Retail Twitter Handles to Follow

General Retailing, Industry News and Tips
Retail Week @RetailWeek

Retail Wire @RetailWire
RIS @RISnewsInsights
Hanover Research @hanover4bix
Retail Minded @RetailMinded
Retail Online Magazine @RetailOnlineMag
One Step Retail Solutions @OneStepRetail
Future of Retail Alliance @joinFORA
NY Times Retail Reporter @stephcliff

Retail Technology / Technology
Point of Sale News @PointOfSaleNews
One Step Retail Solutions @OneStepRetail
Tech Crunch @TechCrunch
Retail Digital @RetailDigital
NCR Counterpoint: @NCRCorporation
Retail Pro: @RetailProNews

Hiring / Personnel
The Retail Life @theRetailLife
Find Hire @FindHire
Work in Retail @WorkinRetail
NRF Retail Careers @Retail_Careers

Consultants / Training
Evan Carmichael @EvanCarmichael
Retail Smart Guys @danjab
Retail Touch Points @RTouchPoints
Retail Concepts @RetailConcepts
The Retail Doctor @theRetailDoctor
Retail Mavens @RetailMavens

Associations
NRF News - National Retail Federation @NRFnews
RSPA @RSPA
Board Retail Association @BoardRetailers
Florida Retail Association @FloridaRetail
Michigan Retail Association @MichRetail
California Fashion Association: @calfashion
Canadian Apparel Federation: @caf_apparel
Museum Store Association: @MSAconnect
Jewelers of America: @Jewelers_JA
Association of Zoos and Aquariums: @zoos_aquariums
American Nursery & Landscape Association: @american_hort
American Apparel and Footwear Association: @apparelfootwear
Brewer’s Association: @BrewersAssoc
Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America: @FDRA
Game Manufacturers Association: @GamaOnline
International Council for Shopping Centers: @ICSC
National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers: @NASGW_Pros
National Sporting Goods Association: @NSGASportingGds
North American Home Furnishings: @theNAHFA
Sports and Fitness Industry Association: @theSFIA

Visual Merchandising and Design
Retail Details @retail_details
King Retail Solutions @KingRetail
DDI Online @DDItweets
Store Signs @StoreSigns
Retail Design Blog: @RetailDesignBG

Promotion and Marketing
Snap Retail @SnapRetail
Brand Spank @BrandSpankShop
Plastic Resource @PlasticResource
Postcard Mania @PostcardMania

Retail Real Estate
Retail Traffic @RetailTraffic
CBRE @CBRE

Style and Fashion
Racked National @Racked
Lifestyle Lemonaid @LifeStyleLemonaid
Women's Wear Daily @WomensWearDaily
Refinery29 @refinery29
Red Carpet Fashion: @Fashion_Critic_

Retail Talent Acquisition Quick Tip - Part 6

In honor of our rapidly approaching webinar series
Employee Retention and Engagement 
with Tina Praino, we are offering our readers a series of quick tips related to retail talent acquisition. 

Quick Tip - Part 6

"The foundation of every smart recruiting process is the axiom that 'our organization may be a great place to work, but it's not for everybody. In fact, it's not even for most people.' Contrary to popular belief, there really is an ample supply of talented, hardworking, honest people available--some of whom already work for you." - Bill Catlette and Richard Hadden for Fast Company

Stay tuned for more useful tips and don't forget to register for our rapidly approaching webinar series! 

