4 Ways for Retailers to Attract and Retain Talent in the Gig Economy

As the fall retail season heats up, retailers should prepare to attract the vast pool of available gig workers, from students to working parents to retirees, through the latest strategies and digital tools.

In recent years, the U.S. labor market has seen an influx of workers migrating to the gig economy – a category of employment that caters to those seeking freelance or on-demand work. The rapid rise of on-demand jobs and people pursuing such work can be explained by the increasing desire for more freedom and flexibility than the traditional 9-5 workplace allows, and securing these jobs can now be accomplished with just the tap of a finger on a smartphone. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 16. 5 millionOpens a new window Americans rely on temporary work, freelancing and on-demand employment apps to make ends meet today. While 50 percent of millennial workers are already part of the gig economy, it is projected that a majority of all U.S. workersOpens a new window will be gig workers by 2027, if the gig economy continues to grow at its current rate.  

Unfortunately, most retailers do not understand how to attract employees in this untapped market – or how to hang on to them once they do find them. It’s important to recognize that today’s freelancers are a different breed of job seeker. Retailers that want to become magnets for new talent must embrace technology and digital strategies to meet the demands of the growing gig workforce, particularly the expectations and interests of new graduates and millennials, who have shown that they do not respond to most traditional recruitment tactics.

As fall shopping seasons heat up, retailers need to be prepared to tap into the vast pool of available gig workers, from students to working parents to retirees. To lay the groundwork for on-demand and seasonal hiring, the following four steps can help retailers attract top-notch talent.

1. Know Your Target Audience

In June, there were 807,000 opened retail jobs, which is close to 200,000 more open jobs than last year at the same time. To help the retail industry fill these jobs efficiently and compete with other industries vying for the same talent, it is necessary to rethink and update the overall job application process.

A 2017 study found that 78 million AmericansOpens a new window , or 59 percent of the workforce, are hourly workers, and 71 percent of those are under 30 years old. The preferences of these millennial job seekers are the driving force behind changes in the employment marketplace. For instance, make sure you are attracting and recruiting eager talent that has not just the required skill set but also a passion for your brand. To do this, create job descriptions that are concise and specific in describing what your company needs and the results you seek from the position. Job descriptions should also speak to potential employees’ passions and talents by detailing the necessary skillsets and knowledge. This will help retailers discover the applicant who is the best fit for the job.

1. Broadcast Your Company’s Values

Ensuring candidates understand your company’s mission is both critical and challenging when hiring in the gig economy. Survey after survey finds that a company’s values – both defined and expressed through its products and services – are important to millennial workers, so retailers must clearly communicate the values by which their business lives and operates. You can start by building your brand through social media and sharing stories and projects that illustrate what drives your company and what your employees care about. This will help potential candidates better understand how and why you do what you do. The more positive associations’ potential employees can make with your brand, the more likely they are to want to join your team.

1. Create Best-in-Class Employee Brand Ambassadors

To attract new employees, Retailers should focus on turning their best and happiest employees into ambassadors for their employer brand. With the right assistance, happy employees can create “buzz” and excitement and make it is easier to attract and hire talented staff with a passion for the brand. Word-of-mouth and referral programs have been proven to be especially helpful in attracting passionate employees and experts with specialized skills.

1. Re-evaluate Your Workforce Technology

Managing an independent and flexible retail workforce requires a new set of recruitment strategies and technology solutions. Because hourly workers are demanding a simpler, faster and more automated hiring process, employers seeking to attract gig economy talent need to make sure they streamline recruitment processes and incorporate both online and mobile gig job engines. For example, retailers that use a highly focused, mobile-first retail job matching platform like Capango can quickly connect to skilled, passionate workers, making hiring fast and cost-effective.

Understanding the new generation of hourly employees and the evolving landscape of hiring in a growing gig economy will help retailers recruit the right people to drive their businesses forward. Successfully attracting gig workers means updating how to find, evaluate, onboard and retain on-demand talent to reflect their needs and desires. The retailers that master these new skills will be more agile, flexible and competitive in the battle for top tale