Workplace from Meta is closing, names Workvivo by Zoom as ONLY preferred migration partner.

Retailers’ New Ally is Workvivo: TEI Report Findings

Shauna Azevedo-Brennan

Product Marketing Manager at Workvivo

October 16 2024

Our Forrester Total Economic Impact study highlights Workvivo TEI for retail, with easier onboarding and productivity among the benefits.

It’s no secret that the retail industry sees particularly high employee turnover, with rates staying consistently above 60% for years.

But at leading retailers, according to McKinsey, frontline staff are “twice as motivated in their day-to-day jobs and leave half as often”, and “comparative-store sales are three percentage points higher than at low performers”.

The key lies in your retail employee’s workplace experience, which is underpinned by company culture, recognition and appreciation, and engagement.

Our Forrester Total Economic Impact (TEI) study highlights how Workvivo can significantly improve these areas for retail companies along with financial and operational benefits.

Forrester’s insights are based on its interviews with four Workvivo users, which it aggregated into a single composite retail organization with revenue of $10 billion, a headcount of 60,000, operations in 40 countries, and a workforce that’s 75% frontline.

Let’s take a closer look at what the study found. 

Streamlined communication for better customer service

The composite retail company using Workvivo sees improved internal communications, the study shows, which translates to better customer service. Our platform’s ability to connect employees across various locations ensures that staff are informed and aligned. This is particularly beneficial for global retail chains with large, dispersed workforces.

One global fulfillment manager shared: “Workvivo is an engaging app-based solution that has allowed us to unlock access for everybody. There is equitable access and the multilingual translations unlock the same information for everybody, which is a top benefit.”

Our robust analytics help inform and guide internal comms decisions too. The manager added, “Workvivo’s content analytics showed us the best ways to communicate. Employees tend to watch some content multiple times; they repeatedly go back to it. This insight allowed us to pivot and invest in our team, get training, [and] get equipment so that we could produce engaging video content. We now understand this is how our workforce wants to receive information.”

Cost savings from system consolidation

The TEI study reveals that retail companies have saved millions by consolidating multiple legacy systems into Workvivo. For instance, one retail organization eliminated 20 to 25 legacy platforms, saving significantly on licensing fees and the upkeep costs associated with these systems.

Such streamlining is crucial in an industry where margins are tight, allowing companies to allocate resources more efficiently.

For the composite organization in the TEI study, the three-year risk-adjusted present value of Workvivo’s licenses comes to $3.6 million.

Boosting employee morale and retention

Workvivo plays a significant role in boosting employee morale and retention in retail. The platform's engagement features, such as multilingual support and social engagement tools, have created a more inclusive and engaging work environment. According to the study, employee engagement scores have increased by an average of 15%!

A global fulfillment engagement manager noted: “Reaching and re-engaging frontline employees through Workvivo was crucial to the efforts employed to reactivate frontline worker interest in pursuing other corporate roles, particularly as leadership recognized the value of nurturing a consistent flow of non-desk worker talent into corporate roles.

“These employees tended to be more passionate and connected to the brand, commonly working their way up to senior levels of management and providing an invaluable holistic perspective of the organization whilst in these roles.”

In terms of particular features, the global fulfillment engagement manager said that Workvivo’s Shoutout feature facilitated the feeling of community by recognizing employees.

They shared, “The Shoutout feature is phenomenal. [It] allows [employees] to tag individuals or teams and share words of recognition to praise. We see over 200 shout-outs per month. [Moreover,] Workvivo allows us to tag employee posts to a specific company value. This means that employees are instinctively tying their behavior with our company values and posting it on the platform, which leads to a more cohesive company culture.

“Our employee surveys show that prior to [implementing] Workvivo, there was a sentiment of disconnection to the company. We have recently seen an increase of the employee sentiment score.”

They added that one of the biggest benefits for their team is the “fun” Workvivo brings to employee experiences.  “Our employees have jumped in with both feet and leveraged the more social and engagement sides of Workvivo, and it’s amazing to see people making connections not just at their physical location but with their colleagues globally.”

Productivity gains for managers

Retail managers, especially those overseeing large teams, have benefited from Workvivo’s streamlined communication features. The TEI study states that senior directors saved approximately 62.5 hours weekly by using Workvivo to manage communications more efficiently.

This time saving is critical in a fast-paced retail environment where quick decision-making is essential. The ability to access and review content centrally has reduced the reliance on multiple daily emails, allowing managers to focus on strategic initiatives.

The global fulfillment engagement manager in retail shared that in their organization’s previous environment, 20 senior directors who managed frontline leaders would have to review approximately 60 emails per day about frontline activity.

But as a result of the structure enabled through Workvivo’s document storage functionality, they said, senior directors now review a single report, saving them approximately 30 minutes per day.

The same interviewee also mentioned that Workvivo’s digital workplace enabled a straightforward procedure for senior directors to reach, inform, and track teams while having to reply to fewer emails and chats.

The global fulfillment manager shared, “The leadership team is not getting 60 emails per day
anymore. If they need to reference a report for one shift or one day or one department, they can just go into the file structure on Workvivo and access the relevant reports in that way.”

Making onboarding more efficient

Forrester’s study highlights onboarding as an area in which Workvivo delivers significant impact to the composite organization.

The global fulfillment engagement manager explained that in combination with other onboarding tools, “Workvivo allows access to relevant information and checklists for new joiners. [It] has allowed an expedited orientation and improved our onboarding process and experience.”

The average cost of recruiting, hiring, and onboarding a frontline employee in retail is 20% of their fully burdened salary, according to the report. But in the global fulfilment engagement manager’s experience of Workvivo, “employees were good to go in 10 minutes”.

They said, “Honestly, [Workvivo] is intuitive and straightforward.”

Final thoughts

For the retail sector, Workvivo offers a comprehensive solution that enhances communication, reduces costs, and boosts employee engagement. The platform's seamless integration with existing systems, alongside significant cost savings and operational efficiencies, makes it an invaluable asset for retailers.

Discover more in the full TEI study on how Workvivo can transform your retail business.

 

ForresterCTA.png