The “perfect” retail candidate is hard to come by. Discovering applicants who can handle a fast-paced environment, have stellar customer service skills, can effectively operate a point-of-sale system, and balance fulfilling customer needs with all the operations involved with running a retail store successfully is like finding a needle in a haystack. Hence, following the right retail candidate screening tips can help weed out the wheat from the chaff the means of high-quality retail professionals. Implementing a structured approach to the applicant screening process is essential for the utmost success during a hiring campaign. It’s time to open your applicant tracking system (ATS) and let’s get to work!
1. Define Clear Job Requirements
Before recruiters start screening retail candidates, it’s best to start at the source of where they will be learning about an open position for the first time: the job description. Use clear and concise language to communicate the qualifications and experience necessary for the role as well as the daily task requirements.
Stress the need for strong communication skills and prior retail or customer service experience. The ability to handle high-pressure situations is important as a retail professional. Hence, even if a candidate worked in a customer service role in an industry other than retail, they should be considered for an open retail role because of their transferable skills.
Recruiters and hiring managers must collaborate to decide the key competencies needed to successfully fill this retail vacancy. For example, open roles for luxury clothing companies require individuals with experience in a more personalized customer service approach. Other positions in high-volume grocery stores will require multitasking skills and high rates of resilience.
2. Use Pre-Screening Assessments
Utilizing pre-screening assessments can effectively guide recruitment in the retail industry. These assessments unveil a candidate’s problem-solving skills, customer service aptitude, and reliability, which are all important traits to have as a retail professional.
Leveraging technology can save time and resources when screening retail job applicants. Send links to candidates via email or Text Notify to have them take pre-screening assessments such as situational judgment tests (SJTs), personality examinations, and basic skills evaluations. Ensure the exam is no longer than about 20 questions and takes no more than 15 to 20 minutes to complete. Lengthy pre-screening examinations could cause an uptick in candidate drop-off rates which means you could lose an opportunity in garnering a high-quality retail candidate.
3. Focus On Customer Service Skills
Candidate evaluation in retail hiring should prioritize on which candidates have the highest quality customer service skills. It should not only matter how long the candidate was in a prior customer service position but also how they present these skills on their resumes and pre-screening evaluations.
Look for candidates who have a customer-first attitude, strong interpersonal skills and exceptional patience. To assess the best quality applicants, ask them how they have gone above and beyond in a prior customer service role or the steps they took to resolve a customer issue. The quality of these answers can determine who to hire and who should reinterview at a later time.
4. Check References Thoroughly
Go beyond reviewing the resume and application by checking references thoroughly. Ask for at least two to three references during the application process. Reach out to these references to discuss the candidate’s reliability, past performance, work ethic, and ability to adapt to a retail environment.
This is one of the most vital retail candidate screening tips. Even if the candidate’s interview went well and their application and resume paint a pretty picture of their experience, connecting with their references could confirm or invalidate their proficiency as a retail professional.
5. Incorporate Role-Specific Simulations
Integrating simulations or role-playing exercises is a powerful tool when conducting a retail hiring campaign. Whether you ask a candidate to handle a customer complaint scenario or to do a mock upsell of a popular product, this will reveal how an applicant will perform on the job and their ability to handle pressure. See how a candidate’s multitasking skills measure up by asking him or her to do a mock transaction while also answering a customer inquiry.
Bonus Retail Candidate Screening Tips
Take steps to eliminate bias in recruitment. Utilizing a data-driven approach with structured interviews and standardized job descriptions can help everyone have a fair chance of trying out for the open role.
Conduct group interviews whether they are in-person or virtually over a platform like Spark Hire that Cadient utilizes for video interviewing. This tactic will provide recruiters valuable insights into how candidates interact with one another and unveil overall team dynamics. Don’t forget to discuss company values and the overall work environment during interviews to assess culture fit amongst the job candidates.
