Integrated Role of Human Resource Management in Mitigating the Post-Covid-19 Challenges in Retail

The decline in retail sales during the COVID-19 pandemic was driven by quarantine measures, household financial problems, social distancing norms and changes in consumer shopping behaviour. Shopping habits have been significantly transformed: customers refrained from visiting crowded and large stores where it was difficult to maintain social distancing, often preferred to shop online, made bulk purchases in one visit, reducing the need for frequent trips to the store, delegated a family member to do the shopping, avoided group visits to stores to minimize the impact of the virus on the family, etc. Therefore, the post-pandemic recovery of the retail sector is becoming an important task for many countries. The article systematizes the main problems of the retail sector after the COVID-19 pandemic in general and human resources issues in particular. It structures the scientific work of scholars from different countries on human resources management in retail in the post-pandemic period. During the pandemic crisis, the retail sector experienced a surge in job losses, wage cuts, and high staff turnover, and the pandemic created a problem of employees’ isolation from the team, as well as staff adaptability, as employees were forced to multitask and perform additional, non-standard functions. The rapid changes in quarantine restrictions during the pandemic left retailers’ management with limited time to consider and execute critical business decisions, including recruitment, which often resulted in either a shortage or overstaffing. As the economy has gradually recovered from the pandemic, this loss of human capital has proved irreversible, with many experienced employees having already adapted to other jobs or changed careers. The article explores the mechanisms for overcoming post-pandemic staff losses in retail through effective planning of human resource management policies, in particular, the bottom-up approach, trend analysis and the Delphi method, implementation of creative recruitment strategies in retail in the face of staff shortages, in particular, through digital technologies, with a focus on soft skills and adaptability of candidates, etc. The article also discusses the mechanisms for overcoming post-pandemic challenges in retail using effective methods for assessing the effectiveness of human resources (in particular, straight-ranking appraisals, grading, management by objectives and 360-degree appraisals), techniques to evaluate employee engagement, the integrated role of HR management and HR administration in this regard is substantiated. A separate part of the study is devoted to post-pandemic lessons for the human resource management system in ensuring safe working conditions and employee health and safety when retail workers still experience fear of large crowds and psychological distress about the transmission of viruses in the workplace through direct interaction with customers and objects. The next block of the study focuses on the changes in career planning requirements in the post-COVID-19 era, building appropriate strategies and scenarios.