Specialised courses in retail: Need of the hour

As 51% foreign direct investment in multi brand retail is allowed, many industry experts feels that this would create 40,000-50,000 jobs in India soon. More foreign entry in this sector will help in getting the retail industry more organised. Skilled manpower will be required to fulfil this demand. And hence, more and more professionals with detailed knowledge in retail will be required.

The Indian retail industry would grow in the organised sector at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 23% to 25% between 2008 and 2022, thereby increasing in size from Rs 96,500 crore (US$ 19 billion) in 2008 and clocking Rs 17,36,000 crore (US$ 347 to 350 billion ) in 2022. (Times of India, May 28, 2012).Government as well as industry has also recognised this upcoming need.

Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has introduced a retail course under the vocational stream at the senior secondary level from the academic session 2012-13. Future Innoversity, an initiative by future group, also offers programmes like BBA in retail services, courses in retail management and the supply chain.

There are about 45 colleges in India providing retail courses (source: www.htcampus.com). Wellingkar Institute of Management Development & Research, NMIMS, SP Jain, Retail Association of India, Indian Retail School, ITM, the Synthetic & Art Silk Mills’ Research Association, NIIT Imperia and Birla Institute of Management Technology etc. are few among the various reputed institutes which provide specialized courses in retail. Earlier retail was covered under the curriculum of marketing only. But now, it is taught as a full fledge course. These colleges offer courses like visual merchandising, store operations and supply chain. The students get placed in big retail houses.

With time the Indian economy has improved and so the retail sector. It is the second largest employment provider in the country after agriculture. Foreign brands have already started exploring Indian market and with the ease in entry barriers many more will come to the country. Today’s youth is very broad minded and quite opportunistic as well. They are well versed with these developments and are willing to pursue a career in retail. The success of courses in retail is a proof of how much willing is today’s youth to work in modern retail sector.

In an interview with Business Standard dated 16^th Oct’2013, Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO of RAI said, “There are adequate retail courses available in India. However, they would have to be tweaked and have newer versions in the coming time. They will have to be sharper in their course curriculum to meet the industry needs, because there are new retailers coming in with solid years of experience.”

Mr Barkat Charania, CEO of Beyond Talent Management stated, “If we say that specialised courses in retail are the need of the hour, then we must also say that those courses should be relevant to today’s modern retail environment. The career in retail is now quite rewarding but it is very demanding as well. Hence, the students have to be taught not only about retail, but there is a need to develop an attitude as well towards it. For e.g.: Working on weekends and public holidays may not suit everyone. There is a huge gap between demand and quality manpower supply in retail. Firms are more specifically looking for manpower which understands retail business. Therefore, the institutes can play a big role in filling this gap with skilled manpower.”

The various courses offered in retail are:

·         Front Office Management

·         Inventory Management

·         Merchandising Management

·         Shop floor Management

·         Store Management

·         Supply Chain Management

The duration of the courses ranges from 6months to 2 years (Source: retail.siksha.com). A person can opt from a certificate course to full time post graduate degree courses.

The retail sector is expanding leaps and bounds in India. The entry of foreign players has not only improved the competition but has also led the race for hiring best talent. The prospects from career point of view in retail are looking very promising and therefore specific retail related courses will be in demand among youth.

Be Ready for Your Hefty Pay Cheque in Retail!!!

 Till now if you ask a young boy or girl in 11^th or 12^th standard or may be in the final year of graduation about their career goals, most of them would say doctor, engineer, consultancy or so but very few would talk about a career in retail. When it comes to retail, the job has been stereotyped as sales job only, where the person has to stand at the counter to do sales. Also, another major factor for hesitation towards a career in retail is the so called ‘package’ factor. The general perception is that only FMCG or consulting or engineering, etc., fields are good pay masters.

