A Store’s Employer Brand: How to Hire and Retain Employees

A store’s employer brand is its reputation, shaped by candidates’ and employees’ day-to-day experience: clear responsibilities, a predictable schedule, an explained pay calculation, and the manager’s attitude. Start by reviewing these conditions: compare the job ad with what a salesperson encounters on their first shift, and correct any discrepancies.

To do this, the owner should prepare a job description, pay rules, a selection process, and a first-week plan. The legal requirements below apply to employers in Ukraine, including individual entrepreneurs. During martial law, the general provisions of the Labor Code of Ukraine (LCU) apply subject to the special rules of the Law of Ukraine No. 2136-IX of March 15, 2022.

Review working conditions before publishing a job ad

Ask the administrator and one salesperson to describe a typical shift separately: when they start work, what tasks they perform, how they take breaks, and whom they ask for help. Compare their answers with the job duties and the ad. If the salesperson also receives deliveries, cleans the sales floor, or prepares online orders, candidates should learn this before they are hired.

It is practical to gather the job conditions in one document. The owner agrees on them with the administrator and accountant, and the person responsible for hiring uses the document for the ad and interview.

• Responsibilities: list regular tasks, approximate workload, and tasks that require the administrator’s approval.
• Pay: define the guaranteed portion, variable payments, pay period, and payment dates.
• Schedule: specify shift start and end times, breaks, how shift changes are approved, and how far in advance the schedule is announced.
• Location: provide the store address and conditions for working at other retail locations, if applicable.
• Safety: check whether a shelter is accessible, the route to it, and who is responsible for actions during an alert.
• Support: assign a mentor and identify who will answer a new employee’s questions.

If the store cannot keep a promise, change the conditions or wording before publication. For example, a promise of a stable schedule should be backed by a specific process for preparing it and approving changes.

Publish a job ad with verifiable conditions

Candidates should understand what work is being offered and how to assess whether it suits their abilities. Instead of general claims about high pay, explain the components of earnings. If you give a pay range, show the working hours and results required to earn each amount, and distinguish the guaranteed portion from a possible bonus.

Publish the ad in channels likely to reach suitable candidates: job search websites, the store’s page, and employee referrals. Record the source of each application so you can later compare the number of accepted offers and onboarding outcomes.

Match requirements to the work

Article 2-1 of the LCU prohibits discrimination in employment on grounds unrelated to the nature of the work or the conditions under which it is performed. At the same time, the law allows restrictions and requirements established by law and inherent to particular types of work. Therefore, link each job requirement to a specific task and, when needed, to the relevant legal basis.

For a salesperson, you can assess accuracy when processing payments, the ability to explain product features, and availability to work the advertised schedule. Remove wording about preferred age, sex, marital status, or local registration unless it has a proper legal basis. Ask whether candidates are available for the schedule to determine whether they can work until a particular time.

Use a consistent and clear selection process

Prepare a short list of questions and assessment criteria before the first interview. Give all candidates for the same position comparable tasks. This helps the manager explain the decision based on skills the store actually needs.

1. Confirm the main conditions. At the start of the conversation, repeat the address, schedule, duties, and pay. If these do not suit the candidate, find out before proceeding with an extended assessment.
2. Give a training scenario. For example, ask the candidate to explain the difference between two product descriptions or find an error in a hypothetical calculation.
3. Assess specific actions. Record whether the candidate clarified the customer’s needs, calculated the amount correctly, and asked for help when information was missing.
4. Explain the next step. Name the person responsible for the decision and the response deadline. If the deadline changes, inform the candidate.

Run training tasks without serving real customers, operating an active cash register, or fulfilling the store’s current orders. Before a person actually starts work, complete their employment formalities and ensure they are paid for the work. Calling it a “trial shift” does not replace formalizing the employment relationship: the employer’s relevant obligations are set out in Articles 21, 24, and 26 of the LCU.

Complete employment formalities before the employee actually starts work

Under Article 24 of the LCU, an employee may not be admitted to work without an employment contract formalized by an order or directive and notification to the competent authority of the hire in the manner established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. An agreement to formalize the employment after several shifts does not meet this requirement.

As a practical division of tasks, the person responsible for personnel collects the documents required by law and formalizes the hire; the accountant or another designated person submits the notification; and the administrator lets the new employee start work after confirming that these steps are complete. Before submitting the notification, the responsible person should check the current Cabinet of Ministers procedure, the required form, and the submission method.

In general, Article 24 of the LCU provides for a written employment contract as the rule and makes it mandatory in specified cases. At the same time, Article 2 of Law No. 2136-IX allows the parties to agree on the form of the contract during martial law. To avoid discrepancies, it is practical to record the agreed working conditions and pay in writing.

