Column by Anatoly Kostyrev about staff shortages in retail

The problem of staff shortages is one of the most acute in Russia today for almost any business, but some industries suffer from staff shortages more than others. The latter, apparently, includes food retail. At least this conclusion suggests itself when looking at the promotions launched by several federal chains aimed at attracting workers.

Thus, Lenta recently announced the first job fair for buyers in hypermarkets with a prize draw. As the company reported, there will be places in the halls where you can find out about available positions, fill out an application and undergo an interview, receiving information about discounts for employees, bonuses for length of service, bonuses, an insurance program and preferential meals. And a mock-up of an advertisement with the appeal “Work for us, be on top – win an apartment in Moscow” in the signature green and red colors of one of the largest grocery chains went viral on Telegram channels.

Recruiters also note the urgent need for personnel in retail. In October 2023, the number of vacancies for employees in the retail sector increased by 26% year-on-year, according to data from Superjob portal Shopper`s. First of all, grocery chains, liquor stores, cosmetics and household chemicals stores, and fashion clothing stores are looking for employees. And the most popular line positions are sales consultants, cashiers and administrators. And although, according to Superjob, the salaries of such specialists over the year increased by 9% on average in the market, this apparently does not solve the problem.

So far, apparently, retail is trying to cope with the shortage of staff using methods more reminiscent of bargaining, and time will tell how successful the launched promotions will be. If we draw parallels with the popular theory of resignation to the inevitable, bargaining should be followed by a stage of acceptance, which in this case may mean more radical steps – a significant indexation of wages. And those probably have room to grow. In July, according to Rosstat data, the average salary in the retail trade of products in specialized stores in Moscow was 62.2 thousand rubles. per month, and the average salary in the city as a whole is 128.32 thousand rubles. per month.

It is obvious that retail is in no hurry to move to this stage. Lenta spent 31.76 billion rubles on personnel in January-September of this year – 8.1% of revenue, X5 Group (Pyaterochka, Perekrestok, Chizhik) – 188.9 billion rubles, or 8.3% of revenue. And a noticeable increase in salaries will certainly require a reduction in other expenses, for example, on the purchase of regional networks. And then you may have to make concessions to in-demand personnel on social issues, for example, on the long-discussed topic of limiting the work of hypermarkets on weekends.