The value of the staff. Selection rules and accurate calculation

At the present stage of retail development, the leadership of many companies has already come to the understanding that not so much money and material resources are the main capital of the organization, but people who create all these basic values. Therefore, at present, the main focus of the business, according to consulting experts, has smoothly switched to the human factor. Julia Veshnyakova, general director of the Academy of Retail Technologies, tells about how to correctly select sales staff for a shoe salon, as well as accurately calculate the optimal number of staff.

# PERSONA #

The staff is the know-how of the company, because it is the person who owns a certain set of tools, methods and techniques for maintaining the business and has the necessary personal qualities.

People is the most valuable resource, which, unlike other types of resources, is a self-growing value. So, if the employee is provided with everything necessary and motivated accordingly, then he will be able to provide the company not only with capital gains, but also with a number of other values, such as a positive image, market position and much more.

So, why in recent years has staff been seen as a competitive advantage of an organization? It is no secret that the goods sold in our time, in particular shoes, are very close in their characteristics and most often differ only in brand name, quality, and production technology. Now, in order to overtake competitors in the shoe retail industry, it has become insufficient to constantly increase labor productivity or expand the product line. There was an urgent need for competent and accurate selection of employees, whose competence, initiative and attitude to the business depend on both the sales volume and the degree of the company's presence on the market as a whole.

Now, in order to ensure their own competitiveness in the development and retention of personnel, many companies are ready to invest money and other tangible and intangible resources. There is even a new term - “human resources”.

Thus, the recognition of the great role of the personnel of the company in increasing the efficiency of the organization's activities required a change in the approach to the planning and staff selection system. Let's look at ways of forming the staffing list of a retail store of shoes and accessories. And we will figure out how to determine the optimal number of sales personnel necessary to fulfill the established financial plan.

How to determine the optimal number of staff?

There are a lot of methods, but let us dwell on one of them, which is based on the dependence of the competencies of the sales staff and the financial plan. So, to determine the required number of sales personnel, we need the average value of the time spent on closing one transaction (selling).

Let's look at the following example:

The planned financial plan for the month is - 3 000 000 rubles. The average time per transaction is 25 minutes. Opening hours of a retail store from 10-00 to 20-00 (10 hours).

First actionthat needs to be made is to determine the amount of revenue that the retail outlet should bring daily: 3 000 000 rubles / 30 days = 100 000 rubles

Second action, which must be implemented, is reduced to determining the average hourly revenue: 100 000 rubles / 10 hours = 10 000 rubles

Next, you need to consider key performance indicators of the store, given the cost of the goods presented.

Suppose the average retail store check is 4000 rubles. Accordingly, to fulfill the average hourly revenue rate, approximately 3 checks must be punched. Considering that one transaction takes 25 minutes - the minimum number of sales consultants who are in the store during the whole working day should be at least 2 people.

Taking into account the fact that the sales staff, as a rule, have a shift schedule of 2 / 2 or 3 / 3, then in order to achieve the established financial result it is necessary to have a staff of at least 4 people.

Now let's look at how to organize the recruiting process competently and without unnecessary time and other costs. In each company, the selection process for applicants should be built, first of all, in accordance with the principle of expediency. While in a small business a two-stage selection procedure is sufficient, in large companies the process most often consists of 4-5 steps.

We will consider a two-stage selection system.

If at the first stage of personnel selection the potential leader of the applicant himself is included in the process, then for the maximum technological effectiveness of this procedure, it is best to adhere to the following principles of processing primary information and the rules for conducting telephone calls:

- Select the 5-6 criteria by which you can determine whether to continue to interact with the applicant and spend your valuable time on him or not. As a rule, these criteria include: work experience, vocabulary size, knowledge of the specifics of fashion retail, the ability to inspire confidence.

- Create a “weighed” list of selection criteria in such a way that an unambiguous assessment of the applicant can be formed either by the results of the analysis of his resume, or during a brief telephone conversation.

The creation of such a primary “filter” will allow you to immediately cut off most of the flow of applicants if, for example, you use the Internet as the main channel for attracting potential labor.

Tests are also often used as one of the stages of primary selection. They allow you to obtain objective information about the intellectual abilities, personal qualities and knowledge of certain subject areas.

A good test provides reliable data that makes it possible to predict the behavior of the applicant in the workplace and, therefore, make a more informed decision.

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Personality tests are aimed primarily at assessing the interests, values ​​and patterns of behavior of the applicant. Today, the five-factor model, or the Big Five, is most often used in such tests:

• extraversion / introversion (the direction of a person’s mental activity toward himself; or concentration on objects of the outside world and those around him);

• emotional stability (quick recovery, independence, self-confidence; or anxiety, dependence, self-doubt);

• complaisance (politeness, skill and desire to work in a team, a tendency to arouse the sympathy of others, tolerance; or rudeness, a lack of a tendency to teamwork, unfriendliness);

• conscientiousness (industriousness, perseverance, diligence, reliability; or laziness, superficiality in judgments and actions, negligence, tendency to deceive and avoid difficulties);

• learnability (curiosity, the presence of creative imagination, willingness to learn, broad-minded; or limited, lack of imagination, complacency, limited outlook).

When is the best use of test methods? It is recommended to use screening tests if you need to recruit a large number of employees, or it is difficult to unequivocally rely on the results of biographical data and there are doubts about the reliability of the description of the experience of the applicant.

For such types of work as sales or conducting any kind of negotiations, where the role of the person is very large, personality tests are extremely useful.

In any case, before applying any test methods, it is necessary to assess the appropriateness of their application in the selection system of applicants, to identify key groups of positions for which their use is necessary and economically feasible. It also becomes important to ensure equal conditions for testing for all applicants (time for testing, lack of interference and external stimuli, etc.).

As a rule, at the second stage of selection, the leader himself becomes an accomplice in the process. This happens already during the interview with the applicant. In order for this stage to have a positive result, it is necessary to clearly think through all its main points.

What mistakes are most often made by managers?

• The interview is poorly structured, each of the applicants is asked different questions inherently. Subsequently, it is difficult to assess the differences between the candidates.

• It has not been thought out in advance how the competence of the applicant will be evaluated.

• The head does not seek to attract the applicant and show him the benefits that work in this company gives, thereby somewhat “scaring away” good applicants.

• The head “crumples the interview”, is distracted by work issues, relying primarily on intuition and the first impression of the applicant.

• When conducting interviews, managers often ask questions that provoke socially desirable answers. Any applicant, as a rule, prepares for them in advance.

How to avoid mistakes?

Firstly, each interview should be close to business negotiations in terms of its importance and techniques: after all, one seeks to “sell itself” and the other to “sell its vacancy”.

Secondly, methods of detailed planning of interviews and selection of analysis tools corresponding to one or another position do not allow one to stumble.

Thirdly, it is recommended not to appoint more than 4-6 interviews with applicants for one day. Otherwise, if there is intensive loading at the main workplace, the quality of the result will inevitably decrease.

Fourthly, the interview time varies depending on the vacant position. 20-30 minutes may be sufficient to conduct an interview on the position of a sales assistant, while for senior positions the interview may take longer. In any case, it is recommended to spend no more than an hour on an interview with the applicant.

Julia Veshnyakova - General Director of the consulting company "Academy of Retail Technologies", a practicing specialist in the procurement of a collection of fashionable clothes and accessories at specialized exhibitions. Practical experience in the fashion industry - 19 years. www.art-rb.ru

This article was published in the 119 issue of the print version of the magazine.