How To Find The Right Employees For Your Retail Store | Silverman Consulting & Retail Services

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Great employees are the key to retail success.

But are you having a hard time finding and retaining the right employees for your store?

If so, you’ve come to the right place.

Here at Silverman Consulting and Retail Services, we’re a team of retail business sale consultants.

Our focus is on helping retail store owners with their exit strategy.

This includes managed store closing sales, store relocation sales, retail retirement sales, and more.

We’ll work to liquidate your assets, so you can move on to the next phase of your life in the best financial position.

But if you’re not quite there yet and are looking to make your retail store more successful, we can help with that too.

In this article, we’re looking at employees.

What To Look For In Potential Employees

We’ve written a lot about employees on this blog before, and with good reason.

Whether you’re closing your business or not, employees are one of your most powerful assets.

So far, we’ve looked at:

But what we’ve not covered is how to find the right employees in the first place.

Looking for certain qualities can help ensure your employees align with your business model and help grow your retail store.

Let’s take a closer look at some specific things to look for in potential employees.

1. Look For Knowledge About Your Niche

Your employees are a reflection of your store and brand.

Looking for employees who have knowledge about your specific brand or niche can help make your store more successful.

One aspect of this is that they can provide excellent customer service with in depth product knowledge.

If you own an athletic goods store, for example, it’s a good idea to hire people who play sports themselves.

Similarly, book shops benefit from employees who are avid readers.

Knowledgeable and passionate employees are also more motivated and dedicated to advancing in their careers.

So aside from looking for the right technical skills, it’s also important to look for an employee that aligns with your store’s culture and products.

2. Look For The Right Soft Skills

Many of the soft skills you need to be a good retail store owner are the same skills you’ll need in your employees.

Soft skills are personality traits and aptitudes that go beyond technical skills that impact your business.

Soft skills are important when it comes to making your business operations more efficient and fostering a healthy work culture.

Here are a few soft skills to look for in potential employees for your retail store:

Customer service
Teamwork
Leadership
Multitasking
Organization
Communication
Financial management
Time management
Problem solving
Conflict resolution

Identifying the right soft skills in potential employees can help you manage, operate, and grow your store more efficiently.

3. Above All, Look For The Right Attitude

We’ve talked about looking for the right skills in a potential employee, but them having the right attitude is also essential.

Positive attitudes and friendly personalities go a long way in the retail industry.

Not only does it create a healthier work environment, but it helps strengthen your retail branding and impress customers with great customer service.

But having the right attitude isn’t just about being positive and easy going while talking with customers.

It also relates to things like:

Being able to communicate well
Managing tasks efficiently
Working well within a team
Being receptive to feedback
Being willing to learn
Being able to handle stressful situations
Making colleagues and customers feel comfortable

It’s important to find someone who has the skills necessary to contribute to your business, but also supports and gets along with the rest of the team and your customers.

Sample Questions To Ask In A Retail Job Interview

So you’ve identified some potential employees with the right work experience and technical skills to work at your store.

The next step is to call them in for an interview.

But what do you ask?

Asking the right type of questions in an interview can highlight a candidate’s qualities.

The right questions can also help you get a better understanding of whether they’re a good fit for your store.

Let’s take a look at some sample questions to ask in a retail job interview to help you find the right employee.

1. “What Can You Tell Me About My Store?”

Asking a potential employee to tell you what they know about your business can provide you valuable insight.

You should already know that the person you’re interviewing has enough retail experience to work in your store.

Asking them to tell you about your specific business can help you determine whether they have any misconceptions about you.

It can also help you get to know any specific brand knowledge they have, or if they’ve taken the time to do some research.

Giving you a detailed response shows that they like what your store represents and are motivated to be a part of it and contribute to its success.

2. “What’s Your Style When It Comes To Working With A Team?”

This question can help give you an idea of how a potential employee will mesh with your existing retail team.

It can also tell you about their ability to take on a leadership, collaborative, or follower role based on what your business needs in particular situations.

Additionally, the way someone works with a team can be an indication of their level of professionalism.

It can help you assess if they’ll help support team members, step in to resolve issues, and contribute to a healthy work culture.

3. “What Does Good Customer Service Mean To You?”

Customer service isn’t just about being polite and doing the bare minimum.

This question allows you to assess a potential hire’s personality, motivation, and problem solving skills.

Good customer service is about good communication and taking initiative to ensure customer satisfaction.

This question also demonstrates if an employee would put your customers’ and store’s needs first.

4. “Can You Tell Me About A Time Where You Dealt With An Unhappy Customer?”

This question can give an indication of how a potential employee will fit into your work environment and business model.

While you may have policies that outline strategies for customer issues and conflict resolution, this question helps you see how an employee would react in stressful situations.

It demonstrates their ability to communicate to resolve issues and how they use their customer service skills.

The way they describe their previous experience showcases the level of patience they have and their problem solving ability.

It also tells you about how they view your business and your customers and if they’ll strive to maintain your standards and reputation.

5. “What Are Your Goals?”

Lastly, asking about what goals potential hires have working in your retail store will give an idea of how they’ll fit into your business.

An ambitious and motivated employee can be trained and mentored to advance within your business and promote its success.

Finding people who are aligned with your business goals can provide a valuable resource towards growing it.

The skills they possess and want to learn from this experience can be used to further grow their proficiency and your business, with their collaboration.

Contact Silverman Consulting And Retail Services Today

Having the right employees can help you grow your business and operate your store more efficiently.

However, if you’re thinking of closing down your retail store and moving on to your next venture, we can help with that too.

At Silverman Consulting and Retail Services, we’ll work with you to help liquidate your assets and manage your store closing sale to the best possible outcome.

Contact Silverman Consulting And Retail Services today.

Silverman Consulting & Retail Services
229 Yonge St suite 400,
Toronto, ON M5B 1N9, Canada
1 (888) 955-1069