New Challenges in Retail Human Resource Management

Why Do We Need Professional Human Resource
Management in Retailing?
Such terms as globalization, process management, and value-based management
dominate the current discussion of management in retail co mpanies. There has
been an increasing realization that people are one of a company’s key assets. Re-
tail means working and serving customers in a direct, personal way. This calls for
special actions from retail companies to fulfill the demands of an increasing num-
ber of well-informed and sophisticated consumers. In view of all the c hanges in
both national and international contexts, it is ab solutely essential to get the right
people if a business is to be successful and sustainable.
Retailing is a major labor-intensive industry sector. The refore, companies are
continually challenged to re-organize and adapt their st ructures to become more
efficient. The necessity for part-time workers, because of long store opening hours
and peaks in the trading day/week, requires a flexible framework to optimize labor
processes. Emotionally, the workforce needs orientation and vi sion in changing
times. Human resource management (HRM) has to provide a “coach,” not only to
organize, but also to support employees and m anagement mentally and p rofes-
sionally in fulfilling their tasks in terms of future company goals. People are the
driving force behind all transactio ns that occur in retailing outlets. In the future
world of retailing, there will be an increasing need to adapt and change towards a
more formative and proactive style of HRM.
M. Krafft and M.K. Mantrala (eds.), Retailing in the 21st Century: Current and Future Trends ,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-540-72003-4_16, ? Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010
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258 Julia Merkel, Paul Jackson, and Doreén Pick
Changes
Changes in Retail
The formats of retailing have been evolving continuously over the last 100 years,
and individual retailers have changed tremendously in the... [continues]

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