Yes it is true that until recently the salary structure was not really very attractive in retail as compared to the other sectors. It was also due the fact that the retail sector was not as organised as it is today. Also, there wasn't as such any specific qualification required to do job in retail. Further to add to it, the sales sector is any how not a preferred choice for majority of people, whereas, the truth is that maximum jobs are a kind of sales job only. But, the counter attack for this logic many people give is that, if at all I have to sell something I would prefer to go to that place where I will earn more.

So here is what this blog is all about. Are you ready for your hefty pay check in retail? The retail sector is getting more and more organised. Many big firms have entered into this segment after evaluating the potential in retail. India is one of the biggest consumer market in the world and hence, the most attractive destination for international players as well. With the increase in competition among the giants, the competition to hire best talent has also intensified. Therefore, today retail firms are open to pay good money to attract the valuable talent pool. And with the entry of foreign players the expectations have become even better. Not only this, the organised retail sector has shifted its focus from only profit making to the career development of its employees.

A luxury brand pays to its entry level sales executive anywhere from 25k to 40k. This is at par with what any engineering student, from an average to good college, gets as a starting package. Similarly, the package for a store manager ranges from 15k to 1 lac plus per month depending upon national to international players. Now you imagine yourself the packages of area managers, regional managers and so on. The retail sector is not constrained till sales jobs only (the biggest myth among most of us). It is a vast field which requires talent in both front and back end. There are jobs in merchandising, procurement, designing, marketing, branding, IT, finance, HR, etc. All these are quite highly paid jobs.

Candidates with good retail knowledge are getting preferred more and therefore companies are routing towards colleges providing specific courses in retail and recruiting them at a very competitive packages. With the specific retail oriented courses the entry barrier is also becoming high.

With the determination of government to clear FDI in retail, the prospects are looking brighter and the hope that soon retail will be among the top career choices for today’s youth will soon be a reality. As stated above, the retail sector is getting more and more organised and within next few years we will see an altogether different retail sector in terms of business model and also in terms of career growth. Hence, those who will join this field today with a clear and focused mind set are definitely going to see a turnaround in their career in next 2-3 years.

Motivated Employee: Retail Success Mantra

With opening up of FDI, growing consumerism, unprecedented awareness, and a youth-hefty customer base, India is perceived as 'The Most Promising Land' for the Global and domestic retailers. Retail is one of the highly manpower intensive industries. With tremendous growth rate in Indian retail industry, the present scenario depicts a high demand for manpower to match the scope of roll out plans of various players in the near future.

A number of texts have appeared in recent years promoting the advantages of using high involvement human resource practices as well as on the use of High Performance Work Practices, which can improve the knowledge, skills, and abilities of a firm's current and potential employees, increase their motivation, reduce shirking, and enhance retention of quality employees.

Success of retail firms is dependent on a motivated workforce; hence these retail firms are trying to use different job motivators to keep employees motivated and satisfied. The most important motivators used by retail stores are working conditions, skill development, recognition, role clarity, career growth and support from management.

More than 60% of any retail organization consists of fresh talent. These are entry level jobs specially the sales force. Youngsters join the retail industry at lower salaries, get some experience and then move on to better jobs or back to education. The work pattern of retail industry requires employees to put in long hours of work, which generally cause fatigue and lower motivation among employees. There is increasing work pressure, in particular from work overload, time pressures and deadlines, staff shortages and turnover rates and long working hours. Many retail companies are struggling to come out of this situation by emphasizing on the career path in their organizations through strong human resources initiatives, trying to create emotional bond with employees, using retention tools like raising salaries, offering incentive-based targets etc. They have realized that effective retail store management depends on motivated, satisfied and loyal employees who will be productive, maintain work schedules, and develop tenure with the firm. In order to motivate, keep satisfied and productive employees, retail store managers must know which dimensions of the job are most important and most satisfying to employees. However, the concept of motivation is a complex one, therefore in this article, rather than providing a comprehensive overview of motivation and its possible determinants, we would try to find out some “Out of the Box” motivators, which can really add to the productivity of Indian Retail employees.

