Updated: August 7, 2026
Retail
Staff for retail chains and stores in Ukraine
WORKIN recruits shop floor staff, goods receivers, order pickers and loaders. In groups sized for the chain, not one person per store.
A chain counts the task in shifts, not stores: one vacancy in one location does not close the problem.
What it is and how it works
Groups for a chain, not one person per store
WORKIN recruits sales floor staff, goods receivers, online order pickers and loaders. The chain names the stores and how many people each needs, and we assemble the group, distribute it so nobody is left alone at a store and bring people to their first shift.
First we fix the profile: sales floor, receiving or picking, work with a terminal and inventory system, early shifts and the schedule. Retail is staffed from visa-free countries - Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan - where lead times are short and most positions need no rare qualification. For customer-facing roles we recommend a short video interview: language level shows within two minutes.
You approve the people, the migration partner handles the permit and documents, and WORKIN arranges arrival and housing when needed. For the first shifts a newcomer works alongside an experienced store worker. If the chain needs a flexible headcount for the season, people can stay on WORKIN's staff under a staff provision contract.
- people per retail chain
- 10-200
- to start from visa-free countries
- 4-7 weeks
- visa-free recruitment countries
- 4
- worker replacement guarantee
- 6 months
The problem we solve
A chain loses not one person but a shift in every store
Retail runs on high turnover: people come for a few months and leave. With twenty locations, the staffing gap becomes a permanent state rather than an event.
Turnover is higher than in any other industry
A shop floor worker stays a few months on average. Local hiring cannot keep up even with current attrition, let alone growth.
The gap is spread thin across the chain
One or two people short in each location. Together that is twenty vacancies that nobody sees as a single task.
The seasonal peak doubles the load
Before the holidays the volume of receiving and shelf work multiplies, while headcount is the same as in February.
The morning delivery goes unhandled
The truck arrives at six and there is nobody to unload it. The goods do not reach the shelf before opening, and sales drop the same day.
Who we recruit
Roles, tasks and exactly what we verify
In retail some roles face the customer and some do not. Those are different language requirements, and the profile keeps them separate.
Shop floor assistant
- Tasks
- Stocking shelves, keeping the facing, date rotation, price labels
- Experience
- From 3 months or none
- What we verify
- Accuracy, pace, readiness to work standing
- Shift pattern
- Two shifts
Goods receiver
- Tasks
- Receiving deliveries, checking against the delivery note, placing stock in the back room
- Experience
- From 6 months, working with documents
- What we verify
- Attention to quantity and dates, work in the stock system
- Shift pattern
- Early shift
Online order picker
- Tasks
- Picking orders across the floor or back room, packing, preparing for handover
- Experience
- From 3 months
- What we verify
- Handheld terminal use, picking pace, attention to item codes
- Shift pattern
- Two shifts
Loader
- Tasks
- Unloading trucks, moving pallets and roll cages, back room work
- Experience
- From 3 months
- What we verify
- Physical stamina, readiness for early shifts
- Shift pattern
- Early or rotating
Packer and weigher
- Tasks
- Weighing and packing loose produce, labelling, preparing for the shelf
- Experience
- From 3 months
- What we verify
- Accuracy, work with scales, hygiene requirements
- Shift pattern
- Two shifts
Shop floor cleaner
- Tasks
- Cleaning the sales floor and back areas during the shift
- Experience
- None required
- What we verify
- Discipline, working with customers present
- Shift pattern
- Two shifts
Roles with direct customer contact require conversational language, so they take longer to fill. Receiving, back room and packing roles close faster.
Where we recruit from
Countries, roles and timelines
Retail is covered from visa-free directions: the timeline is short and most roles do not require rare qualifications.
Pick the role, the number of people and the timing - we will show when they start
01Most frequent roles
02How many people
03When you need them
- Realistic time to the first shift
- 4-7 weeks
- Replacement guarantee
- 6 months
- Cost
- Calculated for your terms
Practical time to start: Visa-free routes - 4-7 weeks · Work permit - 2-4 weeks · Paperwork after arrival - 3-5 weeks
Strong routes: Uzbekistan · Tajikistan · Kyrgyzstan · Azerbaijan
Who runs the project
Who is responsible for people across the chain
Terms with the chain, recruitment and work with people in their own language are handled by different specialists, and you get status updates from one manager.
Olena Lytvynenko
Head of enterprise projects
Takes the store list and the need at each, and agrees how the group is distributed and the contract terms.
Kemal Aslan
Head of recruitment
Organises recruitment in several countries and keeps a reserve of candidates for replacements.
Azamat Toktogulov
Worker relations manager
Runs recruitment in Kyrgyzstan and supports people in their own language.
Elchin Hasanov
Worker relations manager
Recruits workers in Azerbaijan and stays in touch with the group in the first month.
Contract
Documents for a retail chain project
We recruit the group under the recruitment and migration support contract. For a seasonal peak people can stay on WORKIN's staff under a staff provision contract, and housing is covered by a separate contract.
We send the templates before signing so your lawyer has time to review them.
Cases and project scenarios
How this works on retail chain projects
Below are delivered WORKIN projects. Company names are withheld under confidentiality terms; everything else is shown as it happened.
Agriculture and food
Launching a packaging shift at a food plant
There was nobody to staff the extra shift: local response did not cover the need.
View case →
Warehousing and logistics
Warehouse complex: pickers for an extended shift
Extending the shift ran into a shortage of pickers.
View case →
Manufacturing
Woodworking: machine operators and sorters
Areas stood idle for lack of operators, sorters and packers.
View case →
Construction
Construction: reinforcing the crew at the concrete stage
The concrete stage needed people with real experience, not general labourers.
View case →
Questions and answers
What chains ask about retail recruitment
Answers to the questions that come up before a project starts.
Yes, for any work involving food. Willingness to obtain one is checked at interview; the process itself takes several days after arrival, and that belongs in the start schedule.
In non customer-facing roles, yes: receiving, back room, packing, online order picking. Floor roles need conversational language, and we check that separately in a video interview.
At least two or three. One person alone in a foreign country and a foreign store is left without support and leaves within the first month. A small group in a store holds far better.
You can, but the route takes 4-7 weeks. A December request has to be placed in October, otherwise the group arrives after the peak.
If there is no company housing, WORKIN finds where to place the group and organises transport to the stores. That is a separate project model with its own price.
Readiness for a shift starting at six in the morning is checked at interview and written into the profile. It is the condition that makes people leave most often, so we talk it through before tickets.
It can, but then each city needs its own accommodation and its own mentor. The logistics of a group across three cities is harder than the recruitment, so we cost that separately.
The contractual replacement term applies. In retail this shows quickly: the first week reveals whether the person holds the shelf work pace and the shift schedule.
Request
Describe the chain and we will size the group and the timeline
- 01A manager reviews the request and clarifies details
- 02You receive a route, a timeline and a cost structure for your project
- 03Any contract decision comes only after the estimate
Need a detailed request? Fill in the employer form
Staffing request