EDITOR ’ S QUESTION

You could argue that leaders earn their pay cheques most when a crisis occurs . It ’ s in those moments that leaders must show calmness and clarity of thought to navigate the business and its colleagues through whatever event is occurring .

Rob Gamlin , Founder and Co-CEO , VoCoVo

In retail , these leadership qualities are required more often than you might think . The UK continues to grapple with a surge in retail crime , as the latest Retail Crime Survey reveals record levels of violence and abuse in UK shops , with 1,300 daily incidents of racial abuse , physical assaults or threats involving weapons . Shoplifting has also doubled from 8 million to 16.7 million incidents in 2023 , leading to the largest-ever loss for retailers at £ 1.8 billion . For retailers , single incidents can quickly escalate into crisis .

The fight against crime has become an urgent priority for every retailer . A poll by Independent Retail News found that 41 % of staff suffer from insomnia and 8 % have been diagnosed with PTSD due to customer abuse and burglaries .

However , as with any business crisis , the best leaders will carefully consider the right strategic approach before acting . The first step must always be to assess the situation thoroughly – gathering detailed facts , understanding the scope of the incident and identifying who has been impacted . In retail , this can quite often involve shop floor colleagues who ’ ve had their safety put at risk .

Leaders must then rely on pre-established crisis management plans to inform their actions . This ensures decisions are not made hastily but driven by a strategy designed to mitigate harm .

Once the immediate crisis is managed , the focus should quickly shift to preventing recurrence . In retail , integrating smart technology is key to strengthening security measures . Recent research by VoCoVo found that 43 % of UK small store retailers ranked ‘ to alert to security issues ’ as the primary reason for colleague communication in retail locations . Yet , 49 % of small-store retail workers rely on personal mobile devices for in-store communications , leaving significant security gaps .

By connecting colleagues in a seamless way in stores , teams can navigate challenging situations more effectively , knowing support is just a discreet communication away . Moreover , effective in-store communication technology allows colleagues to quickly communicate with team members to de-escalate difficult situations . Crisis management is an important tool for leaders to have in their armoury , but perhaps the most important aspect comes when the crisis ends . When I think about the best leadership I ’ ve seen throughout my career , of which there are plenty of examples , they do not allow for complacency and understand that action is critical following incidents to minimise the risk of them happening again .

28 www . intelligentcxo . com