A probation period also requires formal hiring and pay

Under Article 26 of the LCU, the parties agree to a probation period, and its terms must be included in the hiring order. Labor legislation applies to the employee during this period. During martial law, Article 2 of Law No. 2136-IX allows a probation period for any category of employee.

For an ordinary store, observe the time limits in Article 27 of the LCU: generally up to three months, and for employees classified as workers, up to one month; a separate six-month period requires the approval of the trade union body provided for in that article. Days when the employee did not actually work are excluded from the probation period, regardless of the reason. Determine the position and applicable period based on the nature of the work. Part 3 of Article 2 of Law No. 2136-IX sets a maximum probation period of 45 calendar days specifically for persons liable for military service hired by critical enterprises, institutions, and organizations in the defense industrial complex covered by that provision.

Explain in advance which skills will be assessed and who will help the employee learn them. If the employer finds the employee unsuitable for the work, Article 28 of the LCU provides for dismissal during the probation period with three days’ written notice. If the period ends and the person continues working, they are considered to have passed probation.

Organize the first shift and first week

Article 29 of the LCU requires the employer, before work begins, to inform the employee about the workplace and job function, workstation and equipment, working conditions, work and rest schedule, pay, leave, and other matters specified in that article. It also provides for occupational safety and fire safety briefings; employees must be informed about any uneliminated hazardous and harmful workplace factors and their possible consequences, and sign to acknowledge receipt of this information.

For practical onboarding, prepare a sequence of steps and assign someone responsible for each stage.

Train employees using situations typical for the store: a customer asks for a discount, an item has no price tag, or an amount on a document differs from what was expected. Explain the salesperson’s authority so they can involve the administrator promptly. Set aside time for the mentor to provide help; otherwise, training will compete with the mentor’s own workload.

Make the schedule and actions during an alert predictable

As a practical store rule, set a day for publishing the schedule, a notification channel, and a process for approving shift changes. Include all work tasks in scheduling: preparing the cash register, receiving a delivery, and closing the store. Separately record the time actually worked so that pay calculations use verified data.

During martial law, Article 6 of Law No. 2136-IX allows normal working hours to be increased to 60 hours per week for employees working at critical infrastructure facilities. A store’s status as a retail business does not, by itself, justify applying this rule to all employees. For employees at such facilities who have reduced working hours, the law sets a limit of 40 hours; an increase in the norm requires a proportional increase in pay.

The same article allows the weekly uninterrupted rest period to be reduced to 24 hours and specifies which general rules are temporarily suspended. The provisions allowing longer working hours and shorter weekly rest do not apply to minors. Before approving a schedule, check the statutory limits on working hours and break durations for the specific employee category.

For an air raid alert, approve an internal procedure suited to the conditions at the specific location. Assign primary and backup responsible persons, show the route to an accessible shelter, determine how staff will communicate and when work may resume. Provide a safe sequence for stopping cash register operations without delaying evacuation to serve customers. Brief salespeople on the procedure before they work independently.

Separately agree on who records work interruptions and how the accountant determines payment based on the applicable legal grounds. Before applying pay rules, the accountant must determine the legal basis for recording each type of work interruption; the evacuation procedure itself does not determine how that time is paid.

Explain salary and bonuses with a specific calculation

Under Article 97 of the LCU, pay systems and bonus conditions are established in compliance with statutory guarantees and the prescribed approval procedure. If the enterprise has no collective agreement, the employer agrees on these matters with the elected body of the primary trade union organization or the trade union representative who represents the interests of the majority of employees. If there is no such body or representative, the employer agrees with another body authorized by the workforce to represent its interests. The owner should take the form of their organization into account and properly document the rules before applying them.

In a practical description of a bonus, specify:

• the period for which it is calculated and whether it depends on individual or team results;
• the metric used and which report provides it;
• how returns, discounts, and sales involving several salespeople are accounted for;
• the applicable target, threshold, percentage, or fixed amount;
• who verifies the result and how an employee can report a discrepancy.

Hypothetical example. An employee is paid UAH 150 per hour and receives a bonus of 1% of personal revenue, as defined by the rules, after returns are accounted for. For 160 hours actually worked, base pay is UAH 150 × 160 = UAH 24,000. On a bonus base of UAH 200,000, the bonus is UAH 2,000, for a total of UAH 26,000 before tax, excluding any other possible payments. This example illustrates the formula; the specific system must comply with applicable wage guarantees.

Before payment, give the employee a chance to check their hours, bonus base, and result. Do not change the criteria after the period ends to reduce a payment already earned. During martial law, under Article 3 of Law No. 2136-IX, employees must be notified of changes to pay conditions before those conditions take effect; this rule does not remove other legal requirements for making a change.

