Multimedia Plus, the training and communications technology platform provider, released a post-COVID-19 impact survey, which measures the impact of COVID-19 on “pressing industry issues focused on technology, training and spending priorities,” the company said.
The key finding? The retail and hospitality industries are back in a growth mode.
David Harouche, chief technology officer, chief executive officer and founder of Multimedia Plus, said the year-over-year survey “serves as an eye-opener that the shift to normal is clearly underway. We expected that retailers and hospitality industry executives would be shifting priorities, and the numbers align.”
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Multimedia Plus said 64.6 percent of respondents said recruiting “is their biggest challenge in staffing up for the holiday season compared to 36.5 percent of respondents in 2020.” And 39 percent of respondents noted that supply chain issues is their highest concern heading into holiday, “with 35 percent citing staffing Issues as their main concern,” the company said, adding that this “is a stark contrast from 52 percent of 2020 respondents saying new pandemic closures were their main concern.”
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With IT, 58.2 percent of those polled said their 2022 IT spending would remain the same while 29.7 percent said they were planning on spending 10 percent or more. And in leadership and safety training, 39 percent cited leadership development training as the highest priority for 2022. In the prior survey, the company said it was virtually tied with safety training (24 to 22.9 percent).
Harouche said these priorities requires faster training and communicating. “With the holiday season quickly approaching, it’s clear that staffing, onboarding and leadership training are key concerns compared to safety training last year,” he said. “From an operational standpoint, executives need tools to help them communicate these shifting priorities to the frontline more than ever before.”
The company also said as stores and restaurants begin to rapidly staff up, “onboarding new associates quickly and efficiently is key. New protocols and procedures, including operations, sanitation, contactless payment, new HR rules and much more must be communicated consistently to all.”
And as situations change state by state, even county by county, “communications must be fast and targeted to be effective. In fact, the speed of these changes requires associates to be reached daily on their personal devices before they even set foot in a store. Communicating with them quickly and continuously is more important than ever before.”