Retail World article November 2024
It seems to me it’s getting harder just to do business – volatility, rising costs, generational approach to work ethic/ambition; IR legislation; keeping pace with technology – to name just a few of the overarching headwinds affecting organisations. Some would say it was ever thus, and it’s just a new level of the same challenges, but the pace of change/volatility married to an unprecedented breath of simultaneous headwinds seems to me, different at the moment. This can be no better seen in the area of running field sales/merchandising teams.
Labor
Recruiting quality staff that stick is harder than it was. Relatively lower levels of unemployment makes Australia very much a candidates market and add the generational change (some would say generational epiphanies!) of the need for a rich employee value proposition, and this all adds up to increased competition for quality people and often increased costs. Ways of working flexibility in hours and location is a pre requisite to just engage with possible hires in a way it wasn’t only a few years ago. Then overlay with facilities, employee benefits and an increased awareness that business should be a force for good, and organisations have had to rethink their offer, be prepared to be interviewed versus being the interviewer, and it has all got a little bit harder.
Legislation
Law making that recognizes the mutuality of employees and organisations, and the necessary symbiotic relationship is welcome. So too are measures that prevent abuse of the psychological and physical/implied contracts that support such relationships. However, some would say the recent IR legislative agenda is counter productive in Australia. Changes to terms, entitlements and working arrangements as manifested in law, could result in increased costs and thus headcount reductions, notwithstanding in some cases seeking to fix perceived challenges whilst meanwhile creating others – -a good example is the increased limitations on casual labor whilst those that enjoy it see some flexibility diminished.
Tech and Data
The last 10 years has seen an increased pace in technological development, data and insight. Keeping pace with this is a challenge when running field teams in terms of leveraging new developments in Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, Image Recognition and Predictive Insight and Foresight to name a few. In addition to the capex required to invest in these developments, the accompanying upskilling people capability in building and using it, is another headwind that whilst is an opportunity, needs tackling.
Future
The only certainty we can be clear on is the need to “stay awake” as the pace of change in all of the above areas is likely to continue, if not, increase in the coming years. And clearly, this has implications and opportunities for those running either in house or outsourced field/sales teams. I am bound to argue that outsourced providers are best equipped to see opportunity in these headwinds, with their core purpose being to manage field teams to optimize return on investment. Try them. Meanwhile, for in sourced teams, particularly in brand owning manufacturers, the headwinds are felt stronger and will only get harder to mitigate.