Retaining and motivating front-line employees in retail establishments are critical issues for managers today. This study sought to understand (a) the motivating factors of the front-line employees, (b) why the majority of these employees were not being promoted. The participants were drawn from one store within the fourth-largest retail chain in the United States that agreed to participate in the study because it wanted to understand how to boost workforce motivation and morale. Subsequently the chain has gone out of business, which gives added relevance to the findings.

Based on individual interviews with front-line employees and managers, the study provides recommendations that will help managers at any retail establishment improve leadership skills. One striking finding was that the retail establishment under study did not provide enough compensation, to the point that some were seeking a part-time job as supplemental income. In addition, managers did not show appreciation for a job well done, were condescending, and did not trust employees, did not celebrate success, and were usually in the back office doing paperwork. There was a clear consensus amongst the front-line employees that their goal was to be promoted to manager at the retail establishment under study. They believed that if they did a good job, worked hard, and worked a lot of overtime hours, they should get promoted. Yet promotion of front-line employees was rare and they were unclear about the exact criteria for getting promoted. Front-line employees believed that they were not getting promoted because they had lack of training, no encouragement from their manager to seek promotion, efforts were discounted because of favoritism of certain employees, and were seen by managers as lazy. Managers reported negative opinions of the employee. Contrary to the statements of the front-line employees interviewed, three of the five managers believed that the front-line employees were not interested in becoming a manager. Some managers did not follow the protocol for hiring.