In recent years, an increasingly polarized electorate has been escalating political tensions in the workplace that only promise to intensify in the coming months leading up to the presidential election. What advice would you have around reducing conflicts among coworkers in offices or on selling floors resulting from political disagreements?

A Microsoft survey finds employees looking for a greater say when it comes to new technology investments and initiatives driving digital transformation efforts. Should employees have more say when it comes to digital initiatives?

Hy-Vee has suspended its employee discount program after discovering a significant increase in the number of people using it that did not share the same household or even the same city. Is it common for retail employees to misuse store discount perks?

Shopify’s New Year commitment to cut down on the number of meetings it holds for more than two people is being touted as a successful productivity hack by the company. What do you see as the keys to raising productivity among corporate workers at retail?

Third party delivery workers may not be employees of Chick-fil-A, but they are critical to the restaurant’s performance as it expands in NYC. The chicken chain has opened a storefront pop-up where gig workers can take a break between deliveries. How do you expect Chick-fil-A’s Brake Room to affect its relationship with delivery workers in New York?

A lack of planogram compliance and ineffective localization continues to complicate the merchandising process. Further exacerbating these challenges is the proliferation of channels, digitally adept shoppers and rapidly changing preferences, according to a recent study. What are the newer and classic barriers to merchandise execution?

Retail has already witnessed some major forms of automation implemented at scale, and a major player in the segment recently laid out a tight timeline along which people should expect more. Do you believe that 65 percent of all retail work can be automated within the next few years and, if so, what would that mean for people working in the industry?

Walmart is closing three technology hubs and requiring workers to relocate to primary office locations in San Bruno, CA, and at the retailer’s headquarters in Bentonville, AR. Will Walmart’s decision to close three tech hubs, relocate workers and require them to report to the office at least twice a week increase productivity within its IT group?

California recently passed a law requiring employers with at least 15 workers to include pay ranges in job postings following calls for increased visibility to reduce gender and racial wage gaps. Will greater pay transparency force retailers to make major adjustments in how they manage their workforces?

Tipping fatigue has been trending as a topic in the media and has sparked angry debates on social media for nearly a year. The arguments now appear to center on two different phenomena: “tipflation” and tip creeping. Do you see tipflation or tip creeping as the bigger driver of tipping fatigue?

Grocery delivery workers were hailed as heroes during the pandemic. However, Instacart’s experience shows how the sudden moralization of work, which is often used to control workers, can backfire, according to a university study. What effect did the moralization of grocery delivery and other retail jobs during the pandemic have on employee morale?

A new report from small-business lending platform OnDeck finds consulting, finance and technology among the top sectors for creating future business founders. Retailers, by comparison, ranked low. Have the traits that drive entrepreneurial success in the retail space significantly changed over the years?

In today’s fast-paced and often remote workplace, the question typically asked is whether or not brainstorming is still an effective approach to ideation and innovation. What do you see as the benefits and drawbacks of electronic versus in-person brainstorming?

A university study concludes businesses, including many retailers, are increasingly giving workers promotions with “fabricated” managerial titles but no wage upgrade to avoid paying them overtime wages. Is there some truth that businesses, including retailers, fabricate manager titles to avoid overtime pay?

New Orleans-based PJ’s Coffee is offering franchise opportunities to open up coffee shops inside high schools with the foremost purpose of providing vocational skills to students. What do you think of retailers opening stores inside high schools to provide class-accredited business skills to students?

In an open letter last week, McDonald’s USA president Joe Erlinger blasted proposed California legislation related to conditions for fast food workers as stemming “almost entirely at the behest of organized labor’s firm grip on many of the state’s lawmakers.”  Have public perceptions changed to the point where retailers need to be more open to working with unions?

Sheetz is reviewing its “smile policy” that forbids associates from having “missing, broken, or badly discolored teeth (unrelated to a disability)” following an exposé by Business Insider.  Do you see some rationalization for Sheetz’s smile policy?

