COVID and Beyond: Evaluating Digital Engagement Options for Frontline Employees

Post Covid, with a more discerning customer and tightened purse strings, only trained personnel who can engage meaningfully will make the customer part with their money. The rest will be just pure wasted opportunity...

- Jacqueline P. Mundkur

Once the economy starts limping back to normal after the COVID-19 induced lay-off, we can hopefully look forward to the speedy opening of thousands of retail outlets across the country. By re-engaging the workforce after this forced hiatus of sorts, the question foremost in people’s minds will be: how do we retrain them? Similarly, for new recruits how do we speedily get them up to scratch? With dipping revenues, a liquidity crunch, and a tepid consumer sentiment, spending money on training the traditional way may be considered by many as ‘wasteful’.

Yes, we foresee that, as a shortsighted reaction, training investments may be jettisoned and a quick fix will be applied to deploy both new and existing staff back on the floor. Pause a moment and consider the holistic ramifications of this as it could result with poorly trained staff interacting with customers. One of the key reasons why physical retail is yet relevant in our world filled with e-commerce options, is the frontline associate who is a value differentiator. So, while we may think it prudent to fill counters and place poorly trained associates out there, with a more discerning customer and tightened purse strings, only the ones who can engage meaningfully will make the customer part with their money. The rest will be just pure wasted opportunity.