talent management 2.0: flexible and digital 

Never has it been more important for the retail sector to find dedicated, well-trained employees and to create a respectful work culture. Skills shortages, increasing staff turnover and new digital challenges are making it more difficult than ever for companies to find and also retain suitable employees. The online "Applicant Tracking System" (ATS) tool developed by rpc helps companies with their entire HR processes and not only reduces a company’s workload but also improves applicants’ overall candidate experience.

Digitalization and the volatility that comes with it influence not only customer behavior, but also the expectations of applicants with regard to their potential new employers. Whether a potential employee decides to join a company depends to a great extent on whether the application process – the candidate experience – has been a positive or negative experience. Today not only should the application process be as quick as possible – two thirds of people want to spend no more than 20 minutes on an online application – but the same goes for the entire recruitment process, which should take up to one month at most. This is something that only a quarter of companies were able to manage a few years ago. Not even half of companies had an online application form at that time, let alone a mobile-optimized careers website. Companies often also fail to use the right (social media) channels to reach potential candidates and attract them to the company. As a result, competitors can easily pick out and poach qualified applicants and promising talent. Modern and sustainable talent management therefore has to be at the center of any company’s HR strategy, but must also take into account the needs and communication behaviour of the younger generation.

“Companies are looking for employees who are ready to take responsibility, achieve results and develop their professional skills,” says Christoph Kunz. “However, the search for such people is often time-consuming in practice, as it is common for a mixture of unconnected tools to be used. Talent management should therefore be managed by one provider for the duration of the candidate journey.”

With the HR portfolio from rpc – The Retail Performance Company, all personnel steps are handled from a single source. It covers the entire candidate journey, including employer branding, recruitment, onboarding, training, annual performance reviews and development centers. It takes the following form:

Companies must be aware that digital tools and social recruiting in HR are becoming increasingly relevant. Artificial intelligence will make recruitment quicker, more flexible and more effective in the future. That is why rpc is already offering the option of using facial recognition in recruitment. This enables not only objective, data-driven decisions, but also a better person-job fit. rpc also takes future trends into account in its on-site work with customers, such as learning, microlearning, web-based training, virtual reality and chat bots. rpc uses its comprehensive approach to talent management to support companies across all personnel processes, from employer branding right through to training, and it is also the direct point of contact for retail applicants and employees. We are convinced that a respectful candidate journey is the key to meeting the requirements of millennials and Generation Z.

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