In today’s dynamic retail and hospitality landscape, the frontline is more than just the face of the brand, it’s the engine of the business. As customer expectations rise and competition intensifies, organizations have a powerful opportunity to differentiate through one of their most critical assets: the hourly workforce.

Yet, many businesses still rely on outdated, decentralized hiring models that place the burden of recruitment on local managers without the tools, training, or support to succeed. The good news? With the right strategy, this challenge becomes a catalyst for transformation.

The Opportunity: Local Hiring as a Strategic Advantage

Retailers, manufacturers, and hospitality brands that empower local hiring can unlock:

• Faster time-to-hire, reducing revenue lost to unfilled shifts
• Stronger candidate experiences, leading to higher acceptance and retention
• More engaged managers, who can focus on people and performance—not paperwork

And the data backs it up:

• 71% of retail candidates abandon applications that take more than 15 minutes¹
• Despite significant technology capabilities, 60% of organizations saw time-to-hire increase in 2024, with scheduling delays as a top bottleneck²
• 40% reduction in time-to-hire is possible with automated scheduling and mobile-first tools¹

Field-Tested Practices

So how do leading organizations turn local hiring into a strategic advantage?

It starts with rethinking the role of the store manager. Instead of expecting them to be recruiters, schedulers, and onboarding specialists, successful companies are redesigning the experience around enablement and support.

They’re doing this in five key ways:

• Simplify the process. By creating clear, repeatable hiring workflows tailored to store-level realities, they reduce guesswork and inconsistency without sacrificing flexibility.
• Bring in the right tech. Mobile-first platforms, conversational AI, and automated scheduling tools are transforming how quickly and easily managers can connect with candidates.
• Invest in manager confidence. Bite-sized training, intuitive toolkits, and just-in-time support help managers feel equipped—not overwhelmed—when hiring.
• Centralize the heavy lifting. Core tasks like attraction, sourcing, and candidate engagement, along with escalation paths for the small percentage of cases where human intervention is needed are increasingly managed by centralized teams. This allows local leaders to focus on delivering great experiences and selecting the right candidates.
• Measure and adapt. With real-time insights, they continuously refine their approach, improving speed, quality, and experience at every step.

The Future of Hiring is Local AND Scalable

As the hourly workforce evolves, so must the systems that support it. By investing in store-level hiring enablement, organizations can create a more agile, responsive, and human-centered talent strategy, one that meets candidates where they are and empowers managers to lead with confidence.

At AMS, we’re proud to partner with leading brands and technology partners to reimagine hourly hiring for the future of work. If you’re ready to unlock the full potential of your frontline, let’s connect.

1. The New Shift Economy: Flexibility Comes to Hourly Work
2. Hourly Employee Series | Flexibility for Hourly Employees