RetailBizBlog

Speaking the language of the people around you can be a much more difficult task then you could imagine. Not everyone has the charisma to captivate an audience of 1-1000 with ease. That is why listening is one of the most important things you can do as a leader. All too often, leaders of today are so confident in the abilities that got them where they are that they expect those around them to mold to fit them. Several companies have enlisted the help of external consultants and educators to attempt to "teach" people how to listen. Unfortunately, no amount of practicing asking questions and para-phrasing someone's comments can really teach someone how to "listen". Those drills are for Management 101. I thought about this while watching that reality show about Corporate CEO's that work a few days in the "trenches" to gain a different perspective. They gain an understanding of both their people and the way their company really operates. In re...

So far, I have talked much about what kind of employee and leader companies should be looking for. There is another side of that coin. Employees, must also try to seek out employers that stand for and practice the things that are most important to them. In 2002, my sister graduated from Tuck's MBA program. Peter Dolan (then CEO of Bristol-Meyers Squibb) gave the investiture address. Most of the time at such addresses, I may find myself flipping through the program trying to determine how much longer I will have to endure this speech. Not this time. Mr. Dolan, who delivered this speech in the midst of his own corporate scandal, mentioned something very early on, that I have always remembered. He discussed that even in the face of growth and opportunity, you must keep your presence of mind to be aware that it is not costing your values or integrity. He faced such opportunity, and walked away, as the methods to achieve that opportunity no longer were in line with his own value...

I had a phone interview yesterday. Since I have started writing this blog, I have become very aware of the actions and qualities of those around me in the retail world. After I had this interview, I collected my thoughts, and it occurred to me "WOW!! That girl really knows what she is doing!!" A phone interview is a very unique thing. You don't have all the benefits of meeting someone face-to-face. You can't see their reactions, their mannerisms, or even if they present the right image for you. You also don't have the ability to control the level of distractions for the candidate. With all these things against you, how do you get it right? I am simply going to tell how this person conducted this interview...cause THIS is how you do it!! She started off by introducing herself and very clearly explaining her role in both the company and in the interview process. Throughout that part, she used easy and energetic language as well as several different tones ...

I have written much about leadership, and what some of the things are that need to happen for retailers to push through this sluggish economy. I have received and email asking me to provide my definition of a good leader or leadership. I thought it was relevant enough to share in this forum. My personal definition of a strong Leader is: An individual that by a combination of their words and actions inspires people to act towards a vision that they have clearly provided. I firmly believe that leadership is a perfect marriage between communication and vision. If you do not know where you have been, or where you are going, it is impossible to get people to follow. Without vision, there is no leadership. Even if you have a strong vision, then comes the tough part - communicating it in such a way that others don't just agree with you, the believe in you! Unfortunately, I don't know anyone that can train on how to truly be a leader (although several leadership classes exist). ...

As with coaching, it is just as important to understand the person you are talking to. The result will be much more significant if the discussion is tailored to the individual. Even more important though is understanding your employee's ability to receive criticism. Some people welcome criticism openly, as they understand it is only designed to improve performance. Unfortunately, most people just don't like being told that they are not doing something correctly. When counseling an employee, it is very important to convey that you are simply trying to correct or improve a behavior or an action, you are not attacking them as a person in any way. The easiest way to accomplish this is to simply discuss just the action in question. It is best to avoid using directed words like "you", or stating other employees opinions about the action, because that makes the conversation about the employee and not the behavior. It is much easier to counsel an employee on an action ...

Coaching and Counseling are the two strongest tools a manager has to increase the productivity of their staff. Typically coaching and counseling are discussed together as they pretty much go hand-in-hand. Here I will focus on the Coaching aspect as "part 1" of this two-part article. First, I would like to identify the difference between the two. Coaching is a form of communication used to teach a new job skill, or to improve upon a current skill. Counseling, however, is used more specifically to help correct an observed behavior or a method of performing a task. For either to be successful, the most important part is being able to properly identify what form of communication would be most appropriate for the associate receiving it. I have usually seen employees grouped into 4 basic categories. 1. No Experience/New - It is this person's first job. They need the MOST communication. If you delegate them a task without thorough direction, they will not complete it ef...

As I was walking the mall this past weekend I noticed a few strange trends. There were a lot of people in the mall, but there were lots of stores without a single customer. I chatted up some of the employees, and consistently received this generic response, "Yeah, it has been kinda slow lately". Then I went into some of the more "crowded" stores, and heard things like,"We are beating last year!", "Back to school seems to be starting early!", and "The mall seems to be picking up.". How can this be? I did notice one common thread that distinguished all of the slow stores from the busy stores. The stores that were slow were messy and dark. There were fingerprints allover the windows, dust-bunnies in every corner (one actually swirled around the table when I picked up a bag), and lights out around the store. If it is so "slow" how is there no time to clean or change lights? Then, to top it off, the employees had this ki...

