In conversations with HR departments and retail decision-makers, one concern comes up regularly: turnover.
Faced with competition between brands and recruitment difficulties, companies devote considerable energy to identifying new talent. Yet one question deserves just as much attention: what are they actually putting in place to retain those already on board?
While pay remains an important criterion, it is no longer enough on its own to build lasting engagement.
Employees also want to understand how they can progress, develop their expertise and envision their future within a Maison.
Career progression is not just about management
In many retail organisations, career progression still relies on an essentially hierarchical model: sales advisor, assistant, store manager, then director.
A coherent path, but one that does not necessarily match every employee's aspirations.
An excellent sales advisor is not necessarily destined to become a manager, and above all, the skills that make a very good salesperson are not automatically those that make a good team leader.
Progressing should not necessarily mean managing.
Maisons would benefit from developing several progression paths: managerial, of course, but also expert and cross-functional.
An advisor could thus move towards roles such as product expert, in-house trainer, brand ambassador, or specialise in CRM, visual merchandising or clienteling.
In the world of perfumery, for example, recognition of olfactory expertise can allow an employee to take on new responsibilities without necessarily leaving sales.
These paths help to showcase skills and offer genuine prospects to profiles with different ambitions.
Concrete prospects rather than promises
Opportunities for progression are regularly highlighted in employer branding messaging, but they sometimes remain insufficiently structured.
Yet announcing progression opportunities without specifying the steps, the skills required or the conditions for access can generate frustration.
Employees need visibility.
Setting up internal academies, leadership programmes or specialisation paths is an interesting response to this challenge.
These schemes make it possible to identify the skills to be developed, to support employees in their progression and to make career prospects more concrete.
They also encourage internal mobility, a lever that is sometimes underused even as companies continually look for new profiles externally.
Before systematically looking for talent elsewhere, Maisons have every interest in identifying those they could help grow internally.
Recognition, beyond pay
In a competitive environment, the temptation to respond to departures with a salary bidding war can be strong.
Yet budgets are not unlimited, and a retention strategy cannot rely exclusively on pay.
The employee experience is also built through a multitude of everyday gestures and practices.
Recognition of achievements, collective challenges, opportunities to take part in cross-functional projects, or certain personalised benefits can help strengthen a sense of belonging.
A day off for a birthday, highlighting an achievement in internal communications, or the chance to represent one's Maison at a professional event are all possible initiatives.
Their effectiveness naturally depends on the company culture and the actual expectations of teams, but one conviction remains: retention is also built through the way a company treats its employees on a daily basis.
Training advisors for the jobs of tomorrow
Retail roles are undergoing a profound transformation.
The sales advisor is no longer limited to presenting a product and closing a transaction. They help build a lasting customer relationship, use digital tools, draw on CRM data and contribute to the quality of the in-store experience.
This shift requires rethinking training paths.
While product knowledge remains fundamental, it must now be paired with broader skills: clienteling, CRM, storytelling, visual merchandising, mastery of digital tools and relational intelligence.
The development of soft skills also plays an essential role, particularly in communication, professional posture and adaptability.
This approach helps prepare employees for the evolution of their role while strengthening their employability.
It also gives Maisons the opportunity to bring new expertise to the surface internally.
Making retention a strategic issue
In the coming years, retail management may place growing importance on employee engagement, internal mobility and the quality of training paths.
Indicators such as eNPS (Employee Net Promoter Score) could thus complement traditional measures of performance and customer satisfaction, but beyond the tools, what seems necessary is a shift in management culture.
Retention is not just about convincing an employee to stay, it is about giving them concrete reasons to envision their future within the company.
Maisons that know how to recognise expertise, multiply career prospects and invest in developing their teams will have valuable levers to build lasting performance, because the real challenge is not only to attract the best talent, but to make them want to build their future within the Maison.
