Strandbags is aiming to hire 500 new staff for the upcoming Christmas season through new incentives and in store technology investments.
This includes giving a free bag to new staff and streamlining its recruitment process by removing the need for resumes.
Speaking with Ragtrader, CEO Felicity McGahan said Strandbag’s tactics towards attracting new talent is by creating a collaborative and supportive environment.
“Because we know there's such a war on talent out there, it really challenged all of us to look at our own," McGahan said. "What we're all offering, and how we were going to stand out and really put together a package that makes us somewhere that team members would want to join.
“It's just bringing retail back to fun; it used to be fun."
Part of Strandbags’ recruitment strategy includes adding new incentives such as giving a free bag to new employees and offering paid time off on their birthdays.
Full time staff at Strandbags now get a full paid day off on their birthday, while casuals get a half-day off paid.
Employees also get a staff discount of 40%.
According to McGahan, Strandbags also offer incentives on in store wins – from flight vouchers to gifted products.
Further from these incentives, Strandbags has brought on new technology in store to help store teams connect. This includes onboarding services such as Yoobic, a “mobile-first” app that connects frontline teams.
“We've rolled out a lot of technology, with earphones and everything, to connect the teams,” said McGahan, “so they're no longer zoned in a store and can't talk to each other.
“[It’s] allowing them to talk to each other and build peer-to-peer relationships - we think that's really, really important.
“We've also rolled out this tool called Yoobic, which allows all the stores to connect and share photos of each other's stores and two-way communication.”
As well as these new tools, Strandbags also offers a 24/7 employee assistance program for staff who are struggling with mental health.
“For this community, there's a lot of young people out there that are looking for a place where they can connect with others,” McGahan said. “So we're just trying to really make it align with our personality a bit.
“Make it a bit spirited and savvy; a bit of fun."
While attracting new staff is a challenge in the current climate, McGahan said another challenge is learning and catering to prospective staff’s career path.
“It's looking at the whole person,” McGahan said. “I think that's the difference, and understanding what hours and flexibility they want. And being able to work that across multiple stores, not just one store.
“I think we've learned so much through COVID of how we really look at this whole person from a mental health, to a career, to a 'I'm doing it for the money.'
“There's all different reasons people work with us. And I think we've got to have a whole menu of things that really support that.”