Focus on Employee Training
Hey everybody! I hope you’re having a great week: we’re finally seeing some signs of Spring up here. Now I promised last time that we’d talk a little more about what I learned at the Global Retailing Marketing Conference, so let’s launch right into that.
One of the most important things I learned is the value of employee training. Now, if you’re like me, your skeptical meter just went off, because nine times out of ten, when someone wants to talk to you about employee training, it involves you having to buy something and spend a gazillion dollars.
This was a little different, though. This time, I learned about the value of getting your front line employees invested in the decision making process. If you want to make good retail decisions, decisions that are going to make your customers happy, it’s not a bad idea to actually talk to the people who talk to your customers: your front line employees. It’s your cashiers, your crew members, your csrs who actually interact with the people you want to please.
The more equipped they are to do a good job, the better results you’re going to have.
I know, duh.
But here’s the other part. Some of you might know this: we have our own line of Dog Food One of the things we carry is Delectable Dinners, a wet food. We need to offer more flavors.
Now, what’s the best way to decide what these flavors are going to be?
It’s not like I can ask a dog. Well, I can, but they don’t say much.
Instead, why don’t I have my crew talk with my customers, have them do a survey, and let the customers tell me what they want to buy? So simple, it’s brilliant: the first rule in retail is to give the customer what they want.
How does this relate to training? I want the new dog food flavors to be a big deal. I want my crew to be excited and enthused about it! If they’re excited, the customers will be excited: excited customers buy.
How do I get my guys excited? Training. I can’t afford to send everyone, else I would, but I’m going to send two or three crew members out to the facility where our dog food is made. They’re going to have the behind the scenes tour, the real inside scoop on dog food manufacturing. We’re going to video the whole thing, so the rest of my crew can see it too. This will help my crew feel connected to the new product: they were integral in deciding what was going to be made, they know how it’s made, and when the food finally arrives, they’re going to do an awesome job selling it.
There you go. The beauty of training, and involving your employees in the decision making process. Let me knwo what you think, and what you’d like me to talk about!
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April 22, 2008 at 2:35 pm
It is sadly true that many people who talk about employee training think more in the lines of a one time “rara” motivation session that does nothing, than something that can really have a profound impact. Talking to the employess and getting them involved in decision processes is really important, as it gets them to take a stake in the company, and they think/feel that they are important.
However, you say that the first rule is to give the customer what they want. Well, the sad truth is the customer often does not know what they want, but they know what they want it to do for them. An example of this are blowdriers for the hands in mens bathrooms. They are crap, let’s face it. So, after a customer survey was made, a new one came out: As customers demanded, it had more power. In fact, it is more like an engine jet than a blow drier. That is because customers can only base what they want on what they know.
Dyson on the other hand took the information (more power, so we can have dry hands quicker) and sent their R&D boys running. They came out with the Dyson air blade, which is quite frankly amazing. http://www.dysonairblade.com/ i washed my hands 3 times just to keep using it….
so, employee involvement, two thumbs up. Give the customer what they want…no, give them something that will fulfill they need they have!
April 24, 2008 at 6:33 pm
You know what? Thomas is right. There are times when the customer doesn’t know what they want. The rule we should live by is to give the customer what they want OR what they need to solve the problem.
If I can tie it to the pet food world for a moment, you’ll see that there are times when we run into both situations. I might have a customer come in and say, “My vet says my cat needs Science Diet Hairball Remedy Food.” That’s one instance where I absolutely give the customer what they ask for.
The very next customer, however, could come in and say, “My cat’s got this real hairball problem. He’s always yakking all over the place. What do I do?”
My job now, as a retailer, is to help solve that problem. Training comes into the equation when we consider that employees have to be able to help customers find everything they need to solve their problems.
April 29, 2008 at 8:30 pm
I really enjoyed your article on training. If you don’t mind, I would like to comment on one part of the training mystery. As a whole, we all developed our training model after old Mrs. Snodgrass in the third grade. She was the teacher, you were the pupil, and you better sit there and be quiet as she drones on about the ABCs. Adult learners are quite different. Unlike third-graders, most adults see themselves as responsible for their own decisions and lives. Adult need to know why they need to learn something. In addition, each class may have a wide variety of ages in attendance. As much as it hurts me, I will be the first to confess that the older people need more time to learn than the younger set. People in their fifties, sixties, and seventies can learn new techniques and acquire new knowledge just as well as younger people. However, the older ones will need a little more time. When you mix your training class with both young and old, you will have some who are bored and some who are struggling. Be aware of this and come up with creative solutions. Michael L. Gooch, SPHR author of Wingtips with Spurs: Cowboy Wisdom for Today’s Business Leaders http://www.michaellgooch.com