Your Workforce Is Your Biggest Cost. Your Workday Tenant Should Help You Manage It.

UK retail is under significant pressure in 2026. Labour costs have risen sharply. Employment costs across the sector rose by £5 billion in 2025, driven by increases in employer National Insurance contributions and a higher National Living Wage. The cost of employing a full-time entry-level retail worker has increased by around 10%, with part-time roles up more than 13%.

For a sector built on tight margins and high staff turnover, this is not background noise. It is a direct threat to profitability.

In a BRC survey, 84% of chief financial officers identified labour and employment costs among their top three business risks. Meanwhile, retail sales in Great Britain totalled £517 billion in 2024 but growth was just 1.4% year on year. The sector needs to do more with the same, or less.

The Data Behind the Pressure

Where Workday Comes In

Most mid-sized retailers under 5,000 headcount have implemented Workday. Many did so during a period of growth. The problem is that implementation does not equal optimisation.

Post-go-live, the system is often running below its potential. Scheduling configurations are not fully utilised. Absence data is inconsistently captured. People analytics dashboards are not set up to reflect the way the business actually makes decisions. And when things break or need updating, the organisation is calling an external support line and waiting.

That reactive cycle has a cost. And in 2026, retail businesses cannot afford it.

What Alacrity Solutions Provides

Alacrity Solutions works with organisations under 5,000 headcount that have already implemented Workday and need to extract more value from it without the costs associated with large implementation partners.

With over 30 years of combined in-house Workday knowledge, Alacrity's team delivers a personal service. The goal is not to create a new dependency. It is to give your internal team the capability to own your system through training, optimisation, and ongoing AMS support at a price built for mid-sized organisations.

For retail businesses managing complex, high-turnover workforces, this means:

•        Workforce scheduling and absence management configured to your actual operating patterns

•        People analytics and reporting set up to surface the data your leadership team needs

•        Workday training for your HR and operations team, so you are not dependent on external support for day-to-day issues

•        Ongoing AMS support for system maintenance, bi-annual releases, and process improvements

The Business Case

The question for retail HR and finance leaders is straightforward: how much are you currently spending on reactive external support, and how much of your Workday investment is actually being used?

For organisations under 5,000 headcount, a structured AMS partnership often costs less than the accumulation of reactive support calls, missed optimisation opportunities, and internal time spent troubleshooting a system the team does not fully understand.

Alacrity provides that structured partnership at a price point that works for mid-sized retail businesses.

Alacrity Solutions provides expert Workday AMS support and workforce training for organisations under 5,000 headcount. With over 30 years of in-house Workday knowledge, Alacrity delivers a personal service at a price that mid-sized organisations can sustain.