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61% of Leading Global Retailers Trust Their Frontline Workers with Mobile Technology While They Are Working - And the Results Are InStudy reveals clear variation in business performance for retailers who have implemented modern workforce management (WFM) technologies - retail "winners" with advanced WFM solutions boosted employee engagement, satisfaction, and performance at every level LIVONIA, Mich., July 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the first global provider of integrated employee experience and workforce management solutions, WorkForce Software, published the results of global retail workforce management study with Retail Systems Research (RSR), which revealed that giving frontline deskless workers access to modern workforce management technology leveraging mobile devices frees up their managers' time and allows employees to have real-time access to smart business communications, KPIs, sales trends, and goals so they can have an immediate impact to the daily business – exactly where their work is happening – on the sales floor servicing customers. "Mobile" is the underlying theme for technology enablers when it comes to the deskless retail workforce. With the unfortunate exception of average and under-performers' failure to roll out "mobile devices to free up managers' time," empowering employees with the same mobile technology that consumers use is clearly the way forward. While 48% percent of "Winners" rate that capability "high value," 61% report that the technology is installed and delivering value. While such a finding might be a notable anomaly, the data-inside-the-data shows that it is once again the largest retailers that are driving adoption (70% compared to 41% overall). The retail industry's technology enablers are leading the pack on pinpointing the benefits of mobile technologies for their deskless workforces around the world and improving the overall employee experience.
"Many senior executives tout that 'our most valuable assets are our employees,' and the time is now to back that up by investing in modern workforce management mobile technologies for frontline retail workers," said Brian Kilcourse, Managing Partner, RSR. "Many global retailers are blazing a trail by empowering their frontline deskless workers with powerful WFM technologies. Their employees are reporting a better work experience, feeling more engaged and heard at work, and through mobile technology, they can have the time and autonomy to meet their retail customers on the salesfloor and thoughtfully interact with them, creating meaningful sales connections for their brand." With retail habits changing, a process accelerated by the impacts of the pandemic, the current "Winners" in retail are prepared to overachieve once more. The research showed that retail "Winners" have a more favorable view of employee management tools, such as employee performance dashboards, task management, KPIs and alerts, and onboarding systems. Retailers with WFM technology can lean into the unprecedented changes in the retail industry, and quickly equip their workforce to meet fluctuating customer demands. Those that do not empower their deskless workforce with critical and necessary mobile technology and smart communications, risk being left behind with below-target sales figures and losses incurred from a lackluster customer experience. "Retail is often our canary in the coal mine, forcing them to be early adopters of leading technologies with a do-or-die business mantra. Other industry leaders should look to these retail 'Winners' that are building organizations of the future – those that are empowering their employees, retaining their staff, and building a loyal customer base – all orchestrated by a powerful modern workforce management solution," said Sandra Moran, Chief Marketing Officer of WorkForce Software. "Learn from the insights of retail 'Winners' in this research report, invest in your frontline deskless workforce, who are the most important asset in your business. This research demonstrates there are clear performance variations between winners who leverage WFM technologies and improve their employees' experience, and those that have not." Webinar Join WorkForce Software and RSR for a live webinar on August 10, 2022, at 11:00 AM EDT and 4:00 PM BST titled, "The Modern-Day Retail Associate: Passionate, Informed, Engaged." Register here for the free US and EMEA webinar and here for the free Australia webinar. Methodology For this research, conducted online by Retail Systems Research ('RSR') in the spring of 2022, senior figures within the retail industry were targeted, with answers coming from 82 retail executives. *In RSR benchmark reports, RSR frequently cites the differences between over-performers in year over-year comparable sales and their competitors. RSR finds that consistent sales performance is an outcome of a differentiating set of thought processes, strategies, and tactics. They call comparable sales over-performers "Retail Winners." RSR's definition of these Winners is, assuming industry average comparable store/channel sales growth of 7 percent, they define those with sales above this hurdle as "Winners," those at this sales growth rate as "average," and those below this sales growth rate as "underperformers," or "all others." About RSR Research Retail Systems Research ("RSR") is the only research company run by retailers for the retail industry. RSR provides insight into business and technology challenges facing the extended retail industry, providing thought leadership and advice on navigating these challenges for specific companies and the industry at large. To learn more about RSR, visit http://www.rsrresearch.com. About WorkForce Software WorkForce Software is the first global provider of workforce management solutions with integrated employee experience capabilities. The company's WorkForce Suite adapts to each organization's needs—no matter how unique their pay rules, labor regulations, and schedules—while delivering a breakthrough employee experience at the time and place work happens. Enterprise-grade and future-ready, WorkForce Software is helping some of the world's most innovative organizations optimize their workforce, protect against compliance risks, and increase employee engagement to unlock new potential for resiliency and optimal performance. When your employees include deskless or hourly workers, unionized, full-time, part-time, or seasonal, WorkForce Software makes managing your global workforce easy, less costly, and more rewarding for everyone. For more information, please visit www.workforcesoftware.com.
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