Article 115 of the LCU provides for salary payments at least twice a month, no more than 16 calendar days apart, and no later than seven days after the end of the relevant period. If a payment date falls on a day off, wages must be paid the day before. Under Article 10 of Law No. 2136-IX, the employer must take all possible steps to pay on time. The employer is exempt from liability for late payment if it proves that hostilities or other force majeure circumstances caused the violation. The obligation to pay wages remains. If hostilities themselves make timely payment impossible, Article 10 allows payment to be deferred until the enterprise resumes operations.

Do not impose arbitrary monetary fines for mistakes, lateness, or complaints. Before making any deduction, ask the person responsible for payroll to verify its legal basis, permitted amount, and procedure. The presence of a corresponding field in accounting software does not create such a basis.

Torgsoft for payroll and store shift planning

Torgsoft’s documentation for the additional “Зарплата та мотивація” (Salary and Motivation) feature describes settings for job positions, rates, hourly pay, individual percentages, and team bonuses. To use it, you need to define retail locations, positions, shifts, timekeeping method, and accrual rules. First agree on the pay system, then enter it in the program and check the calculation using typical scenarios. See the setup documentation. “Зарплата та мотивація” (Salary and Motivation) is a paid add-on feature. Before purchasing, get a proposal from the supplier with the price, confirmation that it is compatible with your license, the activation process, and the setup cost if charged separately.

The settings you choose affect the result. For example, the method of calculating time based on shift duration inserts the shift length for scheduled attendance, so the schedule itself does not confirm actual presence. Before calculating pay, reconcile shifts, absences, and corrections with actual records. To calculate pay based on paid-for goods, the documentation requires setting the VIP (Very Important Person) customer mode to “Часткова розшифровка по товару” (partial breakdown by item) in the “Налаштування → Параметри → VIP” (Settings → Parameters → VIP) menu.

Do not use this method together with “Торгівля з випискою рахунка” (sales with an issued invoice): those sales will not be included in the plan or accruals. Check these conditions if bonuses depend on sales.

To review a disputed operation, you can use the “Протокол дій користувачів” (User Actions Log), which allows records to be filtered by period, user, and event type. Organize work with separate user accounts. Before configuration, ask the supplier to confirm which access rights can be restricted for a salesperson, administrator, and payroll processor. Explain to the team in advance which work actions are recorded, why, and who reviews the records; covert monitoring should not be used as a management method.

Records in the log may be deleted through actions provided by the program, so account for this when preserving evidence. Separately assign responsibility for finding candidates, formalizing employment relationships, and submitting the hiring notification: payroll settings do not replace these actions.

Establish feedback and a process for handling complaints

Schedule brief one-to-one conversations after the first week and then at an agreed frequency. The administrator can ask which tasks are difficult, whether breaks and support are sufficient, and whether the pay calculation is clear. End every agreement with a specific action, a person responsible, and a review deadline.

Review mistakes based on facts: what task was performed, which rule applied, what the employee lacked, and how to fix the process. If a salesperson has not learned a particular task, arrange training and check the skill again. Give employees a way to contact the owner directly if their complaint concerns the administrator.

Article 2-2 of the LCU prohibits mobbing—systematic, prolonged, intentional bullying, including psychological and economic pressure. To prevent such situations, investigate reports of humiliation, isolation, unreasonable workload allocation, or unjustified withholding of payments. An employee may apply to the state authority responsible for supervision of compliance with labor legislation and/or to a court.

Base the store’s public communications on actual conditions. Publish employee stories and photographs only with their consent. Respond to critical reviews without disclosing personal data: explain how to request a review of the situation, then correct any confirmed problem after investigating it.

Measure employee retention using the right denominator

For a small store, it is enough to track a few metrics each month. Define the group and observation period for each metric so that changing the calculation method does not create a false impression of improvement.

• Offer acceptance: among offers whose response deadline has passed, count the accepted offers and divide by the total number of offers in the same group. Multiply the result by 100% to get a percentage. Track offers whose response period is still open separately.
• Retention through day 90: divide the number of new employees still employed on day 90 by the number of hires for whom that day has already arrived. Decide in advance whether you count only continuous employment relationships.
• Monthly turnover: divide the number of departures during the month by the average headcount for the same month. For internal comparisons, use one consistent method to calculate average headcount, such as the average daily number of employees.
• Pay discrepancies: count reports where an error was confirmed and how long it took to correct it. This helps distinguish an unclear explanation from an incorrect calculation.

Hypothetical example. Of six new employees, four have reached day 90 since hiring. Three of those four were still employed on that date. Retention is 3 ÷ 4 × 100% = 75%. The other two employees are not yet included in the denominator because their full observation period has not elapsed. Record “3 out of 4” alongside the percentage so the group size is clear.

Record the reasons for declined offers and departures in the person’s own words, distinguishing them from the manager’s assumptions. If complaints about late schedule changes recur, assign someone to plan ahead and review the next period. If new employees do not understand the bonus, add a walkthrough of their individual calculation to the first week. This enables the owner to assess specific changes to working conditions and adjust them based on the results.