The retail brain drain

The recession, together with the subsequent job cuts, have lead to more retail staff setting up their own businesses.

According to a recent survey by workforce solutions provider Kelly Services more than one in 10 respondents in the retail sector described themselves as self-employed, while among the remainder half expressed a desire to work more independently.

The results of the Kelly Global Workforce Index - which surveys 134,000 people including around 6,000 in the UK - show that those who have lost their jobs are seizing the opportunity to work as independent contractors, freelancers and consultants as well as starting their own businesses. For some there may be no alternative, but for others the recession has been the prompt to fulfil long-held dreams.

So what impact is this likely to have on the retail sector in the long term? Is it a brain drain on the talent that retailers have, or the opportunity for change?

Kelly Services UK operations manager Shane Green believes retailers should take it as a warning sign. While some of the respondents will be making the move because the recession has forced them out of a role, others are leaving through dissatisfaction at a lack of retail career advancement or recognition by their managers.

“Retailers should be doing more to hold on to their people otherwise it’s a lost talent pool and retailers are going to find a gap in the knowledge,” says Green.

But for a sector that relies on innovation could it not also be an opportunity? About 23% of respondents said they had been bitten by the entrepreneurial bug and for some it could have been the push that will see the development of the retailers of tomorrow.

And using such freelance skills also allows retailers to access a wider talent base. Laura Ryan, former group HR director at MFI, set up her own business KnowHow HR five years ago.

“With so many flexible affordable options available on a short-term basis, suddenly the reach is so much further than what it would have been if they were looking to appoint on a more established basis,” she says.

“Freedom and choice for the employer and the self-employed person means a real win-win.”

Milton Guffog, former chief executive of Celebrations Group - which ran the Cardfair and Card Warehouse fascias - is still looking for another leadership position but says that for senior retailers the opportunities are limited.

In the meantime he too has fostered the entrepreneurial spirit, launching consultancy business TargetR3 and greetings card manufacturer Cubik365 since the recession hit.

“I don’t see it as a problem, I see it as an opportunity,” says Guffog. “I’m using the skills I’ve got and have used my time effectively.”