CSM: the impact of COVID-19 on customer service jobs.

With stay-at-home orders and mandatory closures of physical stores, the customer service sector has been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 crisis. According to Randstad Sourceright’s U.S. COVID-19 talent impact analysis report, employers and job seekers saw a 47% drop in demand for customer service jobs between March to April 2020.

Although more states are reopening, shops have to adhere to physical distancing requirements and many customers have developed new shopping habits. So, what is the future for customer service jobs? How should retail businesses plan their talent strategies?

With the need to manage social distancing and new scheduling demands to accommodate home life priorities, the demand for assistant store managers will remain steady, predicts Sue Marcus, regional president at Randstad Sourceright North America. “Scheduling, store management and inventory management are the most sought-after skills businesses are prioritizing.”

Marcus also predicts that customer service workers will be sought after by other sectors beyond retail, such as the financial and pharmaceutical industries. “[These companies] should take advantage of the available workers in the job family and be open to hiring talent who may not yet have experience in their industry but possess the necessary and transferable skills,” said Marcus.

Read the full article in Customer Service Manager for insights on changing talent demand in the customer service job market. You can also get your exclusive copy of the report, “How is key talent in the US impacted by COVID-19?” for more information on talent availability and competition in the other job families — engineering, finance, pharma R&D, sales and software development.