Employee Retention and Engagement Webinar Series - for Retailers
How to Find the Good Ones and How to Get Them SELLING

Sponsored by: Smart Retailer

Boost My Hiring Process: How to Find the Good Ones - COMPLETE

April 30th (Tuesday) at 11am-12pmPDT
- The importance of a proper job description, how to create them and how to utilize them
- Experiential interviewing, how to zero in on the right skill set, the right attitude and the best fit with simple strategic questions
Each attendee will receive a special gift from the speaker

Engaging My Employee’s: I Hired Them, Now What? - COMPLETE

May 7th(Tuesday) at 11am-12pm PDT
- Find out the difference between orientation and onboarding
- Find out what the key ingredients of a sound onboarding program requires
- Find out what a learning plan is and which members of your team MUST have one
- Learn formal and informal feedback strategies
- Learn about mentor programs
- Find out how to defining career paths
Each attendee will receive a special gift from the speaker

Engaging My Employee’s: A Deeper Dive, Let’s Get Them Cracking REGISTER

May 14th (Tuesday) at 11am-12pm PDT
- Learn to create structured mentorship programs
- Learn to cultivate learning plans to increase productivity and morale
- Find out about gamification in the workplace
Each attendee will receive a special gift from the speaker

Retail Talent Aquisition Quick Tip - Part 5

In honor of our rapidly approaching webinar series
Employee Retention and Engagement 
with Tina Praino, we are offering our readers a series of quick tips related to retail talent acquisition. 

Quick Tip - Part 5

Giving balanced feedback is very easy to do. It is also very easy to forget to balance your feedback and focus only on the negatives. Don’t be a Negative Nelly; if you spend a few minutes focusing on what was done right, you will see your employees’ engagement levels increase!

Stay tuned for more useful tips and don't forget to register for our rapidly approaching webinar series! 

Employee Retention and Engagement Webinar Series - for Retailers
How to Find the Good Ones and How to Get Them SELLING

Sponsored by: Smart Retailer

Boost My Hiring Process: How to Find the Good Ones COMPLETE

April 30th (Tuesday) at 11am-12pmPDT
- The importance of a proper job description, how to create them and how to utilize them
- Experiential interviewing, how to zero in on the right skill set, the right attitude and the best fit with simple strategic questions
Each attendee will receive a special gift from the speaker

Engaging My Employee’s: I Hired Them, Now What? REGISTER

May 7th(Tuesday) at 11am-12pm PDT
- Find out the difference between orientation and onboarding
- Find out what the key ingredients of a sound onboarding program requires
- Find out what a learning plan is and which members of your team MUST have one
- Learn formal and informal feedback strategies
- Learn about mentor programs
- Find out how to defining career paths
Each attendee will receive a special gift from the speaker

Engaging My Employee’s: A Deeper Dive, Let’s Get Them Cracking REGISTER

May 14th (Tuesday) at 11am-12pm PDT
- Learn to create structured mentorship programs
- Learn to cultivate learning plans to increase productivity and morale
- Find out about gamification in the workplace
Each attendee will receive a special gift from the speaker

Retail Talent Acquisition Quick Tips - Part 3

In honor of our rapidly approaching webinar series
Employee Retention and Engagement 
with Tina Praino, we are offering our readers a series of quick tips related to retail talent acquisition. 

Quick Tip - Part 3

Don’t cut corners when building your job descriptions. The more realistic and detailed they are the better a tool they are for candidates. A candidate should be able to get a realistic sense of the job from the recruiting process and the job description is integral in ensuring you have a motivational fit.

Stay tuned for more useful tips and don't forget to register for our rapidly approaching webinar series! 

Employee Retention and Engagement Webinar Series - for Retailers
How to Find the Good Ones and How to Get Them SELLING

Sponsored by: Smart Retailer

Boost My Hiring Process: How to Find the Good Ones REGISTER

April 30th (Tuesday) at 11am-12pmPDT
- The importance of a proper job description, how to create them and how to utilize them
- Experiential interviewing, how to zero in on the right skill set, the right attitude and the best fit with simple strategic questions
Each attendee will receive a special gift from the speaker

Engaging My Employee’s: I Hired Them, Now What? REGISTER

May 7th(Tuesday) at 11am-12pm PDT
- Find out the difference between orientation and onboarding
- Find out what the key ingredients of a sound onboarding program requires
- Find out what a learning plan is and which members of your team MUST have one
- Learn formal and informal feedback strategies
- Learn about mentor programs
- Find out how to defining career paths
Each attendee will receive a special gift from the speaker

