5 ways to boost workforce productivity with mobile


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5 WAYS TO BOOST WORKFORCE PRODUCTIVITY WITH MOBILE

SPECIAL REPORT

BY ADAM BLAIR, EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Leading-edge retailers are rapidly discovering new ways to optimize mobile technology for executives and associates across the enterprise, from corporate headquarters to distribution centers, on delivery trucks and within the brick-and-mortar store. These strategies are enabling all types of organizations to improve workforce motivation and efficiency. “Retailers are looking for a more flexible workforce, because customers have really changed,” said Andrew Wong, a Partner at consulting firm Kurt Salmon Digital. While retailers see the benefits from a more pervasive use of mobile technology, Wong added that it does represent “a different way of thinking from traditional retail models about staffing and merchandising.” Different or not, mobile technology is proving its ability to help retailers achieve their key goals around customer service enhancement. “As the focus within the store shifts to incorporate digital technologies, mobile devices will play a larger role in personalization. Sensors, beacons, and other technologies can identify customers via their mobile device when they enter the store, giving the associate the opportunity to personalize the shopping experience,” according to The Future Store Manifesto, the November 2015 report from Boston Retail Partners. Some of the key benefits of optimizing mobile in the workforce include:

• Real-Time Language Translation: At the NBA flagship store in New York City, mobile devices are being used for language translation, as well as for locating employees with specific language fluencies within the threestory store; • Quick Access To Inventory Info: True Religion has equipped its store associates with Apple Watch devices linked to inventory and order management systems, allowing associates to display items that are out of stock on in-store digital screens; • More Effective Merchandising: C-store chain MAPCO has deployed mobile technology to regional managers, allowing them to more efficiently monitor store execution of vendors’ product displays and also to track store cleanliness and organization; • Increased WFM Adoption: Workforce management solutions offering mobile self-service and scheduling/shift switching functionalities enjoy higher adoption rates, creating greater consistency and efficiency; and • A Millennial Must-Have: Having a mobile component has become table stakes for retailers seeking to attract top talent among Millennial (and younger) employees.

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Build Bridges To A Multilingual Customer Base Cutting-edge mobile solutions are solving several types of communication challenges at the National Basketball Association’s New York City flagship store. User-friendly language translation capabilities are enhancing employees’ ability to provide strong customer service to consumers from around the world. In addition, sales associates and stockroom “runners” equipped with mobile devices are boosting speed and growing basket sizes, particularly for highly customized items such as athletic footwear. The combination of the NBA’s international reach and New York’s status as a tourism magnet makes language translation capabilities a major benefit at the store — the NBA’s only brick-and-mortar location in the U.S. Associates equipped with iPads and iPhones can make use of voice-to-voice, text-to-text or voice-to-text translations for multiple languages, including Russian, Mandarin, French and German. The associate hands the device to the customer, who speaks into it in his or her native language, with the associate then receiving an English translation, either spoken by the device or as a written text.

The devices also offer wayfinding in multiple languages, allowing associates to help international visitors find the team jersey or athletic shoes they’re searching for. “We’ve also hooked these devices into the store’s workforce management system, which allows them to connect customers with associates that are proficient in their languages,” said Andrew Wong, a Partner at Kurt Salmon Digital, which advised the NBA on its mobile strategy for the store. “If a customer speaks Mandarin, this can connect them with the associate that’s currently on the third floor who also speaks Mandarin. We’re still in the process of rolling out this functionality as we get information on the associates’ language proficiencies.”

USER-FRIENDLY language translation enhances employees’ ability to provide strong customer service.

The devices also facilitate footwear and jersey customization. Both floor associates and “runners” based in the store’s stock area are equipped with devices. “The associate can scan a shoe and then add in the size and color variant the customer is looking for, and then that information is sent to stockroom associates who look for an Orange Kobe in a size 10,” explained Wong. “They might also bring a size 11 when they come out, because there’s a seamless cross-sell and upsell functionality that’s part of the solution.”

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Even Wong was surprised by the rapid adoption rates of these cutting-edge mobile functionalities, particularly the translation services. “We didn’t highlight these capabilities more than others, but perhaps it’s because it’s a younger demographic for the associates at the NBA store compared to other deployments we’ve done, such as at Bloomingdale’s,” Wong said in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “There, we had to communicate the value of the mobile devices for older people who were working on a commission sales model. So while the NBA store adoption has been great and only minimal training has been needed, at Bloomingdale’s we had to figure out ways to incentivize the associates to use the devices.”

