WFM In 2016: Cloud, Compliance, And Collaboration

Innovative Retail Technologies’ most recent survey of retail execs finds a market ripe for the adoption of cloud-based workforce management applications, tepid confidence in workforce compliance, and increasing collaboration among HR, store ops, and associates.

Workforce and human capital management applications have come of age, and retailers are catching on. Innovative Retail Technologies’ summer 2016 survey of more than 150 retail executives reveals some compelling trends around the value that’s driving adoption of modern WFM/HCM applications.

Who Answered The Survey?

The bulk of responses (76.5 percent) to our extensive survey were submitted by specialty soft goods, mass merchant, home, and grocery retailers, with the remainder comprised of service-oriented merchants (salons, florists, health clubs, travel and entertainment, etc.).

Nearly a quarter of responders self-identified as partner/owner of their businesses, these respondents primarily representing smaller merchants. Among the nearly 1/3 of merchants operating 500 or more stores, we collected responses from executives identifying primarily as CMO/marketing managers, VPs/directors of IS/IT, systems managers, and project managers.