The business models of many retail businesses have been unsustainable for years and all it took was the pandemic to make that undeniably clear. Is there strategic value in retailers and restaurants reassessing their business models on an ongoing basis?

Retail C-suites have seen a lot of turnover the last few years, and at least one recent case shows that the CEO role is harder to fill than it once was. Do you see a broader problem of getting qualified people to take on retail CEO roles or is this limited to specific companies?

A new survey finds retailers increasingly fixated on cost efficiencies around last-mile deliveries amid rising inflation and fuel costs. Where do you see the biggest opportunities to drive down costs in last-mile delivery?

Australian supermarket Woolworths has succeeded in using analytics to inform and redesign a number of processes core to its business in a short amount of time, as outlined in a session at the NRF 2023 Big Show. Do you agree with the claim that most retailers’ core processes need to be fundamentally reimagined using data?

The U.S. may or may not experience a recession in the coming year, but in either case retailers should be strategizing and hiring with the era that follows the economic dip in mind, according to Dr. Ira Kalish, chief global economist at Deloitte. Do you agree with Dr. Kalish’s advice that retailers should prepare for a post-downturn recovery in their hiring, spending and strategizing?

In an employment landscape with a lot of turnover, PepsiCo has begun investing in technology and automation and operational changes to keep its workers happy, fulfilled and on-board. What processes do you see companies streamlining with technology to make for better employee experiences?

Target had a lot to say about the importance of company culture in a keynote presentation at the 2023 NRF Big Show. Target CEO Brian Cornell led a discussion on the value of the company’s culture in successfully navigating the pandemic and the chain’s ongoing success. Has “culture,” as Target defines it, been as important to the retailer’s success throughout the pandemic as the people on the panel believe?

Marvin Ellison, CEO at Lowe’s, speaking at the NRF Big Show, said he learned early on that, to get ahead in his career, his best approach was to “just take tough assignments.” Every job he’s taken over the last 25 years has involved succeeding someone who was fired or pushed out. Do you agree with Marvin Ellison’s advice for individuals trying to advance their retail careers?

Nepotism has been in the limelight lately as Hollywood stars have had to defend themselves or their children over gaining an unfair advantage from family connections. Is nepotism at family-run businesses and elsewhere at retail a problem?

A recent study from U.S. News & World Report ranked 190 jobs in order to identify the best jobs in the U.S. today. Front-line retail employment did not land high up on the list. What must retailers do to improve their employee recruitment and retention efforts?

The biggest U.S. fast food chain is planning some corporate job cuts even as it pursues a nationwide store expansion. Where do you see the biggest opportunities for McDonald’s to grow its business in the U.S. through its “Accelerating the Arches” strategy?

“Quiet hiring,” defined as when an organization acquires new skills without actually hiring new full-time employees, may become the next big trend affecting labor just as the “great resignation” and “quiet quitting” did before it? Do you see the “quiet hiring” trend doing more to take advantage of or offer opportunities for existing employees?

So many meetings. So little time left to get actual work done. Shopify isn’t having it anymore, at least for the next two weeks as part of a meeting freeze intended to boost productivity. How big an issue are excess meetings in corporate environments?

According to a recent McKinsey survey of U.S. retail workers, a lack of supportive colleagues was the leading cause of attrition for those 45 and older while ranking as the eighth most important factor for those under 35. Should retention efforts differ significantly for older retail workers versus younger ones?

Shoppers planning to visit Macy’s Union Square flagship store in San Francisco for last-minute gifts on Christmas weekend were met with a picket line, as the store’s union went on strike for the two days before the holiday. Do you see the recent labor activism taking another step forward or retreating in 2023?

In early 2021, reports of mass numbers of employees leaving jobs in search of greener, more lucrative pastures led to the phenomenon known as The Great Resignation. A new survey suggests that the resignations may just be getting started. Do you see The Great Resignation continuing or switching gears in 2023?

Laid-off workers from Meta, Google, Twitter and other tech hubs are creating a rare opportunity for old-school sectors such as retail to snag skilled talent and accelerate digital plans. Do you see the layoffs in the tech sector creating a near-term or long-term recruiting opportunity for retailers?

