Lotis Blue Consulting Releases Future of Retail Workforce Study: New Research Predicts Associate Stay/Leave Decisions with 87 Percent Accuracy Health & Safety jumps by 10% as a Staying factor; Insufficient Pay up by 17% as a Quitting driver
Chicago, IL and New York, NY
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January 17, 2024 10:30 AM Eastern Standard Time
Lotis Blue Consulting, a corporate advisory and business transformation firm, releases the third edition of its comprehensive research study, Lotis Blue Future of Retail Workforce Study, analyzing the current state of the retail workforce. The study investigates ways the current macroeconomic environment has influenced retention trends for the retail workforce; factors that are becoming more important to employee retention and loyalty; how motivations for leaving or staying in a job are changing over time; and, new to this edition, how factors driving quit and stay decisions differ by workforce characteristics and retail segment.
Research for the Lotis Blue Future of Retail Workforce Study was conducted during the lead-up to the 2023 holiday season and is based on comprehensive, objective feedback from 1,000 retail associates. The report uses the lens of the Employee Value Proposition (EVP)—including 7 dimensions and 30 underlying factors—to evaluate retail employees’ decisions to stay, consider leaving or leave an employer.
“Labor dynamics in retail have changed dramatically in the last 12 months with a tightening of the job market and stabilizing sales, coinciding with major attitude shifts toward work and employers,” noted Lotis Blue Consulting partner and study author Aaron Sorensen, adding, “Even with changing labor conditions and issues, the data is comprehensive enough to predict an employee’s decision to stay or leave an employer with 87 percent accuracy. And in order to hold onto valued employees, we’ve observed that retailers must simultaneously provide an environment where there are more factors that make workers want to stay, and fewer that make them want to quit.”
The study found that recent changes in labor market dynamics resulted in a decrease in turnover but a 7% increase in retail associates who are considering leaving their jobs, suggesting an underlying dissatisfaction with their current work situation. “Changes to the reasons that associates are staying or leaving an employer suggest that factors such as schedule flexibility serve a triggering role to job dissatisfaction,” noted study co-author and Lotis Blue Consulting partner Erica Grant. “While some decision drivers such as enjoyable work consistently influence staying decisions across workforce segments, other factors vary significantly in their importance by retail segment. There is no one-size-fits-all approach for retailers."
The study findings in this most recent edition include:
- Talent strategies for the retail workforce have a short shelf-life, due to changes in labor and market conditions
- Stay and leave decisions have changed significantly in the last 12 months, differing across retailer types and workforce characteristics
- Job factors create magnetism that uniquely attracts or repels retail associates
- More associates are staying, but there are also more with one foot out the door
- Some factors matter more than others: 60% of all stay-or-leave decisions currently relate to Job & Work Environment, Company, and Leadership Culture
- Pay and Health & Safety have made significant jumps as turnover/retention drivers this year, and Scheduling triggers a cascade of turnover intentions
For more information or to see the newest edition of the Lotis Blue Future of Retail Workforce Study, please visit:
https://www.lotisblueconsulting.com/insights/2024-the-future-of-retail-workforce-study/
Study Methodology
The ongoing Lotis Blue Future of Retail Workforce Study, now in its third iteration, has cumulatively surveyed over 3,000 employees across 700 retailers in the apparel, big box, apparel & luxury, grocery & convenience, home goods & electronics, specialty, fast casual and other sectors, deriving comprehensive, objective feedback. Research for the first study was conducted in summer 2022, for the second, in the lead-up to the of 2022 Holiday season, and for this current edition, in the lead-up to the 2023 Holiday season.
At the intersection of growth and transformation, you’ll find Lotis Blue Consulting. We help businesses improve the performance of their workforce, leadership teams, and organizations through evidence-based strategies grounded in leading-edge analytics and behavioral science.
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Meir Kahtan
+1 917-864-0800
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