to protect bottom-line revenue.
An Engaged Workforce is a Healthy Workforce
Especially after a year of business amidst a panic, the retail industry is investing more than ever in people, the most important asset that you have in your stores. Investing in employee engagement means better store results, and the key lies in communication. Communication is critical, and the right communication impacts every level of your retail organization.
What’s more, is that we’ve had to learn the best way to communicate with our employees during a crisis. In order to keep your employees and customers safe and healthy as the world slowly reopens, it’s important to provide a single source of truth to your workforce.
Beyond keeping satisfied employees to maintain a successful business, your HQ has to listen to the front lines. Engaged employee benefits extend to developing a better understanding of customer sentiment, so create a two-way feedback loop with your team members.
Zipline users collect feedback frequently with short surveys and groups, but the communication doesn’t end there. Once your leadership team considers employee opinions and manager input, it is important to circle back to their teams about how their insights have changed the course of the company or impacted business decisions.
Prioritize Employees’ Happiness Today
It’s no secret that the key to happy customers is happy employees. The data shows us time and time again that engaged employees boost shopper loyalty and customer satisfaction, resulting in increased store execution and company sales.
Zipline was built to solve the unique challenges of communication in retail organizations. The good news is that we’ve been in your shoes and we understand what it takes to start reaping the range of engaged employee benefits. Reach out to learn more about how you can stop communicating with your stores and start communicating with your people today.
