[October 24, 2018] |
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Global Retailers Say Unplanned Absence Wreaks Havoc on Store Operations
According to a survey of 800 retail managers across multiple countries
conducted by The
Workforce Institute at Kronos
Incorporated, for every 10 hours of in-store labor budgeted, more
than one hour is wasted due to staffing misalignment caused by unplanned
employee absence.1 Absenteeism drives understaffing worldwide
and poses significant workforce management challenges for retail
organizations, with many citing a significant impact on productivity,
labor costs, store revenue, and customer satisfaction.
The Global Retail Absence survey, conducted with Coleman Parkes
Research, analyzes the responses of retail managers across Australia,
Canada, France, Germany, the U.K., and the U.S. to examine the broad
impact of absenteeism on retail organizations with more than 1,000
employees. The survey exposes the corrosive effects that unplanned
absences have on store operations, which, according to more than half of
retail managers worldwide (52 percent), is one of their organization's
most difficult, complex, and time-consuming issues.
Survey News Facts
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Retailers are understaffed 25 percent of the time due to
last-minute absenteeism.
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Faced with a 7 percent average rate of unplanned absence (i.e.
shifts are scheduled but unexpectedly not worked), retailers in
the U.K. (74 percent), Canada (72 percent), France (71 percent),
Germany (69 percent), Australia (64 percent), and the U.S. (61
percent) are understaffed more than 25 percent of the time.
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Retailers in the U.K. (44 percent) and the U.S. (41 percent) are
hit hardest by absenteeism on the weekends, while in Germany (33
percent) the highest rate of absence typically occurs on Mondays.
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For the most part, retailers are given just one to three hours'
notice when an employee is not going to show up for work. These
numbers are highest in the U.K. (53 percent), the U.S. (49
percent), and Canada (40 percent). The impact of filling these
shifts on short notice means that one in four retailers (26
percent) are working with staff that have the wrong skills at
least half the time.
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The top three operational downfalls of absenteeism cited by
retailers worldwide are staff productivity (58 percent), customer
satisfaction (47 percent), and store revenue (42 percent).
Findings additionally show absenteeism has an above-average impact
on staff productivity in the U.S., (69 percent), customer
satisfaction in Canada (52 percent), and store revenue in France
(55 percent).
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Filling vacant shifts on the fly is stressful for managers and
disruptive to a retailer's bottom line.
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An average 6 percent of labor hours each month are worked to cover
issues such as unplanned absence but have not been formally
scheduled. This causes unnecessary stress for more than half of
U.S. retailers (57 percent) as well as store managers in Germany
(44 percent), Australia (41 percent), France (39 percent), Canada
(38 percent), and the U.K. (33 percent).
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Nearly half of retailers worldwide (48 percent) find it
challenging to deal with administrative issues resulting from
associates working additional shifts and/or incurring overtime to
cover unplanned absence, and 42 percent feel a big impact on labor
costs.
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Despite best efforts, retailers struggle to schedule for low- and
peak-demand.
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The perpetual issue and corrosive effects of absenteeism have led
the vast majority of retail organizations (88 percent) to
proactively over-schedule additional labor each day to cover for
anticipated absences. This is most common in France (95 percent),
the U.S. (89 percent), and Germany (88 percent).
-
Retailers regularly find themselves with either too few or too
many associates during periods of low- and peak-demand, and some
admit to being understaffed (31 percent) or overstaffed (22
percent) at least half the time.
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More than half of retailers worldwide (56 percent) say it is a
challenge to build work schedules that meet customer, business,
and employee demands. This is the most common workforce management
challenge for retail mangers across the U.S. (69 percent), Canada
(64 percent), France (60 percent), Australia (58 percent), and
Germany (55 percent).
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Despite the fact that most retailers worldwide say work schedules
are posted between one and two weeks in advance, retail managers
admit that 86 percent of schedules are amended to some degree
after they are published.
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Retail managers are hungry for technology to solve staffing issues.
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Only 55 percent of retailers worldwide have technology in place to
manage unplanned absences, with both the U.K. (41 percent) and
Canad (38 percent) reporting below-average use. In comparison, 76
percent of global respondents have an automated solution to manage
time and attendance, and 73 percent use technology to manage
planned absences, such as time-off requests.
