The Secret Weapon of Retail Store Success: Healthy Store Culture and Happier Employees

Last year, a client came to me with a problem. He was frustrated because his retail store was not performing as well as he wanted. Despite his efforts to drive higher levels of accountability within his retail stores, he felt that little progress was being made around improving cleanliness, organization, and customer service. He would often have conversations with employees about job assignments. They would address the items he talked with them about but put in no extra effort to address other problems in the store that were visible and impacting customer satisfaction. He came to me seeking a way to transform the culture within his stores.

We spent some time talking about his current approach. On a typical day, he would walk into the store, observe job assignments that had not been completed, and challenge the employees on why they were not getting more done. He would do this before saying hello, asking employees how they were doing, or acknowledging any progress they made since his last visit.

This conversation prompted me to ask the store owner, 

"How do you want your employees to feel when interacting with you?". 

After some thought, the owner said he would like them to feel motivated after interacting with him. He talked about his previous experience as an employee and how he worked hardest when he had a good relationship with his boss. He shared that his relationship with his boss was based on trust earned over time because his boss genuinely showed care and respect for him and the rest of his teammates. With this insight, we crafted a new approach to engaging with employees.

Four actions to improve retail store culture.

1. He brought civility to the workplace. Instead of the owner coming in and jumping straight into business, I encouraged him to take things slower. He began to say hello to employees, ask them how their days were going, and about their families and life outside of work.

2. He began to recognize small wins. Instead of focusing on all of the things the employees did not get done, he started to thank them for the small improvements they were making. The employees began to feel more appreciated and took more pride in completing tasks.

3. He started to delegate more responsibilities to his manager. Instead of being the primary person holding employees accountable, he began to have more conversations with his manager about store performance and the manager's role in ensuring that employees were completing tasks.

4. He invested time in training employees how to execute tasks to his expectations. When he observed that job assignments were not being completed to his expectations, he would check with the employees to understand if they knew the best way to complete the task. He would teach them how to complete the task efficiently and effectively if they did not.

The impact of happier employees.

These simple behavioral changes lead to cultural change within the store. Over the course of four months, the owner reported that the overall feel of the store changed. Employees seemed

• happier to come into work

• improved their execution of job duties

• began to greet the owner by showing him what they had accomplished while he was gone

This change happened without the owner having to fire any employees or implement special incentives. He was able to start store culture change by

• treating the employees with more dignity and respect

• demonstrating appreciation for small wins

• empowering his employees to take more responsibility for store conditions

• ensuring they were adequately trained

By changing how he interacted with his employees, the owner was able to transform the culture within the store, which led to improved customer experience and higher sales.

Summary

Being a store owner is challenging. It is especially difficult when the employees who work for you are not motivated to perform at a high level. One of the secrets to success as a business owner is to manage your employees based on their potential. Your employees are capable of exceeding your expectations when you provide the resources and environment they need to thrive. Just like a rose will not grow with proper water, soil, and sunlight, your employees need direction, training, and positive reinforcement if they are going to reach their potential. The time you dedicate to building a great organizational culture will unlock the potential of your employees and organization.

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As an executive coach and small business consultant, I guide small business owners and business professionals in achieving their professional and business goals.

Whether you want to start, transform, or improve your business or career, I can help you magnify your strengths, minimize weaknesses, identify threats, and take advantage of opportunities.

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Email: dcunion@yourpathexecutivesolutions.com

How to Make New Year's Resolutions that Stick: 3 Questions to Ask Yourself.

Are you planning on making New Year’s resolutions? Around 37% of Americans typically say they make New Year’s resolutions. This year, Forbes reported that fitness is the most common goal, with improving mental health and finances being the second and third most common resolutions. If you are looking to change jobs or start a business, there are a few questions you should ask yourself before making a New Year’s Resolution.

Why is this resolution important? 

The first question you should ask yourself is why this resolution is important.  In Simon Sinek’s book Start with Why, he explains how tapping into your why can help you find the motivation to do difficult things. Around 8% of people typically give up on their New Year’s resolutions within the first month of making them. Being grounded on why making a change is important can help you keep your resolution. I recently worked with a retail business owner looking to establish better boundaries with his employees. We discussed how establishing better boundaries would help him improve his relationships at home and give him more time to do things he enjoyed. He could push past discomfort and set better workplace boundaries by grounding himself in the anticipated benefits.

 

Who will support you in making this change?

The second question you should ask yourself is who will support you in making this change. In Professor Kay Milkman’s book How to Change, she talks about how important it is to have the right people around you when you are trying to change. One of the first questions I ask business owners looking to improve their business is who around them challenges them to evolve and grow. The people we interact with influence our expectations, thinking, and actions. When you spend time with peers, mentors, advisors, consultants, or coaches who can provide insight, guidance, role modeling, and support, you increase the likelihood of achieving your goals.

How will you position yourself for success? 

