Employee Experience Software for Retail: What to Look For

Employee experience (EX) is critical for every business, regardless of industry. If employees are dissatisfied or overwhelmed with work, turnover will be high, and service will suffer.

Unfortunately, due to the inherently demanding nature of its work, the retail industry is no stranger to employee experience issues. Retail's average turnover rate is a staggering 60%, which equates to over 230 million days of lost productivity and $19 billion in recruiting, hiring, and training costs (not to mention the secondary costs of poor execution that are sure to result from a chronically overloaded team). Many organizations are turning to dedicated employee experience software for help, but we're going to examine the issue through a different lens. 

Due to the complicated and fast-paced nature of store work, most store and field teams rely on retail execution software throughout the day to get work done. While retail execution tech is not typically thought of as employee experience software, we believe it should be. If the tools you relied on day in and day out were cumbersome and frustrating to use, would you enjoy working? 

The bottom line is that retail execution software has a huge effect on employee experience. It may not be the reason someone chooses to work for you, but it can be the reason why they leave. 

So, without further ado, let's look at some of the most important things that every good employee experience software has—through the lens of retail execution.

What to Look for in Employee Experience Software (for Retail WOrk)

1) A Great User Interface

First things first: In this technological day and age, software must be intuitive and enjoyable to use. 

Younger generations have high standards for mobile apps, whether at home or at work. If your retail execution software is complicated to use, you're going to have a hard time retaining talent. 

Look for mobile-first software with a modern and familiar user interface. 

2) Easily Integratable 

For employee experience software to be effective, it should enhance your employees' work experience, not stand in their way.

Jumping from app to app is frustrating and time-consuming, so look for technology that integrates seamlessly with existing systems like:

• Human resources information (HRIS)
• Point-of-service system (POS)
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Also, consider how the technology will work with your current processes. This will ease implementation and onboarding for you and your team.

3) Robust Capabilities 

Nothing is more frustrating than not having the right tools for the job.

If you think of employee experience software in the context of retail execution, there are numerous capabilities you should look for, such as:

• Mobile Tasking - the ability to create, manage, and complete tasks right on the store floor through your mobile device 
  
• Smart Scheduling - empowers team leaders to efficiently manage part-time and full-time shifts based on employee availability, hour limits, store demand, store proximity, and other key factors
  
• At-Shelf Ordering - allows frontline teams to flag and/or resolve low or empty stock immediately for quicker replenishment and better on-shelf availability 
• Integrated Communications - instead of requiring that employees jump to another app or, worse, use email and text to communicate about work, look for a solution that combines an intuitive, modern comms module into a unified interface
  

4) Retail-Focused

Retail work is unlike anything else. 

Using generic solutions that don't take into account the specific needs of in-store work is a recipe for poor employee experience. 

It may be tempting to use big-name software for planning, coordinating, executing, and monitoring retail work, but a best-of-breed solution will set you and your team up for sustainable success. 

Look for a software with a long track record of empowering store and field teams. 

5) Amazing Support

Great software is only half the equation. 

Look for a software company that provides around-the-clock, human support for its users. Retail work can be challenging, but a great support team can make all the difference. 

Movista: Retail Execution Software Built for Great Employee Experience

Movista has been empowering store and field teams with best-of-breed retail execution technology for over ten years. We take employee experience as seriously as you do:

• Our mobile app, Amp by Movista, offers a sleek and intuitive user experience designed specifically for retail work
• Our solution unifies all the capabilities you need into one powerful interface
• All our customers have around-the-clock access to our knowledgeable support team

Want to learn more about how Movista can improve your organization's employee experience efforts? Contact us today for a consultation with one of our retail experts.