A ‘skills shake-up’ is key to unlocking the high street

Build loyalty and demonstrate product knowledge - as online shopping continues to increase, the in-store sales experience will become less about quick transactions.

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Thursday, June 4, 2020
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QUESTIONMARK
Summary
Key Points: 
  • Build loyalty and demonstrate product knowledge - as online shopping continues to increase, the in-store sales experience will become less about quick transactions.
  • Retailers should focus on building loyalty to brands and product ranges.9 Staff will need to demonstrate a customer service focus with high product knowledge or the aptitude to acquire those skills.
  • Through testing and assessment of the workforce, employers get the fair, valid and defensible information they need to make effective decisions.
  • Its full-service online assessment tool and professional services help customers to improve their performance and meet their compliance requirements.


Retail needs a ‘skills shake-up’ to bounce back from the current crisis.

Experts believe the impact of the coronavirus will mean retail will change forever1. Nevertheless, many believe that the demand for a physical shopping experience will not disappear.2 3

Based on expert trends and predictions, Questionmark, the online assessment provider, is advising retailers to test whether workers have the right skills, and to identify any training needs, to:

  • Protect the public - surveys in both the USA and UK indicate a high reluctance among consumers to return to non-essential shopping.4 5 Retailers must demonstrate that staff understand how to manage social distancing measures.
  • Utilize new technologies - countless consumers have tried or got used to online shopping for the first time.6 They have experimented with new payment methods.7 Experts predict that seamlessly integrating physical retail and e-commerce will be key to survival.8 Employers must ensure that staff have the skill to operate relevant technologies.
  • Build loyalty and demonstrate product knowledge - as online shopping continues to increase, the in-store sales experience will become less about quick transactions. Retailers should focus on building loyalty to brands and product ranges.9 Staff will need to demonstrate a customer service focus with high product knowledge or the aptitude to acquire those skills.

Through testing and assessment of the workforce, employers get the fair, valid and defensible information they need to make effective decisions. They can identify where training is needed, and what type. Employers can make better decisions on recruitment, promotions and internal transfers.

Lars Pedersen, CEO of Questionmark said: “Retailers recognize the need to radically evolve their offer. They must be confident that their staff have what it takes to adjust. Assessments with Questionmark will give employers confidence that their team is up to the task.”

The Questionmark Platform can assess an unlimited number of test-sitters, from anywhere in the world. The platform provides a range of assessment formats. Tests are automatically marked. Results are instantly compiled. Trends and patterns are easy and quick to spot.

To book a demo click here.

www.questionmark.com

About Questionmark

Questionmark provides a secure enterprise-grade assessment platform and professional services to leading organizations around the world, delivered with care and unequalled expertise. Its full-service online assessment tool and professional services help customers to improve their performance and meet their compliance requirements. Questionmark enables organizations to unlock their potential by delivering assessments which are valid, reliable, fair and defensible.

Questionmark offers secure powerful integration with other LMS, LRS and proctoring services making it easy to bring everything together in one place. Questionmark's cloud-based assessment management platform offers rapid deployment, scalability for high-volume test delivery, 24/7 support, and the peace-of-mind of secure, audited U.S., Australian and European-based data centers.

1 https://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherwalton/2020/04/01/the-domino-effect-5-ways-coronavirus-will-forever-change-retail/#212b3a7066be

2 https://www.retailprophet.com/the-future-of-retail/

3 The narrative around retail facing irreversible change but there still being a demand for a physical shopping experience can be found throughout the articles referenced. However, they are most succinctly articulated in referenced 1 & 2.

4 https://adage.com/article/news/mall-shoppers-scared-return-when-us-stores-reopen/2252066

5 https://www.ft.com/content/901a679e-d3e1-4842-9f12-8f36b0d3a0b8

6 https://www.fmi.org/blog/view/fmi-blog/2020/05/21/unprecedented-times

7 https://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherwalton/2020/04/01/the-domino-effect-5-ways-coronavirus-will-forever-change-retail/#4c9ee4b966be

8 https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2020/05/01/retail-coronavirus-pandemic-shopping

9 https://www.retailprophet.com/the-future-of-retail/

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