Retail doesn’t have a talent shortage, it has an employee experience problem.
Since I knew stick on earrings were an option for myself, I have ben obsessed with fashion. Shopping, styling, thrifting. I love it all. because of that, I've spent most of my career in retail. I've been the employee working nights, weekends, and holidays. I've been the store leader trying to motivate a team through a busy Saturday. I've been the executive looking at payroll budgets, turnover reports, and hiring challenges.
And over the years, I've heard the same concern again and again: "We can't find good people." Lately, I am not so sure that is true. From an employee perspective, I feel like the industry is broken. I love retail. I truly do.
Retail taught me how to sell, lead, communicate, and build relationships. It gave me opportunities I never could have imagined and introduced me to some of the most talented people I've ever worked with. But loving an industry doesn't mean ignoring its challenges.
Today's retail employees are often expected to:
Work nights, weekends, and holidays
Spend eight or more hours on their feet
Handle increasingly demanding customer interactions
Adapt to changing priorities at a moment's notice
Meet aggressive sales goals
Deliver exceptional customer experiences
Perform all of the above with limited staffing
And in many cases, they're doing it for compensation that doesn't match the expectations placed upon them. Then we act surprised when turnover is high.
People Haven't Changed. Their Options Have.
For years, retail was one of the most accessible pathways to build a career without a traditional corporate background. In many ways, it still is, but today's workforce has more choices than ever before: remote work, hybrid work, flexible schedules, gig opportunities and entrepreneurship to name a few.
If someone can earn similar pay without working every weekend, missing holidays, or standing on a sales floor all day, it's not difficult to understand why they might choose a different path. That doesn't make them lazy, it makes them rational.
The Customer Experience Can't Come at the Expense of the Employee Experience
Retail leaders spend an incredible amount of time talking about customer experience- as they should!
Customer experience matters, but somewhere along the way, many organizations forgot that employee experience and customer experience are directly connected.
Employees who feel supported create better experiences.
Employees who feel valued stay longer.
Employees who see a future with a company invest more of themselves in their work.
The brands delivering the best customer experiences are often the brands creating the best employee experiences behind the scenes.
This Isn't About Blaming Employers
I don't believe business owners are the problem. Many are navigating rising costs, shrinking margins, inventory challenges, and economic uncertainty. I understand the pressure, but I also believe the industry has reached a point where we need to rethink how we attract, develop, and retain talent.
Not because it's the right thing to do- because it's becoming a business necessity.
The Opportunity Ahead
I don't think retail is dying. I don't think people are unwilling to work, and I certainly don't think talented employees have disappeared.
I think the industry is being challenged to evolve.
The businesses that recognize this first will have a significant advantage because while products can be copied and prices can be matched, great people remain one of the most valuable competitive advantages a business can have.
The question isn't whether great talent still exists, the question is whether we're creating an environment where they want to stay.