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Expand Inventory Options Beyond The Store’s Four Walls Screens even smaller than those on smartphones, in this case the Apple Watch, are providing endless aisle functionality for True Religion. The premium brand denim retailer has limited space to display different product sizes and varieties in its 1,500-squarefoot stores. Now, associates equipped with Apple Watches that are integrated

with Aptos Mobile Point of Sale and Aptos Enterprise Order Management can access the retailer’s entire inventory in real time. Employees use a visual merchandising tool to view, filter and locate the size, style, color and wash they think a customer will like, then “cast” the merchandise image from the watch to a large high-definition monitor.

IF THE CUSTOMER likes what she sees the associate can use mobile POS to complete the sale.

These images include barcodes, so if the customer likes what she sees the associate can use a mobile POS to complete the sale. The order management solution then ensures the product is shipped to the customer’s home. The solution also helps solve one of the knottiest problems retailers face — how to correctly allocate sales when the store where the order originates isn’t the one that provides the actual product. “We have greater confidence in our inventory and are able to appropriately credit sales for purchases that were placed in one store but fulfilled from inventory in another,” said John Hazen, Vice President, Omnichannel Commerce and Digital Innovation for True Religion. “Since rollout of Endless Aisle Apple Watch App, in-store customer engagement and conversion rates are higher, and the number of endless aisles transactions have increased significantly.”

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Streamline Reporting At Stores And HQ Productivity-enhancing mobile technology applications have spread well beyond the store floor and stockroom. The 375-location convenience store chain Mapco equipped its regional managers with mobile devices equipped with a Zenput task management solution, giving them a convenient tool to monitor product rollouts, merchandise displays, and general store cleanliness and organization. Previously, these roving inspections had involved the district managers supplying spreadsheets, emails and texts accompanied by photos. Headquarters employees spent days compiling supplied data, cropping photos and pasting them into Word documents for executives to review. The process took multiple weeks and was so cumbersome it was only done six times a year. The mobile-enabled solution, first piloted with a few district managers, allowed them to enter data on their phones, take pictures and report back what they were seeing in stores in real time. The retailer then expanded its use of the mobile solution, automating the flow of reports to store managers and key regional directors.

“The real-time results pouring in throughout the day has allowed us to analyze data on an ongoing basis and not have to wait until the last second,” said Brian Veasman, Director of Operations for Mapco. The solution’s customized reports can quickly pinpoint stores that are doing well and those that aren’t, he noted, adding “Best of all, we can deliver those reports in Zenput internally to Mapco team members or vendors that are crucial to our business.”

CUSTOMIZED reports can quickly pinpoint which stores are doing well and which aren’t.

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Boost WFM Employee Adoption Rates Mobile’s “macro” popularity has shifted the conversation about employees’ use of their own smart devices, particularly in the area of workforce management (WFM). Where many retailers had expressed concerns about associates checking their phones while on the clock, others see mobile apps as critical for two-way communications about schedules, shift changes and efficient communication between managers and staff.

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In addition, some retailers struggle with the idea of deploying mobile because “they assume that employees will use it to do something illegal or against company policy, like buddy punching or otherwise gaming the system,” said Scott Knaul, CEO of SMK Workforce Solutions, an industry consultant. “But not implementing mobile doesn’t necessarily protect you against those things. We see the companies that trust the technology, as well as their own people, seeing the most benefit from these deployments.”

“These things help employees better manage their work-life balance,” Orr said in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “Yet two-thirds of retailers are not yet offering mobile workforce apps. Corporate are often the laggards, because some of them are projecting their fears about mobile onto the store

Employees certainly appreciate instant access to information that directly affects their lives. Mobile WFM solutions “provide data instantly on accrual balances, when to report to work, and how many hours you’ve worked so far this week,” said Knaul. “You get a more engaged associate, whether they are aged 16 or 80.”