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Three out of five (59 percent) retailers say scheduling technology
has a positive impact on productivity within their teams, with
store managers in Canada the most bullish about technology at 76
percent.
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Retail managers are confident that effective absence management
technology can help reduce absenteeism: globally, retailers
anticipate an 18 percent decrease in unapproved absence rates
after implementing a new absence and shift-swapping solution, with
France expecting the best return on investment, anticipating a 23
percent decrease.
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Quantifying the benefits of absence management, retailers
additionally expect a new absence and shift-swapping solution to
reduce labor costs by nearly 3 percent. In the U.S., one in 10
retail managers estimate the cost reduction could be as high as 5
percent.
Supporting Quotes
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Joyce Maroney, executive director, The Workforce Institute at Kronos (News - Alert)
"Business
performance has always been tightly aligned with how well you are able
to stick to a plan. The corrosive effects of absenteeism can swiftly
knock retailers' plans off course and erode performance potential. How
you minimize and manage absence is critical to staying on target, and
it starts with understanding employee preferences, considering their
availability, and making it easy for them to modify their schedule or
swap a shift as needed. After all, employees who work schedules built
around their preferred hours and availability and who are empowered by
self-service workforce management technology will be happier, have
fewer instances of absence, be more productive, and have a longer
tenure."
Supporting Resources
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Note to editors: Please refer to this research as The Global Retail
Absence survey by The Workforce Institute at Kronos Incorporated.
-
Download the white paper, Absence
Management: The Last Easy Money for Retailers, which examines how
effective absence management and workforce planning can foster
financial gain.
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At KronosWorks,
the world's leading workforce information exchange, join us Tuesday,
November 6 for an on-stage
session analyzing the results of the Global Retail Absence Survey.
-
Check out Kronos CEO Aron Ain's book, "WorkInspired:
How to Build an Organization Where Everyone Loves to Work."
-
Connect with Kronos via Facebook,
Twitter,
LinkedIn,
Instagram,
and YouTube.
-
Subscribe
to follow The
Workforce Institute at Kronos for insight, research, blogs, and
podcasts on how organizations can manage today's modern workforce to
drive engagement and performance.
-
Learn about the Kronos
WorkInspired culture and check out Kronos
job openings.
About The Workforce Institute at Kronos The Workforce
Institute at Kronos provides research and education on critical
workplace issues facing organizations around the globe. By bringing
together thought leaders, The Workforce Institute at Kronos is uniquely
positioned to empower organizations with the knowledge and information
they need to manage their workforce effectively and provide a voice for
employees on important workplace issues. A hallmark of The Workforce
Institute's research is balancing the needs and desires of diverse
employee populations with the needs of organizations. For additional
information, visit www.workforceinstitute.org.
About Kronos Incorporated Kronos is a leading provider of
workforce management and human capital management cloud solutions.
Kronos industry-centric workforce applications are purpose-built for
businesses, healthcare providers, educational institutions, and
government agencies of all sizes. Tens of thousands of organizations -
including half of the Fortune 1000® - and more than 40
million people in over 100 countries use Kronos every day. Visit www.kronos.com.
Kronos: Workforce Innovation That Works.
Footnote 1: The survey reveals that 7 percent of labor hours are
scheduled but not worked, and 6 percent of labor hours are worked but
not scheduled. In total, 13 percent of labor hours are not deployed as
planned, which translates to more than 1 out of 10 hours being "wasted."
Survey Methodology Research conducted on behalf of Kronos
Incorporated by Coleman Parkes Research, an independent U.K.-based
research company. Survey data was collected between June and July 2018
from 800 respondents using an online quantitative methodology. Survey
participants were sourced from multiple global markets, including
Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the U.K., and the U.S., and
represent a variety of retail sectors, including grocery, department
stores, warehouse, specialty, convenience, and discount. Survey
participants included retail managers, store managers, and head of store
operations from retail organizations with more than 1,000 employees. For
further questions about survey methodology, contact [email protected].
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logo are registered trademarks and Workforce Innovation That Works is a
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