Retailers Talk Hiring, Blending In-Store And Online Sales

When the National Retail Federation’s annual industry trade show kicked off Sunday, jobs was the first topic on the table. Not job cuts, despite recent reports of major retailers closing dozens of stores. Instead, the focus was on how to find and keep workers, providing them with the right skills in a changing retail environment. “We know how exciting these retail jobs are. We just have to make sure everyone else does,” Kip Tindell, co-founder and chairman of The Container Store and the trade group’s chairman, said at the expo and convention, which has brought thousands in the retail industry to New York this week. To help recruit employees and slow high turnover in entry-level retail jobs, the National Retail Federation Foundation announced a new retail training and credential program, called RISE Up. The Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership was one of the organizations that tested the curriculum over an 18-month development period. So far, 21 companies have expressed support for the program, most assisting with funding or helping develop the curriculum. Entry-level retail jobs are changing as more brick-and-mortar stores become increasingly intertwined with online sales. Read more at Chicago Tribune.