Retail store managers are playing an increasingly important role in the brick-and-mortar environment. As we’ve shifted from purely transactional spaces into in-person brand experiences, the role of the retail employee continues to change. It’s important to always look for ways to improve as a store manager. When it comes to pleasing your staff and your bosses, there are ways you can walk the line and balance both. Below, let’s look at 11 ways you can be a better store manager.
BUILD A GREAT TEAM
Every leader is only as good as the team they have behind them. It’s no different when it comes to managing a retail store.
“If your store runs as good or better when you are not there then you’ve done your job,” says Chris Hawkins, retail specialist at FitSmallBusiness.com.
It begins with hiring the right staff. And while relevant job experience is important, don’t forget to consider candidates’ soft skills and personality traits. One survey found that 95% of employers believe that culture fit is important when hiring staff.
The key is not to rush. Don’t wait until your back’s against the wall, and get a head start on seasonal hiring. “Take your time with hiring and involve your team in the interview process,” Hawkins recommends.
The onboarding process is important too — and training shouldn’t stop, he says. Document processes and provide training in different mediums so you can cater to multiple learning styles.
BE A LEADER
Sure, being a store manager is in and of itself a leadership position. But holding a leadership role and actually being a leader are two different things — the best managers do both.
“The biggest mistake retail managers make is when they forget to be leaders,” says leadership development trainer Dr. Peter Langton.
Here are a few ways to be an effective leader:
LEAD BY EXAMPLE
Show your staff that you’re not above any task. Your employees will likely strive to match the effort and quality of your work.
BE DECISIVE AND DISPLAY CONFIDENCE
Especially during times of conflict. (Note that this doesn’t mean impulsive, it’s still important to rationally think through conflicts.)
KEEP CALM
If you’re stressed, your team will stress.
BE TRANSPARENT
This will enable your employees to respect and trust you more easily.
“Leadership is about purposeful engagement,” says Dr. Langton. “Focus on making sure your crew knows what’s going on and why.”
PROMOTE OPEN COMMUNICATION
Part of being a great leader is facilitating a safe environment with two-way communication. More important than speaking is listening.
You also want to establish an open line of communication with your superiors. Give them important updates, share your team’s wins, and bring new ideas to the table
GET TO KNOW YOUR STAFF
If you’re an effective listener, you’re also probably getting to know your staff both on a professional and a personal level. Retail environments can be tough — long hours, weekend shifts, bright lights, dealing with customers, etc. — you want to show your employees you’re right there with them.
Praise staff for their wins, and provide constructive criticism when they miss the mark. Remember to match praise to the effort, and distribute it across your entire team.
DELEGATE
Once you’ve gotten to know your staff, you should have a decent handle on their strengths. This is when delegating comes into play. “Empower staff with decision-making authority,” says Hawkins. He recommends sharing the information they need to make decisions, as well as establishing parameters to use during the decision-making process.
It’s easy to get wrapped up in all of the day-to-day tasks necessary to keep the store running. But the fact is, the more you delegate, the more you have time to spend on more impactful ventures. “Far too often, retail managers get overwhelmed by daily activity, inventory management, meeting sales goals, executing the plan,” says Dr. Langton. “The hardest way to manage is when the manager is responsible for directing all activity.”
Failure is chasing priorities, spending time calling in employees to cover for those that call out, spending closing hours catching up on tasks that weren’t completed. – Dr. Peter Langton
When you empower staff, they adopt a sense of ownership for the store’s well-being. They play a proactive role in its success.
“If you train your crew to respond to orders, they’ll be waiting on management for each step,” says Dr. Langton.
“Train your crew about the priorities, the purposes, and pride. Reinforce when someone takes initiative to straighten up a display, provide that extra level of customer service, or see a problem before it happens.” – Dr. Langton
ADOPT A DATA-DRIVEN MENTALITY
As a retail store manager, a data-driven mentality spans across all areas of the business: employee productivity, in-store sales, shrink, etc. Create a KPI checklist for your store, and then establish goals against which you can measure progress. Two figures to pay special attention to: time and money.
Goals should be S.M.A.R.T. — specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely — and established for the company (this would likely come from senior leadership), the store, each department or team, and individual employees.
Document and distribute the goals with those responsible for helping your store achieve them. “Share results, good, bad, and ugly,” says Hawkins. “Your employees will feel more invested in what you’re trying to accomplish.”
MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES
Establishing and tracking progress against goals is one way to keep employees motivated and engaged. But there are other tactics you can take:
SCHEDULING
It’s likely that most of your employees are part-time and juggle other priorities in their lives, like school, family, or even another job. Offering scheduling flexibility can improve employee satisfaction, which will in turn motivate them to perform better when they are on the job.
