Turnover in the retail industry is as high as 60% overall, which has a negative impact on the customer experience.
“It’s clear to the customer when things are not seamless between online and in-store experiences,” notes Tiffany Chan Liban. Chan Liban is a former training and development manager at a global apparel, accessories and lifestyle brand and current senior customer success manager at Bigtincan, maker of an AI-powered Associate Empowerment Hub. “That’s exacerbated by high turnover of staff.”
Impact of turnover
When an employee has to call for assistance, customers experience frustrating delays. That frustration goes both ways, driving turnover.
“Part of liking your job is feeling that you’re good at your job,” Chan Liban notes. “If someone doesn’t feel supported, they’re going to leave.”
Retail technology
The solution is a modern onboarding and training platform focused on mobile-first and micro-learning. “It can’t be sitting around for four hours in the stockroom hearing about policies and reading policy manuals,” says Chan Liban. “The focus should be on getting vital information to the employee quickly so they can assist the customer.”
Bigtincan’s Learning Hub uses videos, documents, and other assets in an easy-to-use, searchable app that can be accessed on mobile devices. “The Learning Hub keeps the training short, it keeps it easy—and it keeps the employee on the floor,” says Chan Liban. It also offers a “recognition” channel where employees can post achievements as well as a way to easily communicate concerns or suggestions upward. Managers can see learning progress from “Manager View” on their mobile device.
Bigtincan’s Retail Associate Hub brings learning and communications together in one place while measuring engagement at all levels. The platform also offers tools to help customers understand products and options, and Bigtincan is exploring adding augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) tools.
The goal is to empower retail employees. “When an associate feels they’ve added value to a customer and the customer is grateful, it makes you feel valued,” Chan says.
See how Bigtincan can transform the buying experience for your employees and customers, visit bigtincan.com.