Written by Mahlab, used with permission.
New research from Kronos has found that Australian retailers’ profits are being eaten away by workers cancelling their shifts.
Australians are predicted to spend more than $50 billion these holidays, yet 13% of rostered retail hours are wasted, with 7% of hours scheduled but not worked, and 6% worked, but not needed – a big hit to retailers’ bottom line.
The rise of employee absenteeism in Australia means that employers are often left in the lurch during peak times, which according to the research, is when absence rates are at their highest.
More than half of retailers surveyed said managing unplanned absence is one of the organisation’s biggest workforce management challenges.
56% said building work schedules that accurately align with the demands of customers, the business, and employees is one of the most difficult, complex, or times consuming issues.
The majority of respondents admitted to doing a bad job of scheduling staff, regularly finding themselves with either too few or too many staff during peaks and troughs of demand.
87% of global organisations over-schedule or schedule additional labour to cover unplanned absences.
Steven Volz, Head of Retail Kronos APAC, said: “We estimate that worker absenteeism will cost Australian retailers approximately $600 million over the summer holiday period alone.
“Retailers’ best defence against absenteeism is employee engagement, teamed with workforce management tools that help them forecast rostering needs based on historical data and known events.
“We’re also seeing the positive benefits of enabling employees to manage their shift swaps, shift bids and leave requests by using mobile apps .
“Greater utilisation of workforce management tools such as these can unlock the last easy money for retailers,” he said.