Over the last few years, the world of Human Resource Management has changed drastically due to globalization, with organizations being assessed against international standards and best practices. Consequent to downsizing and expansion, diversification of workforce, new organizational forms and benchmarking, the emphasis upon people has increased. Therefore, organizations, including in retail, have realized that these changes have a profound influence on their performance and the key to quality performance is the organizations' ability to motivate its people towards desired actions and behaviors. Since organization has to produce its outcomes through its people, there is emphasis on motivation and concern for people through assessment, regular feedback, ongoing support and experience-based initiatives. Motivation is important because of its significance as a determinant of performance and its intangible nature. Organizations might perceive motivation as a strategic issue since it impacts directly on organizational cost, productivity and business performance.

Motivation is an imperative matter in most organizations as it is a vital factor in getting employees to increase performance. Motivation is of interest in the work environment because it influences work performance and productivity. Keeping employees motivated can be done in various ways and infact lot of attention is given to it especially after learning from the foreign practices, but it is important to recognize that individuals are motivated differently and quite often it is complex to know what motivates employees. Most managers do not know what motivates their employees because they do not realize that individuals in the organization have unique motives for working. Therefore, communication is needed on a continuous basis in order to know what best motivates their employees.

Every employee has a separate set of needs and these needs keep on changing as per the time passes. It’s a very common practice that people don’t like what they have, but always see what others have and desire to get them. This is what disturbs the motivation cycle. Also a particular factor, which is a major motivation for an employee, may not be a motivating factor for others. In India, we say “ROTI, KAPDA AND MAKAAN” are the three basic needs for anyone and these are so far the best motivators for any employee to perform his best. But from a negative side, this is the most common factor which motivates people especially the entry-level employees to change their jobs just for a small hike in their salaries.

One study done to measure the motivation for various levels of employees revealed that front line sales persons are less satisfied with organizations. There may be different reasons for this outcome. The findings indicated that employees' satisfaction is significantly influenced by compensation along with working conditions and support from management. Other motivators used by organizations were unrelated to satisfaction with organization. One of the reasons of it may be that front line sales employees in retail stores are from age group of 20-25 and are working to earn their livelihood to satisfy their basic needs. At this stage extrinsic motivators become more relevant over intrinsic ones. Organization needs to consider this fact while designing motivators for sales employees.

There is incongruence between what employees want and what organizations are providing. Major motivators commonly used by organizations are working conditions, skill development, recognition, role clarity, career growth and support from management. Compensation, work life balance and amount of work are not giving much emphasis by organization. Employees perceive that they are not getting adequate compensation and because of more work and long hours of working they are not able to keep work life balance. Further, compensation has been found one of the major factors affecting employees' satisfaction with the organization. To enhance employees' productivity, there must be congruency between managers and their employees' perceived importance of rewards.

Motivating employees to perform well and achieve goals is the constant challenge of every retail manager. Either by connecting with internal drives or by providing external incentives, managers can successfully incite action and motivate employees to work harder and achieve better results.

In order to provide the "above and beyond" type of customer service, a retail store should deliver to be successful. It must begin by creating happy employees. Retailers that develop long-term incentives, perks, and rewards for its staff, often see benefits like less employee turn-over and better customer service. There are various small-small things that employer can do to motivate their staff and give them a feeling of being a part of the organization.

1. Discounts on Merchandise: This perk may be the easiest for a retailer to establish. Offer workers a small percentage off on any product you sell.

2. Company Parties: Holidays, inventory, or exceeding sales goals are all good times to throw a party. Plan the party away from the store or host a small gathering in the break room.

4. Event Tickets: Businesses often receive promotions on discounted on shows, sporting events and even movie tickets. Give these event tickets to your staff as rewards or incentives for meeting sales goals.

