WASHINGTON — The NRF Foundation today launched two new credentials in its RISE Up program in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The credentials focus on Retail Operations and Customer Conflict Prevention to further ensure retail workers — and the millions of customers they serve — can work and shop more safely and help keep the economy open. 

“Retailers have been on the front lines of this pandemic as economic first responders and are going above and beyond to maintaining a safe work environment for themselves, their colleagues and their customers,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “These new credentials will give employees the training they need to continue operating and serving customers safely. An informed workforce will build customer confidence and show local and state governments that retailers are taking all steps possible to prevent the spread of COVID-19.” 

While major retailers began implementing training for employees at the outset of the pandemic, the NRF Foundation’s new trainings have streamlined these best practices from retailers and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to create a more comprehensive training for the entire industry. Both credentials are targeted toward front-line retail employees of small and mid-size businesses that do not have learning and development teams.  

Made possible by American Express, the COVID-19 Retail Operations credential will train customer-facing retail workers, distribution center workers and job seekers to help safely operate during the pandemic. Designed to assist retailers meet state and local requirements for COVID-19 trainings, the course helps educate employees to recognize COVID-19 symptoms, take appropriate actions if exposed and understand CDC best health practices and tools used in retail.

The NRF Foundation partnered with the Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI), a global leader in verbal de-escalation trainings, to create the COVID-19 Customer Conflict Prevention credential. Developed specifically for customer-facing retail workers and job seekers, the program focuses on how to help avoid and de-escalate conflict. This training is specific to retail’s unique challenges, including mask requirements for customers, customer-to-customer conflicts and line management. It will help equip employees with the skills they need to better manage and resolve customer conflicts, especially during the busy holiday season.  

For more information visit nrffoundation.org/riseup. 

“These new credentials will give employees the training they need to continue operating and serving customers safely.
“Matthew Shay NRF President and CEO

About NRF
The National Retail Federation, the world’s largest retail trade association, passionately advocates for the people, brands, policies and ideas that help retail thrive. From its headquarters in Washington, D.C., NRF empowers the industry that powers the economy. Retail is the nation’s largest private-sector employer, contributing $3.9 trillion to annual GDP and supporting one in four U.S. jobs — 52 million working Americans. For over a century, NRF has been a voice for every retailer and every retail job, educating, inspiring and communicating the powerful impact retail has on local communities and global economies.

About NRF Foundation
The NRF Foundation builds the bridge between a growing industry with hundreds of thousands of open positions and job seekers around the country. Through education, training, scholarships and experiences for job seekers of all ages and backgrounds, we help more people take their first steps toward promising careers. The NRF Foundation is the 501(c)(3) philanthropic arm of the National Retail Federation and is funded in part by generous donations from retail industry supporters. RISE Up, Workforce development, White House, NRF Foundation, Matthew Shay, Public Policy