Workforce Management Solutions: A Day in the Life of a Fully Optimized Store Employee

All telecom retail operators are looking to create the best possible in-store experience for their customers — but that has to start with optimizing operations and workforce management efficiencies.

Fortunately, iQmetrix’s workforce management partners integrate seamlessly with our retail management system, streamlining both back-of-house and front-of-house operations, boosting staff efficiencies, and creating a great experience for your store associates (and ultimately the customer).

Here, we look at a day in the life of a fully optimized wireless retail store associate who is benefitting from two of our workforce vendor integrations — Shiftlab and Intelocate.

Saturday 9am: Clocking in

It’s the busy Saturday work day. As the top-performing sales associate at your store, you’ve been assigned this shift thanks to Shiftlab’s intelligent workforce management solution, which has an AI-driven automated scheduling tool. That means your store gets to maximize sales by having you on shift today, and you get to maximize your commissions with more customers and upselling opportunities! A win-win. 

You clock in just before 9am using the Time Clock tool on your Shiftlab mobile app, which has a biometric system that prevents some of your colleagues from clocking in for each other, like they used to. Now everybody is accountable for starting on time, which feels great and prevents resentment. 

11am: Onslaught of operational issues

Before lunch, several operational issues come up within minutes of each other. The A/C fails in the middle of a heatwave, a vital demo device malfunctions, the internet is slow, and delayed deliveries disrupt your merchandise set-up.

With Intelocate, you log each issue into the app within seconds. It automatically alerts the relevant departments: facilities for the A/C, IT for the internet, logistics for deliveries, and tech support for the demo device. The app keeps you informed with real-time updates, ensuring you’re always in the loop and allowing you to communicate with district and HQ teams to avoid any confusion or delays.

This seamless coordination allows you to stay focused on the sales floor, knowing every issue is being efficiently managed. HQ is held accountable for supporting you, transforming what could have been a stressful day into a smooth and painless operation.

1pm: Lunch break

Issues now resolved, your Shiftlab app reminds you that it’s time to take a break. You’re a keen worker, and often willing to work through lunch when it’s busy, but your store manager explained to you that labor laws are strict about associates taking breaks, and the Shiftlab notifications are there to ensure compliance. You pull up your Shiftlab app to log when you start your break, and relax with some lunch for a while. But it’s getting busy in the store, and you’re a little short-staffed today, so you want to end your break early and help out. That’s okay — Shiftlab has a tool to input the total break time and confirm that you are consenting to your break being cut short, which you know is needed for FSLA compliance. 

2.45pm: Reminder about inventory count

After a busy couple of hours, in your Intelocate app, you get a notification. Intelocate is reminding you that you’ve been assigned to do an inventory count today, as your store manager, Ellen, has to leave early. You know that Intelocate and Shiftlab are seamlessly integrated with each other, as well as with RQ, so the task has been scheduled for when you’re not scheduled to be on break. Completing these tasks are simple because Intelocate is incredibly user-friendly. After about 5-10 minutes of work, your task is now complete and removed from your store’s to-do list.

4pm: Remember to book that summer vacation

You don’t want to forget to book that summer vacation that you’re saving for. Fortunately, you can submit time-off requests right within your Shiftlab app, and your manager sees your request in real time. With Ellen checking her own Shiftlab app while waiting at her appointment, she is able to approve it instantly, and the approved time off is automatically blocked off on the schedule. You’re good to go!

5pm: Global communication from head office

The head office of your telecom retail brand has an exciting announcement — they’re launching a new commission-based contest across all stores! Instead of searching through a mountain of unopened emails, you get an announcement message from your Intelocate app that explains the details. To be honest, after adopting Intelocate you wonder how the company managed their day-to-day operations without it. Instead of communicating issues, tasks, and project details through a number of different channels, everything has been consolidated into a single platform, making life much easier so that you can focus on what you love doing, making sales and earning more money.

6pm: Clocking off

It’s the end of your shift, and time to clock off. You open up your Shiftlab app one last time for the day, and clock out using Time Clock. You know that you can rely on this system to process your hours and get paid accurately.

You head home, excited about the new commission contest and how it could help with your upcoming vacation, proud of yourself at having resolved the operational issues and figured out the inventory count, and motivated at being part of a retail group with an awesome working and learning culture. 

What a great day — and all thanks to Shiftlab, Intelocate, and their seamless integrations with iQmetrix systems.