Productivity
This coverage explores productivity in the UK retail industry, focusing on workforce effectiveness, operational efficiency, process innovation, and cost control. Reporting provides insight into how retailers optimise resources and performance to remain competitive — supporting executives, managers, and professionals driving improvement initiatives.
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Jul- 2020 -10 JulyComment
Why a multi-skilled retail team is essential for optimal efficiency
Retail is a people business. And while the rise of online shopping has increased the role of technology, it has arguably made the colleague interactions that do happen even more important. The mantra for retailers of “right people, right place, right time” has never mattered more. A historical retail resourcing…
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Jun- 2020 -19 JuneAdvice
How e-commerce can maintain business continuity in the face of Covid-19
Covid-19 and the government stay-at-home and shutdown orders have wreaked havoc on the retail industry. Footfall was down 44.7% in March. High street stores without ecommerce operations saw sales collapse. Primark, for instance, saw its monthly sales of £650m a month evaporate. And whilst ecommerce retailers have the advantage of…
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19 JuneAdvice
Retailers must ensure the mental health of their workforce is a top priority
According to the World Health Organisation, in recent years depression has crept up the ladder to become the most common cause of ill health & disability worldwide. In the UK, at any time, one in six adults reports themselves as suffering from depression or anxiety or phobia or OCD, (that…
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Apr- 2020 -28 AprilComment
Furlough – what next?
The Government’s Job Retention Scheme was set up urgently to support employers and protect employees during lockdown. Such state intervention, unprecedented in the UK, is designed to facilitate a quick rebound of the economy once business activity resumes. But as the crisis drags on, the lockdown has already been extended…
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Mar- 2020 -26 MarchComment
Preventing inevitable recession from becoming depression
The global economy is heading into a recession, initially at least a pretty severe one. The measures introduced by governments in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus are having a dramatic effect on huge swathes of economic activity. There is the direct loss of output and employment…
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24 MarchBusiness Bites
The furloughs and loans are useless to small businesses
The small business community has been watching with great hope to see if the government will introduce measures that are useful for them to survive this period. Alas, those announced are absolutely useless for small companies, which make up an extremely significant portion of the UK economy. Coronavirus Business Interruption…
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4 MarchComment
Three tip for warehouse transformation
It wasn’t very long ago when fulfillment was described as: “Just logistics.” How times change. And with the speed and accuracy of deliveries enabling competitive advantage, warehousing is high on boardroom agendas. While this change is good news, it comes with challenges. Along with consumers’ expectations for ever faster delivery,…
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Feb- 2020 -21 FebruaryBusiness Bites
Barclays as Big Brother, storms batter insurance companies, Redcar steels itself for renewal
The TUC says Barclays’ surveillance of its employees is ‘dystopian’ after it was revealed the bank uses software to monitor how long employees spend at their desks and issues warnings if they are away for too long. Bosses have been running a test of the system in the London office…
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20 FebruaryComment
Mindfulness in omnichannel retail – the key to a successful future
Mindfulness and being more conscientious about the impact of retail operations is fast becoming a top business priority for online brands, and one we will continue to see develop in 2020. With 88% of consumers wanting retailers to help them make a difference, being aware of the implications that retail…
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Jan- 2020 -3 JanuaryPeople Moves
More than a quarter of retail staff look for new job in January
New research has found that nearly 30% of employees in retail customer service roles are most likely to look for a new job in January, due to a “seasonal slump” in engagement and motivation. The survey by quality assurance improvement platform, EvaluAgent, found that 38% of retail customer service staff…
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