Improved Productivity can Limit Living Wage Effects plus Improve Profitability
With the forthcoming implementation of the living wage, many retailers are assessing the impact on their profitability. Without cutting staff numbers or benefits, with the resulting effect on morale and customer service, store management software that optimises staff time and tasks, can increase productivity and profitability.
In a recent article in Retail Week, Dan Murphy of Kurt Salmon, retail consultants, explained that cutting staff numbers, in an era when greater customer service is demanded, is the wrong strategy. Better to improve productivity.
In particular, he recommended three practical ways to improve. Coincidentally, these are all aspects of our store management software:
- Ensure each store has the right number of staff as often staff are in the wrong stores, the wrong departments and at the wrong time of day.
- Ensure store tasks are carried out consistently, remove the variance between best operations and average / poor stores.
- Ensure staff are doing the right things, typically 6 to 10% of staff store hours are wasted in non-productive tasks.
The Rapid Answers system addresses exactly these points via a combination of staff rotas and reporting, tasks lists for completion by store management and by improved communication and control between head office and the outlets.