The 5 rules of managing your team

These are the 5 rules of managing a team in any discipline, but is perfectly tailored to retail-

1- Recruit quality

The recruitment process and the remuneration package needs to be robust enough to ensure that you can attract quality applicants and choose the best available to you.

2- Train effectively

Once you have your quality team or new quality employee then your training programme needs to be thorough, challenging and supportive.  Your team needs to feel as though they have been given training in the right areas to be comfortable in their role and then successful after that.

3- Set the standards

Your team should know what you stand for, what is important to you and what your expectations for them are.  This is basic management and can be shown by your words and your actions - lead in the way you want then to follow.

4- Police the standards

Once your team know what you want from them, ensure that they also know you are watching and monitoring their performance.  This is positive reinforcement of the standards that you outlined in point 3.

5- Reward accordingly

This can take many forms, from a simple "than you" to a bonus or more responsibility.  This can also mean performance management or disciplinary action if the results are not to the standard required.

Thanks for reading!

Some things you can't buy on the High Street - Amazon Prime

Your enthusiasm infects your team - and your customers

The best managers have boundless enthusiasm (mixed in with some focus.). When you are enthusiastic about your job, your company and have a clear direction for this enthusiasm then your team will feed on this.  They will work better for you, share your goals and share their ideas.  Nourish these and you have a winning team and a great place to work.

I worked with a manager with great energy, enthusiasm for the job and a clear view of where they wanted their store to be - with a sense of what order things had to happen to achieve this.  It was a job that I jumped out of bed to work in.

And your customers feel it too!

Some things you can't buy on the High Street - Amazon Prime

Article on retail gazette website By Wayne Usie, Senior vice presidentof Retail, JDA Software

Just reading through retail gazette website when I came across this article-

http://www.retailgazette.co.uk/articles/41412-building-the-nextgeneration-retail-operating-model-five-things-every-retail-ceo-needs-to-know

This brought up 2 key areas for me-

1-You must know your customer

Through all your customers interactions with your brand, you need to know what your customer is doing. Your High Street presence is the face of your brand but your customers will interact with you via your website, mobile website, apps and social media amongst others.  The more of these you can track, then the more you can tailor the experience to your customer.  Having log-ins for your website, tracking in your apps and loyalty cards will enable your systems to follow your customers browsing history as well as purchase history.  Allowing reviews of products via your website sees how your customers use and recommend your products.  Interacting with your customers on social media allows you access to their profile and their friends.  This information can prove invaluable.  Use it wisely.

2-You must know your own proposition

These two areas go hand-in-hand.  You must know in exact detail what you offer your customers.  From this detail you must ensure that all your team know your proposition and can talk about it with confidence to every customer that walks through your door.  Some of the UK retailers that have disappeared over the last few years tried to be too many things all at once - Woolworths, Comet, JJB Sports to name some high-profile examples.

Your customers must know why they are walking through your door. Your team must know how to interact with them.

Not everything can be bought on the High Street - Amazon Prime with TV and film streaming

Valentine's Day gets me thinking…

I look forward through the year, after Valentine's Day for the other days, holidays, events and festivals that will see an increase in trade for the High Street.  Of course the level of trade will depend on your location and the type of retail business you are, as well as other factors.  However, there are certain UK events that will see an increased footfall in your High Street and you will need to be ready with staffing and high-profile window displays to make the most of this.

Some such events are-

Mother's Day

Easter

Father's Day

End of school year

Football World Cup

School Summer holidays

Back to School

Halloween

November 5th

Christmas

Ensure you have diarised far in advance what you are going to do for these events, even if they don't directly relate to your business - as I stated earlier, there will be an increased footfall in and around you.  Speak to other retailers in your town and see what events you can plan together.  Join or form a retailers association to pool ideas, knowledge and budgets to make a big event in your High Street.

Preparation is the key!

Some things you can't buy on the High Street - MP3 version of NOW That's What I Call Disney

Comparisons of UK High Street to that of Italy

On a recent visit to Italy, I decided to look at the similarities and differences between the High Streets in Italy and those in the UK.  The High Streets I encountered in Italy were generally more vibrant, with a higher occupancy rate than those I have encountered recently in the UK.

There is more of a focus on the trades in Italy and no High Street is complete without a butcher, greengrocer, fishmonger, cobbler or baker.

Some or all of these have been rolled into one supermarket in many UK High Streets.

This isn't to say that supermarkets are necessarily a bad thing in a High Street shopping area, but that a competitor that provides some expert knowledge and a high level of customer service would be beneficial.

We have seen more of a café culture like our European cousins over recent years, but the difference is marked.  UK High Streets have mimicked the US with large chains tending to dominate, whereas in Europe the trend is for local, independent cafés.

Planning offices need to prioritise the types of business they want to occupy their town centres. When economic times are tough, it is easy to accept whatever business that comes along.

Perhaps a forward-thinking council would get together with local landlords and advertisers to request certain tenants or sectors that they would like to enhance their town centre. That would be a proactive move.

Get a free 30 day trial of Amazon Prime

Check out up to 70% off fashion at Amazon

Speed of service is key for most High Street shoppers

Although quality of service and spending as much time as possible with each and every customer, the dynamic can change for many of your customers on the High Street. There are time constraints, mostly in the week, from the ticking clock on their parking space, childcare, returning to work from a lunch break and generally trying to fit necessary shopping into an already busy lifestyle.

High Street customers have less time than those in edge if town stores.

As quality, successful retailers we react to the reduced amount of time our shoppers have.  We need to man the tills, with a back up available nearby, especially at lunch time. Staff lunch breaks need to be worked around this. Putting a positive spin on this with your team will help with morale.

Stock replenishment needs to be complete before and after the busy hours over lunch time.  This ensures availability for lunch time shoppers (especially important if you sell lunch food items) and keeps your replenishment staff ready to assist customers on the shop floor and tills.

Management need to be visible on the shop floor and available to motivate their team at this vital time of the day.

Let's gear our teams up for this important time of the day and ensure we make the best if our High Street location.

Some things you can't buy on the High Street - Kindle version of The Husband's Secret

BBC article on Justin King's time at Sainsburys

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25960491

Highlights 5 key areas of success in Justin King's time at Sainsburys.

I found the quality/value and the focus points the most interesting and the most relevant.

Quality/Value

This is interesting because the days of low price being mistaken for value seem to have all but disappeared.  Value means being appreciated as a customer, receiving truly excellent customer service and buying goods that exceed expectations.  Even value retailers can't get away with selling things that don't last.

Focus

This seems so basic, such a given, but it is still overlooked.  It determines staffing profile, marketing, social media presence, expansion plans. It must be at the forefront of your mind with every decision. It must be clearly defined and clearly communicated to your team.

Some things you can't buy on the High Street - MP3 download of Crying for No Reason

Payday weekend

Very short note today - this is the first payday weekend since Christmas for many people.  Make the most of it.  Ensure your promotions are spot on and full, ensure your team are well-prepared and motivated.

Although there may be some left-over credit card debt, many people will have some money to spend so make sure that if they come into your store, you are ready with a smile and spend some quality time with them!

Some things you can't buy on the High Street - MP3 of Happy (from Despicable Me 2)