5. Free Food: Who doesn't like to eat? This favorite low-cost perk can be as simple as bringing in pizza, or burgers, a few times each month. Some retailers even buy lunch every Friday for scheduled staff.

5. Break-room Entertainment: If you don't have the room (or the budget) to put a pool table or carom in the break-room, consider a television set with DVD player.

6. Random Acts of Kindness: Not all perks need to be planned. A simple recognition of a job well-done can go far in improving employee morale.

7. Offer More Flexible Hours: Ask your staff to let you know in advance of your scheduling what days they will need off. Discuss your willingness to make it work for them. If business is slow, offer some bonus paid vacation time to your best salespeople. The appreciate and surprise benefit will motivate them to become more loyal to your organization and they will return the favor with hard work and more determination to succeed.

8. Encourage Creativity: When times are slow hold more sales meetings to discuss new promotions, advertising, inventory, customer service, and future goals. Always get input from your staff at these meetings and have some fun with a creative brainstorming session that puts every one's ideas to work.

9. Be Open, Not Intimidating: Let your staff know that your door is always open to support them and listen to their ideas and concerns. Create a family atmosphere where people can feel they trust and support one another through the good times and the bad.

10. Have Fun: All work, and no play, can make for a dull day. Don't take your business too seriously. Lighten up, relax and enjoy some free time when your retail business is not in full swing. If you can't stand being around in during the down times - get out of the store and take a short vacation or attend workshops to build your business. Make sure to plan for a lot of relaxation time to refocus.

11. Remember Birthdays and Anniversaries: Recognize and celebrate with your staff often. Host an annual anniversary party for all the sales staff that have been with your retail store one year or longer. Make them feel special with surprise gifts and a very special evening out on the town. Or host an off-site meeting at a restaurant or a picnic in the park for their entire family.

Do not forget your ex-employees. We all forget our ex – employees, but than they are the ones who still carry the brand name and speak a lot about.

12. Try Small Reward programs like:

a)    Dinner with the head for the organization for the best performer of the month. This really gives confidence and motivation to the employees to perform.

b)    Free parking to the best performers or may be free pick and drop for a month for the best performer of the month.

13. Create a Succession Plan for Employees: The best way to keep any employee self-motivated is by creating and following a succession plan for all levels of employees. It’s not only about a plan but its very much about proving the same. A very good initiative taken by one of our client is that they show the succession plan during the interview at an entry level job which shows how a customer support associate can reach to a level of Store Manager within 32 months with a 150% hike in package if he performs his tasks meticulously.

14. Give Them What They Really Want: As you create benefits and perks for your staff, be sure they are relevant and appropriate for your staff. You may feel you're being generous when you buy pizza for employees staying late the night before inventory, but they may not see it that way. An extra day off or allowing the worker to come in later one day may be a better offering of goodwill instead.

The best way to know what your staff would prefer is to simply ask them. Make a point during the next meeting to take ideas and suggestions for perks they would like to receive. You may be surprised to learn it is some simple perk you can easily implement in your retail shop.

These findings suggest that retail organizations need to understand employees' needs and expectations and to design motivators, which are in congruence with employees' expectations

Inspire and motivate your staff through example, education, training and incentives. You can turn a mediocre employee into a business attribute, but the burden is on your shoulders. After all, the speed of the leader is the speed of the pack. You must be positive and enthusiastic. Do not bemoan the state of the economy or make excuses for lagging sales. Negativity is toxic and contagious. Tweaking your world view to a more positive outlook will benefit your staff, your sales, and your blood pressure. If an employee has a suggestion for a promotion, don't tell her why it won't work. Rather, brainstorm a way to make it work.

Enthusiasm = Positive Emotions

Positive Emotions = Happy Customers

Happy Customers = More Sales and More Profits For You

Note: This article was published in "Images Retail" magazine, July 2013 issue.