We have now discussed everything from recruiting top talent to actually hiring top talent. Now, time has passed and it is time for a performance review. Are they really top talent? Performance reviews when administered effectively can be the single strongest training tool a company can offer. Unfortunately, due to the nature of a performance review, it can also be the single thing that discourages an employee, ultimately ending in their resignation. Performance reviews are designed to give feedback in an effort to help an employee grow and to increase their performance. Rarely, is all the information discussed positive. Sometimes, it can even seem more negative than anything else. So, the goal is to immediately put the employee on the same page as the reviewer. Surprises are where long lasting issues arise. When writing the review always ensure that you are remaining 100% objective about that particular individual. Also, reviews should be properly balanced. I once had to adm...

Your candidate has arrived on time. They look sharp, have a firm handshake, and look you in the eyes and smile as they introduce themselves. This person is perfect...right? Maybe not. There are several reasons why we interview, but the biggest one is the simple fact that things aren't always what they seem. You want to start your interview with casual small talk to attempt to ease the nerves of your candidate (interviews can be scary!!). Be aware of your candidate's body language. Without even asking a single question you can generally identify several character traits that can let you know a lot about the person. If your candidate seems like they are very nervous, start with questions that allow them to easily "brag" for a moment. This will typically boost their confidence enough for you to get a better read through the interview. As you are asking your "core value" focused questions, trust your instincts. If you don't feel you got a sufficient ...

With a bottomless pile of resumes to chose from, you miraculously have narrowed it down to people that you want to interview. Now, how do you prepare yourself to conduct an effective interview? It doesn't matter how many interviews you have conducted or how strong your "gut feelings" are, you must have an outline of questions you would like to ask. Many companies have identified and published their core values and supply interview forms to use based on those values. These are generally great tools to have available, especially if your company has created job specific forms. If you don't have this available to you, or do not have job specific forms, it would benefit you to create them. Again, you must identify your core values for the store and for the position. Then formulate questions that will address ALL of them. Using the core values that I have kept consistent with me (S.M.I.L.E), here are some examples of "core value" focused questions. S-(sales...

Today, there are seemingly thousands of candidates applying to every position. Some of them are amazing people that will never get noticed due to their "less than impressive" resume. Some of them are amazingly terrible candidates (we have all been excited over a resume only to be floored by someone that could barely finish a thought!) that have professionally written resumes. So, how do you read between the lines and determine which resume has the best chance of getting you that amazing employee? You need to determine specifically what you are looking for. Just reading your job description is not enough. If you have an overly talented sales staff, but are lacking operational efficiency, a glowing sales background should not be your top priority. The best approach is to examine the core strengths and weaknesses of your current team, and then determine what are the core values in a candidate that would best complement your team. Write down these "core values...

With the weakened state of our economy, there are several retailers that are turning to "conversion"(percentage of people that enter the store that make a purchase) as a primary statistical measure. Some are even initiating disciplinary action on Managers not reaching company standards. I have heard conversion goals as high as 20%. This can all be very scary. I was told early in my retail career to never make excuses to the state of my business, but instead offer what is happening to improve it. Unfortunately, "People are just not coming in" is becoming a VERY popular statement. It is only natural for a retailer to find the focus that can eliminate that excuse. I once ran a store that was a high-volume store that had fallen from its former glory to a middle volume. When I took over that store, the overwhelming notion from the staff was that customer traffic just wasn't what it used to be. I put a greeter in the front of the store and told him to physica...

Early on in my career, I developed a reputation as a top recruiter among my peers. Unfortunately, I wasn't really sure how I did it. The company I was working for at the time announced they were expanding in to a new market in Denver, Colorado. I was the one charged with recruiting candidates for these new stores. So off I went to Denver for a three day trip to "recruit" as many quality candidates as I could find. I arrived at Cherry Creek Mall, recruiting materials in my bag, and eager to meet our next great employee. After about thirty minutes of wandering the mall, I hadn't even struck up a conversation. I quickly began to realize, I didn't know anything about recruiting!! I went to the food court and sat down with a coffee and the mall directory thinking to myself, "How did I get this reputation as this recruiting genius?!" I realized that my success in the past with filling local positions, was me simply arranging interviews for people I h...