subject: Retail work beyond the shop floor [print this page] Retail work beyond the shop floor Retail work beyond the shop floor
It's easy to think that a job in retail effectively means working as a shopfloor or sales assistant. However these positions are just the most public side of the industry; retail recruitment doesn't just aim to fill stores with helpful and polite customers (though this is obviously a part of it). It also has to staff the logistical and economic chain that supplies the stores with goods, sees staff paid, places new orders, balances books and all of the other functions behind the average retail chain.
The most obvious area of retail employment that doesn't involve working in an entry-level position as sales assistant is management. Businesses within this sector often work with a regional network of individual store managers who report to area managers, who in turn report to regional managers who then report to peers or superiors at the company's central office. Each position has a certain degree of autonomy - and a certain degree of responsibility. These positions are often made available to external candidates with relevant experience or through graduate programmes but the first step on the retail management ladder is generally taken from the shopfloor.
Outside of management, there's the other areas of retail work that may not immediately spring to mind but are nonetheless vital:
Loss Prevention and Security
Shoplifting alone costs retail businesses millions of pounds in lost goods and sales each year. When other crimes such as vandalism and robbery are included - as well as lost business due to the aggressive behaviour of a few and the turnover of staff due to unwanted harassment - it's clear to see why security is so important to the retail sector. Opportunities in this area range from visible store security staff to CCTV operators or the more complex role of store detective.
Property
The term property jobs can be somewhat misleading as it brings to mind the separate areas of real estate and property development. Whilst these functions play an important role in retail expansion plans, the term more accurately refers to positions such as facility management within the context of retail. Large retail operations often have a variety of different working environments within a single property in addition to the services and space seen by members of the public - and keeping all of this maintained and efficiently operated can often be a responsibility beyond the duties of general management. In particular keeping facilities compliant with health and safety laws is a vital concern for any retail business.
Logistics and Supply
Behind every retail business is a series of warehouses, distribution hubs and a fleet of delivery vehicles. Work in this area of retail can be in the form of driver roles or warehouse staff, to managers, supervisors and organisers who ensure that demands will be met on time or ahead of it each week/month/year.
Human Resources
Any retail business with more than one premises will likely have enough members of staff to warrant a Human Resources (HR) division. In particular the bigger chains and franchises need a central source of expert practice guidelines and advice to help keep staff motivated, to resolve disputes and to make sure that personnel costs are kept to a minimum whilst productivity is actively optimised.
