Description
The last five months have been very tough for the Indian Retail Industry both on the business and the manpower front, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the organised sector can give a count of the number of employees who have lost their jobs or who have been furloughed, and the number of brands which have shut shop, there is no such census for the unorganised side of the sector on which the impact has been drastic, with lakhs of workers left without a job and an equal number of more small stores shutting down.
To counter the devastating impact of the pandemic, several brands in the organised sector are re-strategising their business plans. Whilelay-offs are inevitable and hiring has been frozen in the present crisis, many brands are trying to keep all staff on board with pay cuts, furloughs and leave without pay.
In these testing times, it has been a mammoth task for the HR departments of brands and retailers to keep their employees motivated so as to bring business back on track. Despite the dismal turn of events, HR departments of various brands are launching a slew ofinitiatives to engage their employees gainfully, while keeping their health and safety in mind.
The September 2020 issue of IMAGES Retail talks about how the HR wing of Retail is adapting to the next normal, coming up with initiatives to keep employees engaged in these uncertain times bylooking after the safety and health of onsite staff, providing support to offsite staff and working towards the psychological well being of all employees.
The edition features an opinion piece on the current situation of the industry, while talking about the future of the industry. It also analyses how food tech startups are working towards the recovery of the foodservice sector, helping restaurants to better understand customers in a bid to make their business pro? table and sustainable.
Do log on to our website www.indiaretailing.com for more on the current crisis. We hope to keep bringing you relevant content to helppreserve your organisations in these trying times.
