Hiring Leadership Strategies

The Kick in the (Re)Tail Recruiters Need
April 27, 2018 at 9:34 am

“The future belongs to those who prepare for it.” While I can’t take credit for the line (thanks Ralph Waldo Emerson), I’ll appropriate it for retailers as a warning of changes to come in industry recruitment: Prepare for your company’s hiring future or it won’t have one. Current Problem: Job Seekers Don’t Like Change The…

Home Depot Embarks on Tech Hiring Spree
April 20, 2018 at 3:19 pm

Home Depot announced this week that it will hire more than 1,000 technology positions this year. Recode reported the home improvement retailer is using the hiring spree as a means to support an $11 billion multiyear investment plan to extend its lead in brick-and-mortar retail over competitors like Lowe’s as well as fend off increased…

Workplace Training Brings Competitive Advantage for Retailers
April 4, 2018 at 8:55 am

For the second year in a row, Axonify has released the results of its annual State of Workplace Training Study, conducted in December 2017 by global market research firm Ipsos. The study’s goal was to gain a comprehensive view of workplace training across different industries, including retail, and highlight the importance of providing the right kind of training to drive measurable business results.

New Executives Named at Jet.com, ModCloth, Tapestry
March 26, 2018 at 3:31 pm

A flurry of management changes have taken place at leading retailers recently, including Jet.com, ModCloth and Tapestry. Jet.com: Walmart's Jet.com has named Tesco veteran Simon Belsham as president of the e-commerce company, effective immediately, the company told CNBC on Monday. Belsham will be responsible for expanding Jet's online grocery business, Walmart E-Commerce CEO Marc Lore…

New Hiring Paradigm Sets Expectations for Immediate Results
March 7, 2018 at 11:58 am

In the past, most organizations considered at least the first three months to be a “honeymoon” period where new leaders absorbed the business and navigated the company culture. This seems to have shifted, particularly among the Fortune 100. A senior HR executive at a major automotive manufacturer recently summarized her view on the acculturation period for new leaders: “My honeymoon period for this job was, at best, two weeks. Our expectation is that we hire leaders and expect them to come in and make an immediate impact.”

Lowe's Launches Job-Training Pilot Program for Skilled Trades
February 26, 2018 at 2:06 pm

Lowe’s last week launched its Track to the Trades program, a workforce development initiative designed to provide support for employees who want to pursue job training for skilled trades. Lowe's has partnered with adult education program Guild Education on the Track to the Trades program. The initiative comes at a time when the skilled trade…

Best Buy, J.C. Penney CEOs on the Value of Workplace Diversity
January 17, 2018 at 12:02 pm

In a panel discussion yesterday afternoon at the National Retail Federation Big Show in New York City, Hubert Joly and Marvin Ellison, the CEOs of Best Buy and J.C. Penney, respectively, addressed the importance diversity and inclusion in the workplace can have not only on their own businesses, but all corporations. Joly and Ellison were…

Jim Sinegal, Co-Founder and Director, Costco Wholesale Corp.
November 3, 2017 at 12:11 pm

"If you're a manager, teaching is 90 percent of your job. There's only one reason you hire someone, and that's because you can’t do everything yourself. If you're not prepared to teach, you just don't get it. And if you hire well, and if you teach well, those people wind up doing the job better…

A Few Thoughts From Costco’s Jim Sinegal
November 1, 2017 at 2:31 pm

It’s not often that you get to hear from retail legends like Jim Sinegal, co-founder and director of Costco Wholesale Corp. That’s why I was so excited to attend his talk at SAP’s Retail Executive Forum, which was held in New York City earlier this month. And he didn't disappoint. Sinegal served as the CEO…

Doug Wood, CEO, Tommy Bahama
October 18, 2017 at 2:44 pm

“We [choose] candidates who understand that it’s not about you winning; it’s about us winning. We don’t try to set up competition between channels. It’s all about one number. If the business comes through one channel or another, what's most important is that the guest came to us from any channel.”