Tell me, how do I lift my store out of the rut of mediocrity?
Joseph Grenny, a social scientist and author of Crucial Accountability, gives four leadership practices that can help:
- Show the consequences of mediocrity, to connect people with the impact of bad performance. Keep the issue alive by telling stories that illustrate work well done and the real human — or animal — cost of shoddy work.
- Set clear goals and explain why they are important.
- Establish peer accountability so that people feel comfortable challenging one another when they see mediocrity. It’s key that your store becomes an environment where everyone feels entitled to challenge anyone if it is in the best interest of the business.
- Be quick to defend the high standards. A chronic poor performer is a clear impediment to the goals you’ve set. How you handle this situation will let your team know whether your highest value is keeping the peace or pursuing performance.
I’d like to hire a staff trainer, but I’m worried about the return on investment. How can I be sure it will be worth it?
Our reason for existing at PETS+ is to make pet pros better pet pros, and we believe trainers can help you enormously. To really get your money’s worth you need to focus on two things:
- Hard skills — Overinvest in training that helps to increase ability versus motivation. Yes, it’s nice to have your staff leave a training session all fired up, but for lasting results that will give you that return on your investment, focus on small but vital aspects of your staff’s sales skills — it could be when to pause in a presentation, how many features of a product to stress, phone manner tips. Break tasks into discrete actions, practice within a low-risk environment and build in recovery strategies.
- Follow-up — Bring in a trainer, but only if you yourself are willing to buy into his lessons and do ongoing training and reviews.
We want to lay off a salesperson, but we’ve never done it before. If we are to give them a month’s pay, does that mean their base pay, or do we factor in their average commission earnings as well?”
Suzanne Devries of Diamond Staffing Solutions says that legally you’re required to give them only the vacation, sick and personal days they have accrued, although she recommends that you base your decision on how valuable an asset this person has been to your organization, and how long they have been with you. “If it’s a long time and they have been loyal, you should definitely consider a certain amount of days per year. Second, make sure you have documentation that states why you are having layoffs.” She also advises you do an exit interview and have the person sign documentation stating that they understand why “they are part of a force reduction.” An important thing to keep in mind is how other staff will view this. They will want to know that they will be treated fairly even when times are tough.
How do you suggest handling someone who is shoplifting in my store?
This is definitely an area where you do not want to be winging it, says Elie Ribacoff, president of Worldwide Security. Your policy on handling a suspected shoplifter should be part of your store manual and developed in consultation with a qualified attorney, or local police to ensure laws are followed and that prosecution is effective. State laws vary, but as a general rule suspicion is never enough — you need to observe the crime take place. As for confronting the person, there are obvious risks in confronting shoplifters. They may be violent, armed or working as part of a gang. And then there are the legal risks of trying to detain someone. As a general rule, it is nearly always better to be a good witness than to botch an arrest, says Ribacoff. Usually, the best approach is to have someone with a cellphone discreetly follow the shoplifter after he or she exits the store, and lead police to them. If possible, let the police search and make any arrests. This will provide better evidence in court, and it won’t be a matter of “his word versus your word,” he says.
I recently took over as a manager of a struggling store. Morale is bad, and moaning seems to be part of the culture. Any ideas on how to turn it around?
This one starts with you. Lead by example. Bring an upbeat attitude to the store every morning and make it clear you expect the same positivity from your charges. In this new era under new management, it’s expected your employees will take responsibility for their own happiness and effectiveness. Sales may be down, and the retail environment is more challenging, but your staff are either part of the solution … or they are part of the problem. For truly disgruntled staff, there’s not much a manager can do except to make it known they are on the wrong bus. A pet business is no place for people who throw their hands up in the air and declare “This place sucks!” at every setback.