The third question you should ask yourself is how will you position yourself for success? In management consultant Jim Collins’ book Great by Choice, he tells of the importance of pacing yourself. He shares the wisdom of moderating effort to ensure that you can make consistent progress towards your goal. For example, last year, I worked with a consultant looking to increase their business through social media marketing. They were putting so much pressure on themselves to post every day that they hated to think about social media and would hardly ever post. We redefined the definition of good. Instead of setting the standard of good as posting 7 days a week, we aligned that posting at least once a week for a month would be good. By establishing a more realistic goal, he was able to reduce the stress related to social media posting. Eventually, he was able to work up to posting 3 to 4 times a week.  

Committing to resolutions can be challenging.  Applied Neuroscience Psychologist Dr. Hela Boschi states that our brains are wired to love routines and avoid uncertainty. Whenever you try to establish a new habit or make a life transition, you fight against learned behaviors, emotional triggers, and inertia. To overcome this, it is essential to start small, be grounded in why change is important, and seek out help from others. So, make your resolution, but also take the time to develop a plan and seek the support you need to achieve your resolution goal.

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3 Skills You Need for Managing Organizational Change.

Are you facing changes in your workplace that make you feel uncertain about how to navigate your career? You are not alone. Organizational restructuring and management turnover are happening at rates not seen since the last recession, creating heightened uncertainty in the workplace. As companies seek to keep up with AI advancements, rising costs, and tightening capital markets, more pressure is being put on employees to deliver higher results without incurring incremental costs.

Three skills you need to master

If you are in a situation where your role is changing significantly, there are three skills you need to master to position yourself for success.

Clarifying Expectations

Leveraging Your Network

Securing Resources

Clarifying Expectations

Everyone must be on the same page regarding expectations when roles and responsibilities change at work. Sit down with your leader, and ensure you understand what they want you to accomplish. Getting clarity on desired outcomes and operating parameters can help you to understand what is important and the actions you are empowered to take to deliver against expectations.

If you are taking on an expanded role, understand if any tasks will be deprioritized or completely divested. As a rule, if you are currently working at capacity, you can only take on additional work if some of your previous work is removed.

When collaborating with clients, I frequently use a full teacup as a metaphor for capacity. If a teacup is full to the brim, and you add a tea bag, the cup will overflow and make a mess.

To make tea without creating a mess, leave some room for the teabag. By sitting down with your leader, discussing your current duties, and aligning with them on what tasks will be removed, you create the capacity to accomplish your goals without making a mess.

Leverage Your Network

The second skill you want to leverage is accessing your support network. Take a 360-degree look at those around you. Who might have skills, knowledge, or insights to help you navigate your new environment successfully?

Employees frequently struggle with change because they are unwilling to communicate to those around them that they need help. Part of the benefit of working within an organization is collaborating with people with a shared mission. Connect with others within your organization, share your challenges, and request assistance.

By casting a wide net and taking in feedback from multiple sources, you can gain clarity on the actions you need to take to thrive within your organization. You can also establish strategic partnerships that will allow you to exchange value with your co-workers for mutual benefit.

Secure Resources

The third skill you want to use is securing resources. You can do this by starting with the end in mind. Define the ideal end state, and craft a plan to take you from where you are today to where you want to be. Then devise a strategy for gaining what you need to accomplish your goals.

When change occurs, it is vital to determine resource needs. For example, if you were planning a road trip to the beach, you would take the time to decide how you would get there, along with what items you

would need to bring to have a safe trip. You would take time to plan the trip to ensure you have enough gas, drink, food, sunblock, and other niceties necessary to make it to your destination and enjoy yourself once you get there.

Similarly, pausing to determine what resources you will need to navigate organizational change will help you reduce stress and find success. A few resources you may need are

• more frequent meetings with your leader to align on priorities

• additional training so you can effectively take on new tasks

• extra budget so that you can deliver against raised expectations

• more autonomy to make decisions without having to talk with leadership

The better you can articulate what you need to succeed and advocate for those resources, the better positioned you will be for success.

Summary

One constant thing in business is change—your ability to flow like water when your organization changes will position you for success. One of the things that makes water so unique is its ability to take on the shape of whatever it is in. Employees who can metaphorize themselves to fit into whatever environment their organization puts them in position themselves for long and successful careers.

Peter Drunker once said, "One can not manage change. One can only be ahead of it." The best way to stay ahead of the changes in your organization is to clarify what your leadership expects from you, leverage your network, and get the resources you need to succeed. This will allow you to stay ahead of the curve and be prepared for what is coming next.

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Thank you for reading this blog

Dorian Cunion is an Executive Coach and Business Consultant with Your Path Coaching and Consulting. He is a former retail executive with over 20 years of experience in the retail industry. He is a Co-Active coach who focuses on helping professionals and small business owners overcome insecurities, knowledge gaps, and lack of direction. He does this by assisting clients to tap into their values, recognize their strengths, and develop actionable strategies for growth.

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