McDonald’s last week opened its first partially automated restaurant, with machines handling everything from taking orders to delivering the food. The opening sparked both positive and negative responses on social media. Will the efficiencies gained from an automated restaurant such as McDonald’s pilot offset any aspects lost from removing human interaction?

Tipping at Starbucks is as voluntary as it is anywhere in the U.S., but a new digital payment solution is now making it tough and awkward to avoid doing so. Some customers, and even some baristas, are displeased with the development. Will Starbucks’ new point-of-sale solution be good or bad for the chain in the long run?

Same-day delivery service DoorDash recently announced the layoff of 1,250 corporate workers, raising questions as to whether this is a result of a company in trouble, a contracting vertical, an impending recession or elements of two or three of the above. Are the layoffs at DoorDash a sign of things to come for delivery companies or are they commensurate with changes in the broader retailing market?

According to Harvard business administration professor Raffaella Sadun, the collapses of FTX and Theranos and the recent turmoil at Twitter prove “boring management matters” as well as the importance of context-specific skills and the ability to influence employees. Do you see more potential benefits than risks in having a charismatic retail CEO?

Baristas at over 100 Starbucks stores across the country have called a one-day strike for today, one of the chain’s busiest days of the year (AKA Red Cup Day), in response to the coffee giant’s reprisals against union organizers and for its refusal to bargain on a labor deal for its members. What do you expect to come out of the one-day strike being called by members of Starbucks Workers United?

Lesley Salmon, SVP, global chief information officer at Kellogg Company, says that she spends a lot of time thinking about her team and how to engage its members in ways that deliver continually improving results for the consumer packaged goods giant’s stakeholders. What do you think are the pillars upon which positive corporate cultures are built?

Amid a continued tight labor market, holiday help appears to be less in demand this year due to the souring economy. Is it prudent or hasty to significantly pull back on seasonal hires amid inflationary pressures and the uncertain economy?

A new survey finds that professionals spend more than one-third of their working hours in meetings and they see about 30 percent of them as unnecessary. What do you see as the core problems with the way meetings are held today?

Justin Lindsey, a Chick-fil-A operator, has been getting a lot of press attention for designing a full-time three-day-a-week work schedule that has eliminated turnover at the restaurant and made it a magnet for job seekers. What do you think are the biggest challenges for retailers looking to recruit and retain frontline associates and managers?

Few, if any, of the transactions BrainTrust Panelist Bob Amster has witnessed on a wide array of systems have been frictionless. Each has an interruption of some form. Where does grocery self-checkout currently fall short?

Walgreens is eliminating task-based metrics for pharmacy staff as part of performance reviews in order to place an “even greater focus on patient care and outcomes.” Do you think task-based metrics do more to incentivize or stress out retail workers?

According to a recent survey, 67.7 percent of Americans feel pressured to tip when picking up takeout food or coffee if the POS system prompts them to, and 44.8 percent only tip because a POS tablet prompts them to do it. Do you think touchscreen payment tablets with tip suggestions for takeout orders are irritating and/or manipulative?

Target CEO Brian Cornell is nothing but positive on the chain’s prospects for the 2022 holiday season. What do you think is behind Target’s continuing shopper traffic gains and do you expect the trend to continue through the rest of 2022?

Amazon.com knows it has an employee turnover problem, and internal documents acquired by Engadget put a price on what that costs the company — $8 billion a year. What will it take to lower Amazon’s high employee turnover rate?

Walmart has been public about supporting American manufacturing wherever it makes business sense and that commitment was reinforced last week at a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new factory in Santa Ana, CA, that will cut and sew apparel exclusively for the retailer. Does “made in the USA” messaging hold more sway with American consumers today than it did 10 years ago?

Mimicking on-demand working, Schnucks has introduced a “Schnucks Flexforce” option at select St. Louis-area stores that lets associates select both their shifts and preferred store locations. What do you think of Schnucks Flexforce and the potential to bring more of an on-demand working option to retail selling floors?