Workforce Management

President-elect Donald Trump will name Andy Puzder, CEO of CKE Restaurants, as labor secretary, according to several media reports.   Puzder, whose company operates the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s burger retail chains, has argued against raising the minimum wage to more than $9 per hour. He also has been an advocate of cutting back or eliminating regulations he claims have been a detriment to the restaurant industry and has been critical of the Affordable Care Act.  

In a move that is likely to help it attract new talent — and hold on to existing employees — Ikea U.S. has announced one of the most generous and inclusive parental leave programs in the U.S. retail industry.    Effective Jan. 1, Ikea will provide all its 13,000 U.S. salaried and hourly employees who are expanding their families — including mothers, fathers and adoptive and foster parents — with up to four months of paid parental leave.  

Clearly, Cyber Week’s promotions helped to produce record-breaking sales — but discounts alone won’t drive success this holiday season.   Let’s face it — even the best deals won’t matter if a retailer doesn’t have those highly-coveted Hatchimals or wireless Dr. Dre Beats in-stock and ready to be shipped in record-time. This battle will be won with a focused staff that is trained and ready to handle an onslaught of incoming orders; respond to customer questions and efficiently fulfill orders.

It’s not easy for a family-owned company to phase out its homegrown systems in favor of automation.    Cavender’s Boot City has not only taken this bold step, but it’s  upping the ante even further as it transitions its workforce management (WFM) platform to the cloud.   Cavender’s is a 90-year-old western specialty retailer that continues to grow — even while it maintained homegrown IT systems, including a legacy-based WFM operations.   

This holiday season shoppers will see many new high-tech and digital advancements in stores, from self-service kiosks and free Wi-Fi to mobile pay and retail apps. In the coming years, shoppers may even find robots helping them face-to-face.  

More than half (56%) of retailers plan to comply with the planned Fair Standards Labor Act (FLSA) overtime rule for exempt employees on Dec. 1, the date it was to go into effect, despite a Nov. 22 injunction that puts the plan on hold.   That is among the findings of a spot survey of U.S. retailers by the Hay Group division of Korn Ferry.    

Sheetz is moving forward as planned to implement the changes outlined in the new overtime rule.        

If you’re concerned about employee engagement and reducing your staff turn-over numbers, you’re not alone. Fortunately, there’s a startup offering solutions to meet your workers engagement goals and encourage your associates to stay onboard and thrive with your team. Other companies in the spotlight this month are innovating around point-of-purchase mobile marketing, using in-store scents to stand out, real-time store promotional display monitoring and creating meaningful and memorable customer experiences.