FEEDBACK
“Provide positive feedback for hard work and a job well-done, even if it didn’t result in a sale,” says Beverly Friedmann, who has a background in sales and retail management for retailers like L’Occitane and Malin+Goetz.
PROBLEM-SOLVE
Rather than dwelling on losses or pointing blame when conflict arises, look for solutions. Encourage staff to contribute to the problem-solving process. Remember to listen to and respect their ideas.
PERKS
There are lots of creative bonuses you can create for your team. Put yourself in their shoes and consider which perks would be most valuable to them. Or, better yet, ask. For example, 12% of ANZ temporary hourly workers want better access to transport, and many companies offer education funding assistance. Though these perks aren’t always in your control, if you bring the ideas to senior leadership, you’ll demonstrate to your staff that you’re on their side and have their interests at heart.
MENTORSHIP
Don’t be just a boss, instead, play an active role in your employees’ professional development. Find out their career goals and look for ways to help them develop necessary skills and experience in their retail role.
Motivating your staff is important for employee retention. According to the JDA Voice of the Store Manager Survey, the second-biggest challenge store managers face is limited staffing. By keeping your staff engaged, you can help to reduce the prevalence of this issue in your store.
Looking for more ideas? Check out 7 ways to motivate staff and increase productivity
MAINTAIN OPERATIONAL ORGANIZATION
While you may not be on the retail ops team, you do play a very important role in the process. Especially for retailers with multiple store locations, it can be challenging for the off-site corporate team to have their finger on the pulse. As a store manager, you can help them feel more informed.
“Every retail store manager should make sure their inventory count is managed well and up-to-date at all times,” says Friedmann. Use your POS system to determine what’s in stock, how much, and how quickly it’s selling — and when you need to reorder.
Grasp NEW TECHNOLOGY
To smooth out store activities, you're likely going to need to embrace new advancements. This will emphasize your incentive to your bosses.
Presently, this doesn't imply that you have to actualize each new device that hits the market. Rather, comprehend your store's objectives and difficulties and quest for arrangements obliged those necessities.
For instance, innovation can present robotizations which can lessen the measure of manual procedures. Manual procedures are tedious and helpless to human blunder; the correct tech can moderate each of these.
Investigate some tech to assist you with dealing with your store >
Become more acquainted with YOUR CUSTOMERS
Much like you need to comprehend the individuals you're overseeing, you likewise need to become more acquainted with the individuals you and your group are offering to. "Comprehend who your purchasers are and afterward search for all chances to associate with them in your locale, regardless of whether it's through web based life, a community association, or your child's soccer match," says Hawkins.
Building real associations with clients can help you comprehend them on an individual level, yet in addition their agony focuses and which items would exculpate those torment focuses.
It's anything but difficult to get hindered with the administration side of being a retail location chief, however it's essential to likewise wear your business partner cap. "Retail location administrators who maintain a strategic distance from direct deals and client association by concentrating on different assignments and basically attempt to guide their workers to do sell are making a basic mistake," says Friedmann.
In addition to the fact that this hurts the store as far as missed deals, yet workers additionally pass up vital learning openings. Seeing a director in real life can give them extraordinary understanding into how to make deals themselves. Furthermore, not giving staff this open door can likewise hurt the group attitude, Friedmann calls attention to.
BE PROACTIVE WITH COMPLIANCE
Guaranteeing your store is agreeable — both with inside and outside measures — is perhaps the greatest obligation as a director. And keeping in mind that it's regularly difficult, off camera work, it's totally basic to the business' general wellbeing. Resistance can prompt significant difficulties or, more awful, closing down the organization.
"Guarantee all promoting is cutting-edge and as per store arrangements and that the store is spotless consistently," says Friedmann. "All workers should rehearse storewide conventions."
Lead standard retail reviews, both booked at normal stretches and inconsistently. "Investigating what you expect can go far in guaranteeing consistence," says Hawkins. "Play out an irregular review for a specific division now and again."
Aptitudes YOU NEED AS A RETAIL STORE MANAGER
Notwithstanding the above tips, Bob Phibbs of The Retail Doctor suggests all administrators build up the accompanying seven abilities:
Performing multiple tasks
Dynamic
Administration
Inspiration
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Successful COMMUNICATION
THE ABILITY TO MAKE A SALE
The more prominent effect you can make on the business, the more important you become.
Placing IT ALL INTO ACTION
You can't run a store completely all alone. To be a powerful retail location director, you need a solid group, extraordinary administration abilities, and an information driven attitude. The best directors enable their staff to play a proactive job in the store's prosperity, and cause their bosses to feel certain that they're taking care of the activity.
Consistent IA is a finished retail execution and store correspondence stage. It runs on cell phones, tablets, and PCs. It consolidates task the board, social joint effort, brilliant agendas, activity plans, and photograph confirmation to guarantee store programs are conveyed and executed in time, in full, in all areas.
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