TRTUK Managing Director, Christine Martin believes that now is just the right time to stage the ‘Our People Matter’ conference (this December), as many retailers are failing to recruit and retain talented ‘frontline heroes.’

 

“It is at times like this that training budgets get cut,” says Martin. “The solution is not rocket science; if we don’t give our [frontline] heroes the relevant knowledge and skills they need, how can we expect them to deliver the results we need?

 

“We certainly need to be better at recruiting and retaining talent as the cost – hidden and otherwise – of staff turnover is huge and very wasteful, especially when resources are so tight. I think there is an opportunity for the industry to collaborate to make working in our industry a career of choice.”

 

Martin believes that the industry could achieve much more if the various stakeholders would work on more collaborative initiatives; relating to staff training/recruitment and other areas of the business operating model.

 

DISENCHANTED WORKFORCE

“I think The Travel Retail Data Innovation Group* is a great example of this,” adds Martin. “If I relate this to my world for a moment…I wonder how much brand and product knowledge there is out there and how many times the same information is reworked/duplicated?

 

“A centralised library where all of this can be hosted and accessed by all, surely has to be seriously considered. Again a great opportunity for collaboration.”

 

Martin says that organic growth, after ‘so much’ consolidation is a top priority for many DF&TR organisations, which is why she thinks now is the perfect time to stage this conference.

 

“A disenchanted workforce, especially a disenchanted customer-facing workforce is a real danger to any organisation. At some time or another we have all had to listen to a disgruntled employee, bad-mouthing the organisation they work for and it isn’t nice.

 

“Knowing what your workforce say and feel about you is crucial to any organisation. It all comes back to that sense of ‘belonging’, being a member of a community that you are proud to be part of. If we don’t get this right then our passenger-to-shopper conversion rates will remain at dangerously low levels.”

 

ACTIVE PARTICIPATION AND INFORMATION SHARING

Martin hopes that attendees will become actively involved in December’s various conference sessions and that attendees can learn from each other.

 

“I hope that people will share best practice and be open to learning from each other so we can all work smarter not harder. I want our delegates to leave thinking they contributed and benefitted by attending and of course to play a part in making our heroes feel valued, so they can in turn add value. That is really important to me.”

 

*Initiated by Gebr. Heinemann, the Travel Retail Data Innovation Group (TRDIG) assembles suppliers, retailers and service provider 1WorldSync to establish a a standard for the automated exchange of product master data between retailers, suppliers, manufacturers and distributors through one global interface.

 

Read more about the Our People Matter conference inside the September issue of TRBusiness magazine.