Skills Inventory And Email Response

Skills required for retail employees

Name of Student

In retail, employees sell their skills but there are different abilities in different people so it is important that the employees have a skill set that matches the business needs. These skills must be transferable so that the employees can train other employees as well. Following are the important skills which should be found in retail employees.

Dependability

The major skill or trait that a retail employee requires is to be punctual and regular in the job. Most HR employees say that most workers are laid off their jobs because of lack of punctuality and regularity. Employees have to deal directly with the customers in this business and their absence will mean that there will be a smaller number of employees who to cater the needs of customers. The main idea is that if you do not show up in the premises, failure will be yours fate. There is an important role to be played by the agencies providing the skills training to employees of retailers CITATION Gre16 \l 1033 (Greenberg 2016)

Communication skills

This is also an important aspect for all the retail employees because a major part of their job is related to communicating to either their customers or their coworkers. Special attention has to be paid to communication towards customers because they are the source of revenue for the business. Another important aspect related to the employee is that they should be personable towards others or in other words, they should have a pleasant appearance and manner in which they treat others. Effective communication is concise so that the customer or other person does not get bored out of the communication. Enough information has to be gathered by these employees regarding customer needs and wants so that they can communicate with them effectively CITATION Ric16 \l 1033 (Kazis and Molina 2016).

Self-Motivation

Self -motivation is an important skill for the employees working in retail industry because a self- motivated employee will go beyond his or her domain to serve the customers. The employers will also play an important role in motivating the employees by offering them better incentives and packages. Motivation will also come by appreciation from employers in terms of promotion and increments. The self-motivation will also help employers retain their employees for a longer period of time.

Business Awareness

This is an important skill for the employees to have because they have to communicate to a large number of stakeholders regarding the situation of business. This includes the internal as well as external environment information related to the business. The companies can also play an important role in developing such skills in their employees. Trainings should focus on changes which have been taking place in the internal as well as external environments related to the business. This will help the employees to take adequate actions in any given situation so that the customers do not have to suffer in any situation. Business awareness is also important for employees because they will know the amount of effort that has to be put in their job or in other words, they have to be very careful regarding their job during recession period because a small mistake by the employees may result in their laying off.

Information Technology

The employees in retail industry must develop skills related to the usage of information technology because a large number of retailers are diverting their resources towards online retailing services. These skills will be the most complicated among all the skill requirements for retailers because the required skills change very quickly over a period of time. Another aspect is that the employees from all other retailers have achieved the required skills in this field which means that there is a very high level of competition. Traditionally these skills were considered important for the employees who worked in the relevant department but now almost all retail employees have to master these skills. Employees who manage store inventories are also required to have these skills so that there is no shortage on the stores CITATION SHR19 \l 1033 (SHRM 2019).

As far as complexity level is concerned, Information technology and communication skills are considered to be the most complicated. Although communication skills seem to be simple in nature but they have to be altered a little for all the customers to whom employees communicate. Similarly, skills related to information technology vary from situation to situation faced by the employees.

Reply to the email

I have studied the problem and the ways in which other companies are addressing the skills. The most important skills relate to information technology and communication because these two relate directly to the customers of this modern era. Other companies are continuously training their employees to make sure that they have the adequate skills to satisfy customers and work with online retailing. The data is gathered on a continuous basis so that it is analyzed to bring in adequate changes. This needs the employees to develop skills required for appropriate data analysis and interpretation. Business awareness skills are also much complex because they involve gathering information from a large number of stakeholders and then acting accordingly. The retailers who react to these changes in the shortest time are the market leaders. This requires the employees to be very responsive to the information disseminated by their colleagues and bosses. Interpreting this information in a timely manner is a must for retailers to succeed. It is the duty of retailers that they provide adequate training to their employees so that their skills are properly developed according to the latest needs.

Bibliography

BIBLIOGRAPHY Greenberg, Gregg. 2016. "thestreet.com/story/13467026/1/retailers-need-to-improve-communication-skills-says-mattersight-executive.html." thestreet.com. February 22. Accessed November 22, 2019. thestreet.com/story/13467026/1/retailers-need-to-improve-communication-skills-says-mattersight-executive.html.

Kazis, Richard, and Frieda Molina. 2016. Exploring Middle-Skill Training Programs for Employment in the Retail Industry. Survey, NewYork: mdrc.

SHRM. 2019. THE GLOBAL SKILLS SHORTAGE: BRIDGING THE GAP WITH EDUCATION, TRAINING AND SOURCING. NewYork: SHRM.