How Retail Recruitment Has Changed

Over the years, retail has changed drastically and the way people find staff has also evolved. Up until the late 60s, retail was the same as it had been for many previous decades.

The UK had hundreds of thousands of small family run shops. Many of them serviced their local communities. In cities, the vast majority drew their customers from just a few streets. Most people had no form of transport, so bought most of what they needed from shops that were within walking distance of their homes.

As transport improved people became more mobile. Where they worked changed, and how they shopped began to evolve too. People took the bus into town and bought everything they needed there, or shopped on their way home from work. Shops in town got bigger in an effort to offer more choice, attract more customers and smaller shops closed. These bigger shops could no longer be run exclusively by family members, so they began recruiting from outside. At first, much of the recruitment was done by word of mouth. People went from shop to shop looking for work or were told about jobs by friends and relatives. However, as shops got bigger they needed more staff and relying on word of mouth was no longer a fast enough way of recruiting. As a result, they began to advertise roles in newspapers. Over the years, retailer magazines began to be published and many firms advertised key or high skill roles in these publications.

Modern Retail Recruitment

Today, word of mouth and advertising in newspapers and the trade press are still used by some retailers. However, the vast majority of retailers now use the web to find the majority of the people they need.

Over 80% of people in the UK go online when they need a job. Retailers have realised this, so now mainly advertise on the web. This approach allows them to post their roles quickly and ensures that they get plenty of applicants for each role. Most retailers find that posting their retail jobs on the websites of recruitment agencies that specialise in retail, is the fastest way to find the people they need.

Offering a range of services, retail recruitment at RetailChoice.com can help you to find the people you need at a great price.