About the author:

Barkat Charania, is the Chief Executive Officer of a speciality Retail Recruitment Company “Beyond Talent”, founded by an industry stalwart, Mr. Susil S. Dungarwal.  Barkat has over a decade’s experience in placements & Head hunting, and has been an avid follower of the Retail sector. Beyond Talent Management Pvt. Ltd. currently, works with many leading retailers, for fulfilling the talent crunch across various verticals of Retail on a pan India basis.

When will EDI (Employers Direct Investment) happen in Retail?

FDI in retail is now permitted in India, which may boost the sector, but when will EDI (Employers Direct Investment) happen to create the talent pool for the Retail sector, which will be essential for this growth. The foreign retailers will bring in Processes, systems, logistics, operational efficiency, money, but what about the talent. Retail being a people intensive sector, every investment in this sector will fail, if not supported by proper investment in people to convert them to Retail Talent.

We are one of the biggest retail markets in the world, considering the huge consumer base of our country. Industry figures suggest that we are a whopping $450 billion Retail Market, thereby placing us in the top five retail markets in the world. The Indian retail market stood at $396 billion in 2011, according to a study done by the consulting firm Deloitte.

The journey has not been smooth. From shopping at our local Kirana store to picking up our daily requirements from the nearest Mall has been quick journey albeit bumpy. But what we have achieved as an industry in a short span of time is commendable.

Consider this: Organized Retail market is just 4% of the entire retail market in India, which means our Baniya stores / unorganized sector, still calls for shots in the industry. But that said we are seeing a change. Larger formats, convenient store, super markets and hypermarket structures are evolving. They are changing their outlook to suit the Indian requirements and mindset.

The glory of the Indian retail sector lies in the hands of people/Talent who man it. You have the likes of Mr. Kishore Biyani, Mr. B.S. Nagesh, Raj Jain, who have converted the Retail sector into a professionally managed Industry. It is their great leadership and revolutionary thoughts that lead to the big Indian retail story. Our country will need many more such retail entrepreneurs / professionals, who can make significant changes to this emerging sector.

Unfortunately, the leadership qualities are not trickling down to the grass roots levels. While on one hand organized retail which constitutes a small four per cent of total retail sector is growing at a much faster pace of 45-50% per annum and quadruples its share in total retail trade to 16% in the coming years as per a study done Corporate Catalyst India, a market consulting firm. “The organized retail segment expected to be 9% of total retail market by 2015 and 20% by 2020,” said Deloitte report, adding that semi-urban and rural segments are growing at a rapid pace, currently accounting for 33 % of revenues in 2011.

Recent announcement by government on FDI in India is only expected to push this growth even further. But is the industry ready to take that kind of a growth? Are we ready to open up so many more stores that comes with the growth? When I look at it from a Retail Talent angle, the growth almost seems a “Rasta Roko” because we simply do not have enough Talent to man our stores.

I am not talking about mid level and senior level employees. Not that we have them in abundance, but we could at least get them to join us from other sectors because convincing the candidates and the retail companies who hire them is achievable. My point here is, there is terrible shortage of floor level staff. Nobody wants to see themselves as “someone selling things.” It is not considered attractive. It is frowned upon and considered a lowly profile. Retail sector is one of the largest employers in the country. About 70% of the people employed in the retail sector are junior level employees. A 2011 report on retail sector compiled by research consulting firm Technopak rightly highlighted the fact that there is shortage of trained manpower in Retail sector.

In the initial phase of retail growth every body were new to these concepts. Most companies had to expand quickly to make their presence felt so they just hired in bulk not really looking into the quality of the employees. I am not talking about luxury retailers here. They are exceptionally good and extremely picky in their candidates. But I am talking about value segment. There was no method in hiring. Most of the retailers, are relying upon the bigger players to invest in training & development, which is why the industry has huge attrition. The Challenge for every retailer now would be to invest hugely & wisely on Human resources, which will get converted into Retail Talent.