Orr added that retailers adopting these types of solutions can see year-overyear productivity improvements as high as 20%. The productivity benefits from mobile are not limited to in-store employees. Companies with field personnel working on an hourly basis, delivery truck drivers and product installers, can benefit from the ability to clock in and out via mobile devices, according to Knaul.

WFM solution providers have gotten the message loud and clear. “Mobile gives you the right form factor for employee engagement, especially for Millennials,” said John Orr, SVP Retail for Ceridian Dayforce HCM. Employees’ ability to use their mobile devices to check weekly schedules, request time off or seek additional shifts is becoming the expected norm rather than a leadingedge capability.

staffs. The biggest ‘a-ha’ moment we see is when executives are shocked by the adoption rates and accolades that mobile apps get from employees. Our message is that if you want to engage, provide access.”

RETAILERS adopting mobile WFM solutions can boost productivity as high as 20%.

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Use Mobile To Attract Top Millennial Talent The availability of mobile self-service solutions is particularly vital in attracting and retaining the most valuable employees, particularly members of the Millennial generation. “One clear selling point for Millennials is user-friendly, top technology — namely mobility,” according to the September 2015 report Want To Be A Progressive Company That Retains Top Talent? Collaborate With The CIO On Mobile Self-Services, by Aberdeen Group Human Capital Management Research Analyst Zach Lahey. “They expect resources like speedy Internet access, state-of-the-art laptops or bring-your-own-device (BYOD) programs, flexible working schedules and conditions, mobile capabilities for everything under the sun, smartphones, and easy access to information and content that will help them learn and grow.” A striking marker of this shift in the mind-set about mobile is reflected in how Workplace Systems makes its WFM app available to employees. “There’s an interesting psychology at play,” said CEO David Farquhar. “Rather than the

employer handing it to the employee, we put it in the Apple Store or Google Play where it can be downloaded, so it becomes ‘their’ app. “Most of these people are Millennials or Gen Y, and their phone is their window to the world,” he added. “If they feel a degree of ownership and control, that helps change their attitude toward their work and their employer. They

“MILLENNIALS expect mobile capabilities for everything under the sun.” - ABERDEEN GROUP

will be far more motivated, and more apt to provide the quality of service that the employer wants from them.” On the managerial side, WFM solutions can provide productivity improvements around the tedious but necessary process of creating weekly schedules. Inefficiencies here often come to a boil when managers want to offer open shifts to available employees. “If you’re looking for someone to fulfill an unfinished shift without a system that organizes it, there’s no science behind it,” said Farquhar in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “It involves phoning Harry, then Jane, then Cathy, and moving on down the list. It’s a completely asynchronous process as well as being inefficient.”

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Spreadsheets and paper-based systems also mean employees’ preferences are often lost in the shuffle. “How does a manager ensure that the places and times that employees most want to work are collected? It’s been via verbal messages, a piece of paper or an email,” said Farquhar. “The manager has to understand and correlate from these multiple sources to build up a picture of people’s preferences. That’s as opposed to using a mobile app, where this process becomes frictionless and efficient, with the ability to match up likefor-like comparisons.”

Conclusion PwC’s recently released 2016 shopper survey revealed that more than a third of Millennials believe their smartphone will become their main purchasing tool in the future. Already, more than 80% use

their phones while shopping in brickand-mortar stores, compared to 55% of consumers aged 35 and up. It’s clear that the current and future generation of Millennial retail employees won’t be content to leave smart devices in their pockets while they are at work. The use of smartphones, tablets and even wearables by retail employees at all levels, and throughout the enterprise, will only continue to grow. Those retailers still resisting the incoming tide should start exploring the productivity benefits that can be achieved with these not-so-secret weapons. It’s better to have your associates using their phones for work purposes than having them sneak a peek at Facebook during their shift.

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About Retail TouchPoints 411 State Route 17 South Suite 410 Hasbrouck Heights, NJ 07604 P: 201.257.8528 F: 201.426.0181 [email protected]

Retail TouchPoints is an online publishing network for retail executives, with content focused on optimizing the customer experience across all channels. The Retail TouchPoints network is comprised of a weekly newsletter, special reports, web seminars, exclusive benchmark research, an insightful editorial blog, and a content-rich web site featuring daily news updates and multi-media interviews at www.retailtouchpoints.com. The Retail TouchPoints team also interacts with social media communities via Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

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