By Joe Skorupa

 

I recently overheard one Gen Y entrepreneur say he uses a computer for work and smartphone for all communication. He never checks e-mail on his computer because so few people use it and instead uses the smartphone for all replies. Welcome to today’s workforce. This shift in communications has serious implications for store operations and is one of the most under-reported stories in retailing.

 

Massive media attention is devoted to the boom in m-commerce, which focuses on consumer empowerment and mobile shopping, but a major story about a silent revolution in store operations and workforce management is buried beneath the noise.

 

Many retailers have already recognized this shift and are already addressing it, according to the exclusive RIS report “Mobile WFM Comes of Age.”

 

The first question retailers want to know is: What’s the best strategy for using mobile devices in workforce management? Our respondents single out three:

 

1. Task Management for Normal Workload for Store and Regional Managers (70%). Until recently mobile devices used for this function were so rugged and retail-specific they were too costly to roll out chain wide. But thanks to the smartphone revolution prices have plummeted.

 

2. Instantly connect a Mobile Web Portal for Communications and Information (66.7%). Since smartphones are carried everywhere pushing communications through a Web portal becomes a near instantaneous way to reach staffers.

 

3. Task Management for Additional Workload for Store and Regional Managers (60%). This means two out of the top three strategies are related to task management for normal workload and additional workload, which aims at increasing productivity and ultimately sales performance in each store.

 

 

One of the biggest findings in the study is the deep penetration of social media in workforce management, and, of course, social media is a natural component of a fully developed mobile strategy.

 

The vast majority of retailers, two thirds (65.5%), either plan to use social media as a tool to improve hiring and recruiting or will be using it before the end of the year. This is a major revelation and illustrates how fast retailers adapt to emerging technologies.

 

Nearly a third (31.6%) began using social media prior to 2010 and another 17.2% will use it by the end of 2010. This means that nearly half (48.8%) of retailers will be using by year’s end.

 

We asked those who already use social media as a hiring and recruiting tool which social media sites or platforms they use. Despite the massive popularity of Facebook it came in third on the list, no doubt because it is primarily seen as a casual, entertainment medium that is not ideally suited for business purposes. But the fact that it came in third, chosen by 45% of respondents validates its future potential as it grows and evolves into a channel nearly as ubiquitous as Google.

 

The top two social media services chosen for hiring and recruiting are LinkedIn and Corporate Web sites, both tied at 75%. LinkedIn is essentially the Facebook for professionals, which makes it an ideal third-party source for retailers to tap for hiring and recruiting.

 

 

The top three ways mobile devices will be used for operations are as a Store Manager’s Tool (83.9%), On Sales Floor (61.3%) and as a Regional Manager’s Tool (61.3%). A common denominator for all three is that they are targeted for use by key staff members and aimed at locations that will produce clearly measurable, hard performance results.

 

However, retailers see two large obstacles that stand in the way of faster, broader use of mobile devices in WFM, and they are that Devices Get Lost, Stolen or Break (73.3%) and Security (66.7%).

 

We asked if retailers believe mobile devices can deliver hard benefits, and more than a quarter said they can. Of these, the top hard benefit identified is Increases Productivity (60%), which validates findings from other questions in the study to solidify a major theme.

 

In third place is the related hard benefit Increases Comp Store Sales Through Better Service (50%), which is one way to measure performance and productivity. It is also a metric to track to demonstrate ROI.

 

The second ranked hard benefit selected is Increases Customer Satisfaction Scores, which is a result of equipping associates with better tools.

 

Since not all benefits for using mobile devices are hard and measurable, we also wanted to know about soft benefits to provide a 360-degree view. Not surprisingly the top soft benefit selected is Appeals to Gen Y Associates (86.7%). Associates in this age group are a key hiring segment, and are also digital natives that consider using mobile devices at work as a “cool” factor.

 

The second highest ranked soft benefit is the flip side of the first option’s coin – Appeals to Gen Y Customers (60%). While these two options seem at first glance to only deliver benefits to the Gen Y demographic, the next two highest choices extend benefits to the broader organization – Enhances Brand Impression for Customers (50%) and Improves Morale (43.3%).

 

For those who want to read the full report “Mobile WFM Comes of Age” with detailed charts click here.