But the scene is changing now. With the Indian government approving 51% foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail chains, things are set to change (at present foreign investors can hold up to 24%, but FDI is not allowed), “Nine states and three union territories have shown interest for opening retail to FDI,” said a recent study done by Edelweiss. To compete with the foreign brands it is very important for Indian retail companies to become more competent in the way they hire.

The Big Hurdles:

Lack of information: In my effort to find any study done on retail sector from an HR perspective turned futile. Whatever little was available did not talk about ground level staff. This could because the companies may not want to share information on floor staff to prevent poaching and making their pay scale public. This calls for more clarity and transparency in hiring process.

Mandatory to work on holidays: This is in my opinion the second biggest hurdle. A floor level staff has to work on weekends, public holidays and festivals. Understandably, that is the time when a store gets maximum footfalls. It is the common complaint among the floor level staff, “When the whole world is holidaying and having fun, I am slogging.”

Well it’s a different thing that they get a lot of incentives, but people outside the retail sector are not aware of it.

Sales job not something to aspire for: There is growing dislike among people for sales job. I have even seen many candidates frowning at it the minute we mention that it is a sales job. Yes, it is stressful and constant worry to meet milestones and targets may bog you down. But at the same time it is also rewarding. For every target achieved they get hefty bonuses and pay packets. It also rewards you in other ways as to you constantly get to meet new people.

Absence of soft skills: Indian education system does not give scope for a student to develop good communication and soft skills. It’s very easy to find someone who can show a certificate to prove his or her knowledge of English. But get them to speak to you in English, that’s where they fail. Moreover, the next wave of retail growth is expected to come from tier-II and tier-III cities. The level of language skills in these towns and cities is even lower than metros.

Career growth not evident: one does not require a post graduate degree to become a floor level employee. Companies usually hire 12 standard passing students. But that said there is a defined career path which people outside the industry are not aware. One can slowly grow in the company to senior level positions.

High attrition: Retail sector in India is plagued by high attrition. “High employee turnover in this sector has made Engaging and Retaining talent a perennial burning priority in this sector,” said Deloitte report.

Considering the growth potential the Indian retail sector offers it does not harm to working towards a solution for the problems. It is up to the us, the industry stakeholders, to sit back and give a serious thought at improve the quality of our manpower and in my opinion, the quantity will follow. Some immediate solutions to the above-mentioned problems are as follows:

Need for a retail finishing school:  There is badly a need for retail finishing school. Although there are a couple of such schools, they just train candidates with basic skills. A candidate needs good communication skills, ability to convince, ability to present themselves formally, product knowledge and above the candidate should be able to seamlessly switch between all the departments of a particular store. There is no such finishing school in our country today. I call for a serious consideration to set up many such schools and they should not just be in metros, but should be present in tier-II and tier-III cities.

Build awareness: many people are not aware of the fact that these employees get bonuses and incentives. Retail companies and mall owners should put an effort to let people know that these are the benefits of working in retail industry. While most of the companies have a variable pay plan for corporate and support staff, attractive sales incentive schemes is a common practice for the front line sales force to motivate them to exceed expectations. Monthly/Quarterly/Biannual incentive based payments against annual payments is gaining popularity in this sector, considered effective to motivate people in a high turnover sector like retail.

Invest in an employee: I agree that attrition is high and it is something that stops companies from investing on employees. But in the long run, investing in an employee is what pays off. Not all employees quit a job just for money, or even if they do so today, they may regret later. So it is good to have extensive training program for employees. Get them aware of all departments at all levels in a store. Move them from supply chain to sales to handling cash and payments. Even your consumers might like to see new faces every now then. We are in a sector where it is very important to keep our customers happy and for that training has become very critical.

Also retaining a good employee has could reduce costs for a retail company, because it is important to note that even hiring a new employee comes at a cost. Shoppers’ Stop, is one such organisation, which invested very high on Retail talent, & today it is clear the Shoppers’ Stop has been a Retail School for the industry. You will hardly find any retailer worth its while, who does not have the ex-employees of Shoppers’ Stop. With the opening of the sector, the only way the retailer can sustain is by investing on its people (EDI), which will ease the demand in the sector, as more talent will be generated.

