Customer satisfaction, improved turnover rates are the T&D payoff
There has been a real change in the mindset of retailers in the past 10 years or so, says Diane Brisebois, president and CEO of the Retail Council of Canada.
“There is a better understanding of human capital than there ever was,” she says. That means more attention to things like turnover and employee satisfaction, and a much greater interest in training and development.
“Retailers understand now that you need to make a serious investment in your employees,” she says. In a highly competitive environment where retailers are determined to develop a brand identity, training is now viewed as an essential driver of performance.
“If you want to develop a brand that is respected, that is recognized, that becomes a draw for your customers… those who carry the brand are your employees,” she says.
Aside from recognizing organizations must train employees to deliver superior customer service, retail HR departments know employees want to see their employers investing in their development. Offering training becomes an important factor in employee satisfaction.
It’s not unusual to find retailers making top employers’ lists now, and 10 years ago that was never the case, says Brisebois.
All of this has lead to a large increase in the amount of training that retailers are doing, she says. “It is not always as effective as it should be, but it is now in the top three of major objectives for retail companies,” she says.
Retailers have notoriously been the worst trainers, says Shirley Murray, a former vice-president of HR for Toys R Us who now runs her own training company, Shirley Murray and Associates Consulting.
At the moment, after a few months of slowing business, there is a bit of a lull in training, but that is no longer an indication of the prevailing attitude of retail business leaders, she says.
They realize that to be successful they must provide a unique customer service experience. It is the essential competitive edge. With that has come a great awareness of the importance of training. “Certainly it is a major topic of conversation,” she says. Even smaller retailers, one-store companies, are looking at ways to ensure staff are satisfying customers.
Twenty years ago, there was very little professional training done and after that the typical tactic was to send a few people away for professional training and they were expected to come back and impart their learning to the rest of the organization. “Not terribly effective,” Murray says.
“Now they are recognizing that to have a good well-oiled organization, to drive the business, they have to have ongoing training not just for management but for potential managers and for the staff.” Programs are more comprehensive and organizations are even offering personal development and training in self-understanding. “If you can understand yourself, you can understand your customers and staff better,” she says.
The “smart” retailers are taking it a step further, using training to develop their employment brand, says Murray.
There are a lot of programs out there in the market done by retail gurus. “I am finding though, that retailers are recognizing that those don’t fit their culture,” she says. Rather, highly customized programs match the culture of an organization.
“When you have a program that reflects what you are, they remember it more. If it reflects the culture they are much more likely to go out and implement it.” But not many are doing this. “It takes a bit more thought, a bit more effort and indeed a bit more money.”
And while training activity has increased it has not always translated into improved performance.
“I think most retailers think that putting people through a little training session changes people’s behaviours, and don’t recognize the importance of structures and mechanisms that enforce that training,” Murray says.
For training to be effective, there has to be followup to make sure the training is implemented. Demonstrating the behaviours taught in the training should become part of the job description. “It has to be revitalized on a regular basis,” she says.
If managers are being trained to improve their leadership skills, for instance, HR should make sure they are conducting effective meetings and giving meaningful performance appraisals.
The organization should be doing role plays with staff weekly, measuring them on customer service and rewarding them for meeting expectations.
And while money, as always, remains an issue in training decisions, time is an even bigger one, says Murray. “I find often that the biggest problem in doing any training is being able to schedule it.” Particularly now when organizations are carrying minimum staffing, she adds.
However there is also a solution available that is being underutilized: e-learning.
It may be surprising but a lot of the basics of retail, including some of the lessons around face-to-face interaction, can be taught online, she says.
Many retailers are still shy about going this route, mistakenly believing it will be expensive or not a viable option since so few organizations have computers in the store or that most of their employees wont have computers at home. That was true a few years ago, but it is no longer the case as more and more retail workers have systems at home.
“There is a better understanding of human capital than there ever was,” she says. That means more attention to things like turnover and employee satisfaction, and a much greater interest in training and development.
“Retailers understand now that you need to make a serious investment in your employees,” she says. In a highly competitive environment where retailers are determined to develop a brand identity, training is now viewed as an essential driver of performance.
“If you want to develop a brand that is respected, that is recognized, that becomes a draw for your customers… those who carry the brand are your employees,” she says.
Aside from recognizing organizations must train employees to deliver superior customer service, retail HR departments know employees want to see their employers investing in their development. Offering training becomes an important factor in employee satisfaction.
It’s not unusual to find retailers making top employers’ lists now, and 10 years ago that was never the case, says Brisebois.
All of this has lead to a large increase in the amount of training that retailers are doing, she says. “It is not always as effective as it should be, but it is now in the top three of major objectives for retail companies,” she says.
Retailers have notoriously been the worst trainers, says Shirley Murray, a former vice-president of HR for Toys R Us who now runs her own training company, Shirley Murray and Associates Consulting.
At the moment, after a few months of slowing business, there is a bit of a lull in training, but that is no longer an indication of the prevailing attitude of retail business leaders, she says.
They realize that to be successful they must provide a unique customer service experience. It is the essential competitive edge. With that has come a great awareness of the importance of training. “Certainly it is a major topic of conversation,” she says. Even smaller retailers, one-store companies, are looking at ways to ensure staff are satisfying customers.
Twenty years ago, there was very little professional training done and after that the typical tactic was to send a few people away for professional training and they were expected to come back and impart their learning to the rest of the organization. “Not terribly effective,” Murray says.
“Now they are recognizing that to have a good well-oiled organization, to drive the business, they have to have ongoing training not just for management but for potential managers and for the staff.” Programs are more comprehensive and organizations are even offering personal development and training in self-understanding. “If you can understand yourself, you can understand your customers and staff better,” she says.
The “smart” retailers are taking it a step further, using training to develop their employment brand, says Murray.
There are a lot of programs out there in the market done by retail gurus. “I am finding though, that retailers are recognizing that those don’t fit their culture,” she says. Rather, highly customized programs match the culture of an organization.
“When you have a program that reflects what you are, they remember it more. If it reflects the culture they are much more likely to go out and implement it.” But not many are doing this. “It takes a bit more thought, a bit more effort and indeed a bit more money.”
And while training activity has increased it has not always translated into improved performance.
“I think most retailers think that putting people through a little training session changes people’s behaviours, and don’t recognize the importance of structures and mechanisms that enforce that training,” Murray says.
For training to be effective, there has to be followup to make sure the training is implemented. Demonstrating the behaviours taught in the training should become part of the job description. “It has to be revitalized on a regular basis,” she says.
If managers are being trained to improve their leadership skills, for instance, HR should make sure they are conducting effective meetings and giving meaningful performance appraisals.
The organization should be doing role plays with staff weekly, measuring them on customer service and rewarding them for meeting expectations.
And while money, as always, remains an issue in training decisions, time is an even bigger one, says Murray. “I find often that the biggest problem in doing any training is being able to schedule it.” Particularly now when organizations are carrying minimum staffing, she adds.
However there is also a solution available that is being underutilized: e-learning.
It may be surprising but a lot of the basics of retail, including some of the lessons around face-to-face interaction, can be taught online, she says.
Many retailers are still shy about going this route, mistakenly believing it will be expensive or not a viable option since so few organizations have computers in the store or that most of their employees wont have computers at home. That was true a few years ago, but it is no longer the case as more and more retail workers have systems at home.
