Get with the Times
Today’s store brands don’t much resemble those from those of a decade or so ago. And the same goes for the teams that build these brands.
The fact is, retailers now have to think about their personnel requirements in a much different way than they did in the past. In the “old days,” the job of a store brand marketer was about procurement and merchandising. Today, another layer of skills is required, says Jim Wisner, president of Libertyville, Ill.-based Wisner Marketing Group.
Wisner notes that years ago, he held the sole marketing position at Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based Topco Associates LLC. ABut during a recent visit, he found an entire staff of people collecting and interpreting consumer insights and analytics — and getting into most of the things major consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers do.
Carol Spieckerman, president of retail consultancy newmarketbuilders, agrees, noting that retailers are stepping up their recruitment of college candidates focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
But before they decide on the talent they need, retailers must determine their approach to private label, says Ben Ball, senior vice president with Dechert-Hampe Consulting, Northbrook, Ill.
“If they treat store brands as traditional private label, [retailers] don’t need a high source of marketing talent,” he states. “If they’re going to treat store brands as [true] proprietary brands — and go out and try to create the next President’s Choice — then they really have to pay attention. And there, I think a quality marketer can make a hell of a lot of difference.”
Retailers need to think long and hard about the type of person they’re going to hire. According to a May 2013 survey-based report from CareerBuilder.com, 27 percent of U.S. employers reported that a single bad hire cost them more than $50,000. And in a LinkedIn.com article, Josh Bersin, principal and founder of Bersin by Deloitte, Oakland, Calif., noted that the total cost of losing an employee can range from tens of thousands of dollars to one-and-a-half to two times the person’s annual salary. So it’s critical that the right person fills the open position — and that the person stays happy in his or her role.
Bring in new blood
Let’s assume that retailers are looking for marketers interested in developing true brands. The first step they need to take when seeing new talent is to develop relationships with business schools, Wisner recommends.
However, many business schools today don’t paint retail as the most attractive industry in which to be involved. CPG companies tend to “throw money into business schools” and attract graduates with the promise of developing and promoting glamorous products and brands. Meanwhile, retail jobs — including those tied to developing and marketing store brands — are depicted as positions that require nothing more than “putting cans on the shelf,” Wisner notes.
Adding to this problem, retailers are entering into tough competition hiring-wise with cutting-edge digital companies such as Google and others in non-retail industries — including banking, insurance and others that rely on developing complex algorithms — as they seek to hire from completely new “pools” of technology and analytics talent for their teams, Spieckerman says.
“In some cases, it will be difficult for retailers to hire the best talent, since the retail industry, by and large, doesn’t offer the types of perks that top technical and analytic candidates can receive elsewhere,” she states, adding, however, that a growing number of retailers are building innovation labs and acquiring start-up tech companies in “record numbers,” which could help to attract newly graduated STEM-focused candidates.
And retail actually isn’t as bland of an industry as schools make it out to be, Wisner states. Retailers should consider communicating this to schools.
“In many ways, [retail] is more sophisticated because not only are you dealing with established products that are out there, but you’re also really more at the root level of creating and positioning brands,” Wisner says.
To attract and retain talent, retailers should consider their infrastructure for personnel development and advancement. Wisner notes that retailers need to develop tracks to educate and groom less-experienced individuals for more advanced positions — and hold supervisors accountable for their employees’ growth.
New hires at the low end of the scale also must be comfortable going through the ranks — and need to understand that their jobs are not ones where they can “sit there and act important,” Wisner adds.
“Retail is a bit faster-paced than most organizations,” he says. “So you’re going to need more people with a pretty high capacity for work — people who are less ego-driven because of … the necessity for interface between the operating and the marketing components of the business.”
Seasoned workers needed, too
Retailers, however, cannot fill all positions through internal advancement — seasoned people with ideas developed on the outside should be brought in to create a good, blended team with diverse skill sets, Wisner says.
Craig Rowley, vice president and global leader of the retail practice at global management consulting firm Hay Group, states that for experienced candidates, retailers can — and often do — go for “brand-driven leaders” at major CPG companies.
“These individuals have sound grounding in brands and marketing, and can be very impactful in moving the business forward,” he states.
Ball agrees, noting, however, that retailers need to look specifically for CPG people with experience in shopper marketing, shopper insights and other areas beyond classic brand management.
Retailers also need to seek people who tend to be more pragmatic than theoretic in their thinking, Ball says. Candidates also must relate well with the operations group. To learn if they do, retailers need to ask interviewees to describe the last time they were involved in operations when launching a new line — or the last time they were involved with the packaging group when developing a new type of packaging.
As for what they shouldn’t do when hiring, Ball warns against recruiting marketing executives — especially ones with a CPG background — that you view as “junior” for a higher-up position, and then treating them likewise.
“That person with 10 years of experience believes they’re in the same position in terms of readiness to influence the organization and take a leadership role as somebody who might’ve spent 20 years in operations or merchandising,” he says.
Keep ’em satisfied
Retailers need to do more than just build the right store brand team — they also need to take proper initiatives to keep these employees happy in their roles. Wisner notes that the rules are the same in every position: Retailers must treat their store brand staff fairly and offer the right kind of work environment — one in which the value of individuals and their ideas are recognized.
Additionally, retailers must be open to change.
“I have seen companies hire these people and then not … let them implement their ideas,” Rowley states. “So it is important to make sure that the executive team fully commits to the new direction.”
And when a new idea is implemented, allow the initiative ample time and opportunity to work, Rowley recommends.
“And help them integrate with the rest of the business,” he adds. “Retail can be so focused on month-to-month sales that leaders are not patient enough to let new programs work.”