  

Hence, while the foreign retailers, will now queue-up to come to this huge market, what every retailer will have to look for is to create a talent pool, domestically. Also there is a huge population of Indian people across the globe, working in the retail sector, which will eventually want to come back to India. This is another ready made retail talent, which the industry can benefit from. All said, in Retail “Dikhta hai, toh biktha hai”, so will the retail talent. If you invest in retail talent, it will pay off.

 Note: This article was published in Retail Today magazine, October 2012 issue.

About the author:

Barkat Charania, is the Chief Executive Officer of a speciality Retail Recruitment Company “Beyond Talent”, founded by an industry stalwart, Mr. Susil S. Dungarwal.  Barkat has over a decade’s experience in placements & Head hunting, and has been an avid follower of the Retail sector. Beyond Talent Management Pvt. Ltd. currently, works with many leading retailers, for fulfilling the talent crunch across various verticals of Retail on a pan India basis.

Social Media impact on your career

If you think that the “Likes” & “comments” on your Facebook, are privy to your friends, then you better stand corrected. Or if you feel that your profile on LinkedIn or Facebook or any other social sites is only seen by your connections, then you may be in complete dark of the situation. Today, most recruiters / employers, “peep” into your social media profiles to understand your lifestyle, attitude, network, etc. to analyse your candidature. With social media becoming a norm of our “Neo-Generation Lifestyle”, where we express our mind or even “Share” a comment of something we like or dislike, this is being seen, watched and observed with great detail by many professional connects & your prospective “Employer”.

Your behaviour on these social sites is perceived by the prospective employers & helps them to make the decision to hire you or reject your candidature. Recently, one of our good clients, rejected a candidate after giving him an offer letter because the candidate was jobless since 3 months, but had his current status as working with the previous employer. The employer noticed this & immediately withdrew the offer, stating that he has lied to the organisation & misinformed them. While many of us take updating of our profiles lightly on various social sites, more n more employers rely on the social network to know about the candidate.

So, your social media network shall henceforth be faces of your candidature, hence don’t take it lightly. 

The retail sector in India is said to be one of the largest employers and expected to grow three fold in the coming few years with the expansion of organized retail. What could be the driving factor to fill the manpower requirements for such a mammoth expansion? With the growing expansion, opportunities for front-end jobs, store management jobs, Accounts & Finance, merchandising, etc. will be in its full swing. Employers will look at cross – industry verticals for middle management roles, but where will the supply come for the junior management and entry level jobs.

The Retail Job scenario in India is very good and looking at the FDI and the growth factor, the need is clear and transparent. The scope for a retail career seems to be easy for the population since Retailers are looking for fresh candidates rather than any educational qualification or prior experience. Retailers are eyeing for candidates equipped with problem-solving approach and should be a team player. He/she should be able to manage group of people and connect with associates. Hence it is important to recruit resources with an attitude to service customers and people-oriented. And, there is no pre-qualification for this ability, except for high-end luxury retail brands that look out for polished candidates with excellent communication and presentation skills.

Traditionally it were employers who had to make themselves visible when looking to fill positions by posting adverts in the press, then choosing a pool of candidates from a veritable tsunami of applicants. But with the rise of social media and social networking sites, its very easy for a potential candidate to draw employers attention towards their profiles through various social media’s other than traditional job boards since 40% of the young HR’s use social media to filter their candidates.