Engaging My Employee’s: A Deeper Dive, Let’s Get Them Cracking REGISTER

May 14th (Tuesday) at 11am-12pm PDT
- Learn to create structured mentorship programs
- Learn to cultivate learning plans to increase productivity and morale
- Find out about gamification in the workplace
Each attendee will receive a special gift from the speaker

Associate member feature: Mary Gillogly of The Retail Life

Meet Mary Gillogly, North Carolina based Social Media Strategist and Community Manager for The Retail Life. We are happy to feature Retail Professional Associate member Mary from The Retail Life and to learn about her experience in and love for retail (she had me at a pup named "Gucci").

Mary’s favorite color:  Gray
Mary’s favorite meal: Toss up, Indian or Thai Curry
Mary's personal design style: Mary describes her style as eclectic. Pulling pieced from stores such as Free People, Anthropologie, TJ Maxx and a handful of local boutiques. She liked to mix classic with bold prints and patterns and can be found playing with bohemian looks from time to time.

What is your favorite thing about working with retailers?
I love being able to relate personally to retailers since I worked in retail for 10 plus years. It’s fun to connect and share stories with retail workers.  As we all know, retail is not the easiest career path one can take and you have to truly have a passion for it.  I enjoy finding those passionate individuals who love their jobs and helping them to continue to excel in their careers.

What would you say is the most helpful thing The Retail Life offers to retailers?  The most helpful thing about The Retail Life is the direct connection that we provide.  Not only can you find jobs but I am personally there through out the entire day to use as a resource if you need assistance with applying for jobs or have any specific career questions that you are unsure about.

How long has The Retail Life been in business?
The Retail Life is fairly new and has been launched within the last 6 months.

If you could offer any advice to retailers out there, what would you say?  When working with customers, especially those that are unhappy with you, you have to be tolerant and understanding.  Try your hardest to see their side of the story. Also be genuine!   No one wants a plastic or sales person who is just going through the motions.  Try and befriend your customers to make lasting relationships.

When you were a retailer, what was your favorite part of the day?
My favorite part of the day would definitely be the merchandising and artistic part.  I love the set up of the store and making a visual display that acts as a silent seller. Whenever you have down time when customers are not around this is a great way to pass the time and lead into future sales.

When you were a retailer, what was your least favorite part of the day?
Closing time is never fun, cleaning up from a busy day and getting things in order for the next day can be a daunting task.  However it’s a great feeling coming in the next morning and knowing everything is ready to go!

Do you have any hobbies?  I love dogs!  I help a local rescue by fostering one dog at a time.  I love getting to know the dogs personality and matching them up with the right family.  I’ve placed over 10 dogs now.  I also participate in a dog therapy program with my personal pooch Gucci and usually I can bring the foster pup along as long as their personality complies.


Gucci with Mary's current rescue pup, Taco

What is your favorite thing about retail? I love the real connection with customers and making friends through the process. Some of my best friends today are from when I am working in retail or promoting a retail establishment.  It’s fun because you can relate to each other because we like the same thing like great fashion!

What is your favorite thing about fashion? I love that your sense of style can be seen everyday and it doesn’t cost a lot of money to have a specific look. Once you have established the type of style you want to have you can achieve it in various ways and brands without having to spend an exorbitant amount of money.  I feel in many ways fashion is like art that you can wear on your body everyday. 

The Retail List is a online community for retailers and prospective employees.
www.theretaillife.com
mgolligly@headwaycorp.com

The Retail Life is a part of the One Step Retail Solutions Retail Professional Association. For more information please visit our website http://onestepretail.com/OSD/OSD_rpa_program.php or contact Amy Hanson at ahanson@onestepretail.com