Staffing 1

Staffing a retail store begins with determining your needs. Do you even need to hire anyone? If so, what do you want that person to do? What "kind" of person do you want? Are you needing sales, operations, merchandising, or a general do-it-all kind of person? There are many options, just like picking out a car, so it pays to be sure of what you want before shopping applicants or you might end up with someone you can't use or don't want.

When I look around the store and think about what positions I want to hire for, it is easy to say, "Oh, I need another salesman" or "I need a cashier" or "I need a stocker." But I cannot afford to be that simplistic. The general purpose employee is becoming more and more valuable as the payroll belt tightens in a decidedly Darwinian economy. When I refer to someone as 'general purpose' that is not saying they are incapable of excelling at a specific area of retail, but rather they are at least moderately capable of functioning at an acceptable level in all areas.

In years past I would look at an applicant's prior history or their strength in a particular area as an indicator of whether or not they would be a good hire. But I have learned that there is a lot of truth to the axiom, "Hire attitude, train skill." Someone with a great attitude that is teachable is far more valuable than a terrific salesman with a poor attitude. Who wants to be around someone complaining or selfish or hateful 40 or 50 hours a week? Dan Bobinski wrote an excellent piece detailing the thinking behind hiring based on attitude.

So I begin by deciding what areas of the store need help. Then I decide the type of person who could provide that help, based on previous jobs, skills, education, and most importantly attitude. Although this person's strengths lie within the areas I need, they must be capable of working in every area of the store.

But where does this leave me when I say, "Hire attitude, train skill."? Well, when it comes down to it attitude trumps all skill. Regardless of an individual's strengths, skills, accomplishments, or awards if their attitude is poor so are their chances of being hired at my store.