Retailers Continue to Struggle With Workforce Issues

Fresh data from WorkJam shows ongoing workforce shortages across a broad swath of retail and service-related business segments. The research also found that businesses are overwhelmingly open to using technology to help address workforce issues but can’t commit to making needed investments.

The research revealed that 74 percent of executives polled say frontline employees “are rejecting work conditions that went unchallenged just two years ago,” while 80 percent of respondents say frontline turnover has increased, “challenging companies to maintain standards and deliver a positive customer experience,” the report’s authors said.

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The study was commissioned by WorkJam and conducted by Forrester Consulting. It revealed that 63 percent of retail companies polled “are currently operating with a frontline employee deficit, but only 8 percent of them plan to invest in improving the frontline experience in the next 12 months to help address their labor shortages.”

The study showed that 80 percent of decisionmakers across industries and geographies said they “want to leverage technology to improve the frontline experience but struggle with prioritizing digital investments.” Seventy-one percent of respondents said they worry that investment in technology that improves processes and efficiency “takes precedence over tech that ultimately creates a better frontline employee experience.”

Steven Kramer, chief executive officer of WorkJam, said prioritizing the frontline employee experience “is key to achieving business goals, including growing revenue, engaging and retaining associates, increasing efficiency and ultimately delivering an excellent customer experience.”

Kramer said the survey shows that business decisionmakers across retail and many other industries “want to improve the frontline experience through digital innovation — and understand that doing so is key to their overall business success — but are struggling to prioritize investments in technology that empowers frontline workers and makes their daily work lives significantly better.”