3.2 million people work in Britain's retail industry, making it one of the most prominent industries within the UK, in addition the industry operates with a significant amount of temporary agency workers, normally equating to 19% of their workforce.
Relentlessly subject to bank balance of the general public, the retail sector was unable to escape the effects of a recession. Hit by a rising cost of living and a widespread slump in the housing market, 2009 saw consumers massively cutting down on all luxury and non-essential items, curbing their spending as far back as May 2008.
By January 2009, retail sales data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) showed the first fall in non-seasonally adjusted retail sales value - the biggest drop since 1986 when records first began. The figures also revealed the steepest decline in prices since the 1980s, with a decrease of 2.6% as retailers tried their hardest to shift goods of the shelves.
Many retailers have looked to streamline their processes and improve efficiencies, the vendor neutral recruitment service provider has proved extremely popular during 2010.
Further challenges presented themselves as to cope with the recession, many agencies began cutting corners on worker-checks, manipulating pay to candidates, and upping their margins, indeed 6 recruitment agencies were fined a total of £39.27m, by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) for price-fixing and the collective boycott of another company, leaving retailers open to further high costings, legal exposure, and workers vulnerable to underpayment.
The use of temporary agency workers will continue to play a pivotal role within retail but with tight employment legislation and pressures to improve health and safety, the need to improve control of their temporary workforce will increase during 2010.
Retailers must improve their control and indeed cost of the temporary workforce, which is often fragmented if they are to be successful during 2010.
To further cater for the severity of the retail slow down, the Centre for Economics and Business Research predicted that between 100,000 and 135,000 jobs would need to be slashed in the retail sector during 2009 alone. Burdened with the worry of going bankrupt, many retailers did indeed resort to laying off staff, or else they relied on temporary agency workers rather than recruiting new permanent staff as and when business required it.
For market-leaders such as Sainsbury's and the Co-op, this latter strategy proved extremely effective. Through partnering with the number-one procurer of temporary agency labour de Poel, their supply of temporary agency labour was well-managed and their spend in this area controlled to avoid high costs during the slow period.
The retail industry is one of the most prolific users of temporary agency staff, from drivers, shop-fitters and merchandisers, to sales assistants, warehouse operatives and administrative staff.
Perhaps the most beneficial aspect of using temporary agency workers is its flexibility and responsiveness. Workers can be provided by agencies quickly, as and when they are required. This is particularly useful for retailers in accommodating for seasonal and economic trends.
There are approximately 10,000 agencies operating in the UK, with no recruitment agency owning more than 4% of market share. As well as being fragmented, the recruitment industry is largely unregulated, which means many of the 10,000 recruitment agencies in the UK do not comply with legislation, leaving their retail clients legally exposed.
Retail companies use multiple agencies across all projects for their temporary agency workers, with numerous recruitment agencies on board, retail companies are often unaware of the wide range of pay rates, fees and terms and conditions, making it an expensive and often challenging area of the business to manage and administer.
"de Poel's extensive knowledge of the temporary labour industry coupled with their innovative and far-reaching vendor management solutions has enabled us to improve not only our supply and retention of quality temporary agency staff, but also the levels of service given by our nominated agencies".