Social media is making it easier to find the right jobs for potential job seekers and to connect to the right people that can help them get those jobs. Many job seekers are still using traditional job search methods that are yielding poor results. Though traditional job boards still count as a major source of recruitment, still new age recruiters depend on social media either to source the candidates or to get relevant information about them. Given an instance, few of our clients check candidates’ Facebook, LinkedIn and twitter accounts before interviewing them. Being in the retail industry, they make sure about a candidates behavioral pattern through these social sites. They see their photos, their social nature, and their command over language through the postings on their walls, their habits, etc. It’s almost like viewing a profile from matrimonial site or through reference, than digging out information about that person before meeting them. People think that these social networking sites are just a tool for passing time, meeting friends, networking, etc. But they are not aware that these are the ones that open up their entire life history in front of a stranger. A classic example for such an incident happened when an offer was revoked for a very senior candidate when he tweeted “3 offers in 7 days, which one do I accept”. It clearly described his behavior and non-serious attitude towards a job change and that he was“shopping”.

But you don’t have to end up like these professionals!!! By understanding who you are, what differentiates you in the job market and establishing your personal branding online, you can compete in the new talent marketplace. Once you have built your own social network profiles, you are ready to start leveraging your relationships and talents to get the job of your dream. By creating a good network and clean image on social site, you can increase your chances of getting the desired job. Every tweet, every post on social sites can be taken as a reference to judge you. So be aware of what you want to show to people. It’s not only your friends who will see all these but your potential employers as well. Few things to really take care of while using social sites are:

1)     Be very specific about your privacy settings and adding connections. If you suggest to show all your posts hidden to public and visible only to your connection, but than you add everyone as a connection. The purpose is still not served. You are still like an open book, which can be read by anyone. So be very specific about your privacy settings and adding people in your network.

2)    Improve your personal Branding: Make an impressive profile by gathering lot of relevant but true data. Add as many connections that you know. Add in your full information, key skills, education, etc. so that employers can know about you. Recommendations from superiors or clients will always work for you.

3)   Don’t reveal your Urge for a Change: Easiest method to publicize your urgency is by publishing few posts like “Urgently looking for a Job”, or “Please help me with…” etc. But do not forget that your current employers can also view the same. Rather publish some relevant contents in job sections and be visible.

4)     Check what you publish: A person was sacked from his office because he messaged his boss that he wants a leave as his parents were not well and everyone was shocked to see that. Later it was revealed that at 4 in the morning he posted on his wall in a drunken stage that he had partied whole night. So every word that you write consciously or unconsciously, but it counts. So beware of what you post on social sites, it can go against you many a times.

5)     Join various groups: All networking sites have different group, which are either skill specific or industry specific. These groups are formed by individuals to share knowledge, but than these are the best hunting grounds for recruiters. Many such groups are formed by headhunting firms as well to attract similar job hunters. Your visibility in these groups keeps you updated of the various openings available in the market for your kind of skills and also makes your profile visible to hundreds of recruiters.

Now its up to the candidates to capitalize on the opportunities and make their presence felt to the recruiters. Industry demands are huge and will grow more and more within the coming few years. It’s a golden opportunity for graduates and postgraduate fresher’s to give a fresh start to their careers for an organized growing industry. Start doing your research today. See where you fit in the retail industry, what suits you and what you think you can be best at. Currently the needs are clear and hiring is on its best. Soon these requirements will become complex and clients will be choosy. So it’s right time to hit the right industry and make a mark in it before it becomes completely organized..

Note, your social media network communicates more to the prospective employer, than your resume. So, the best way is to keep an eye on your “likes”, “Comments” & “Share” and most importantly, keep your profiles across all social websites, updated.

Note: This article was published in Retail Today magazine, March 2013 issue.

About the author:

Barkat Charania, is the Chief Executive Officer of a specialty Retail Executive Search Firm “Beyond Talent”, founded by retail industry stalwart, Mr. Susil S. Dungarwal.  Barkat has over a decade’s experience in placements & Head hunting, and has been an avid follower of the Retail sector. Beyond Talent Management Pvt. Ltd. currently, works with many leading retailers, for fulfilling the talent crunch across various verticals of Retail on a pan India basis.