Is your team down in the dumps this week?

I've worked with a few retailers this week, done some shopping and carried out some mystery shops and everywhere I go, people are down in the dumps. It's not a great week - the weather is awful (and possibly dangerous  if you live in parts of the North) and the process of stretching your pay packet always hurts more in January.

After all the events and promotions of pre-Christmas and the Boxing Day sales, it can be difficult to get your team going for another set of events. However, I think that an event may just be what is needed right now to lift your weary team and their collective spirit. There is Valentines Day just around the corner but something could fill the gap. It doesn't have to be customer-facing - just something that gets your team going again. I've seen ideas such as-

• A "thank you" buffet for the hard work over Christmas
• A dress down day
• A bingo card for selling a particular product with prizes for a full card

It's about doing something rewarding, a little lower-key than the Christmas promotions and hopefully some fun. Think about doing something that lifts the spirits of your team - it's important for them to have something that takes their mind off the gloom and doom that's in the news.

It's also time to ramp up your colleague engagement at this time. Spending quality time with your team is another sure fire way of lifting their morale. It's true leadership to be there with your team, discussing the upcoming plans when you don't really feel that great yourself.

Remember this as we fight through the rest of January and you will be in a position to reap the rewards.It's at this time of year that people start to look for a new job or a new start. If you have put yourself in a position that your team are happy, satisfied and productive then you can head a lot of this off at the pass.Team members that are happy and recognised are much less likely to look elsewhere. This will save you money on recruitment and training for new starters, which is an unnecessary expense at this time.

Make sure that you know your team and everyone is as happy as they can be. It's good for business in the long run.

Stop team members becoming invisible and motivate to success

I've been working with a management team this week and been looking at employee engagement. One of the things that has really struck me was the feeling from some of team that they are invisible, particularly to their management structure above them. This isn't a feeling from the newer team members, who seem to get a lot of time and attention as they learn the ropes and settle in. It is a feeling that is harboured by team members who have been there for quite some time, know their job inside out and just come in and get on with it. At first I found this to be a bit of a surprise, that the reliable team members were feeling invisible. But on further thought it felt true. If someone just comes on and does there bit then it is often only noticed when they are in holiday, off sick or leave. There's this gaping hole where the employee used to be. The problem is twofold - management teams not leaving colleagues feeling invisible, and colleagues being motivated to keep coming back for more. Now this is an issue for management teams all over the world-

How do you motivate team members who have been doing the same job for years.

And I must admit it's been a problem for me in my work career. I often get bored if doing the same thing over and over. I've changed jobs, changed companies, changed locations and changed industries when I feel like it's time to do something different.

Managers

The fact that team members don't feel recognised is down to management complacency. And as a team manager, it's about being present on the coal face every day. As a manager, you should have a conversation with every team member every day. They should feel that you understand what is happening to them today and if there's anything you can help with. To appreciate someone's contribution can often just be about saying "thank you." Along with a genuine, meaningful reason of why you are thanking them, this can have a massive effect - no more invisible employees!

Colleagues

If you're not in the management team and perhaps feel invisible or demotivated then works to your line manager. A conversation can be started by you, as much as by your line manager. Tell them your concerns and see what can be done about them. By being frank and discussing the situation, you can establish what to do next.

Read how retail is more positive than negative

I was looking for a little inspiration for today's blog and I decided to google "retail problems" to see if there was anything there to prompt me. I kind of wish I hadnt. There are hundreds of links such as this one-

http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/the-most-soul-crushing-things-about-working-retail#.xtRbJeez1L

And they are all about the bad things about working in retail, the bad things about customers and how bad things are. I'd like to think that my blog over the years gives the opposite view to this. I've looked at how retail can be looked at and found to be interesting for those working in it. The fascination of retail for me can be looked at in so many different ways but I'll have a look at some here-

Every day is different

There are do many industries that I've heard this said about but nowhere is it as true as I'm retail. Every single day brings in a new challenge, a new question, a new customer or a new idea. The dynamic nature of retail is what makes it engaging and keeps people interested and coming back for more. New ideas from those in charge make change management a massive part of retail and will ensure that it continues to be a dynamic work environment.

Interaction with people

Linked to the above, it's the constant flow of new customers that go some way to making each day different. This is amplified if you are a niche or speciality retailer as you will have to spend more time with each new customer as you explain your offering to them. And for me, this is where it can get really interesting. The opportunity to spend quality time with customers (new or old) transforms the day. It's what turns the mundane into the extraordinary as you get to build what you hope and expect to be long-term relationship with your customers.

The team aspect

It's being part of a team that are (usually) all pulling in the same direction that is another aspect of retail that I really enjoy. I know that it's not the only industry in which you work as part of a team but the team bond always feels stronger in retail than anywhere else I've worked. The fact that we're all in it together and the goals are shared means that we share a bond and every action that one of us takes affects all the others. This can have negative consequences but more often than not, means that everyone does what is in the best interests of the customers and their colleagues. 

Looking back at 100 blog posts - part 2 - your team

I've been looking back and celebrating 100 blog entries on my popular retail blog. In the first of these reviews, I looked at the High Street. My blog is about how to save the UK High Street and I set it up with the intention of looking at the issues that affect the High Street itself. In and around that are the areas that make retailers successful - as a successful set of retailers will mean a successful High Street.

The second review, here, is looking at the management of teams. I find that many of my readers are independent retailers who have a team around them. My other main group of readers is people who work for larger retail organisations and are looking to improve and develop their skills every day. I have looked in a different blog at you should attempt to keep learning and improving all the time-

http://eaboost.blogspot.com/2015/09/do-you-read-do-you-continue-to-learn.html

In this following blog, I look at how you organise your team to cover the weekend, where most retailers are busier-

http://mytimeinretail.blogspot.com/2015/03/staffing-at-weekend-how-do-you-manage.html

It's very important that you as a retailer are ready for your trade and prepared long before they walk through the door. It's only by providing a great service that you turn your customers into brand ambassadors and have them not only returning time and time again, but bringing their friends and family with them.

And in this one, I look at ensuring that you are consistent in your management decisions to ensure that your team are engaged-

http://mytimeinretail.blogspot.com/2015/07/a-lack-of-consistency-frustrates-your.html

And I also take a look at short-staffing and where it can lead you and your team-

http://mytimeinretail.blogspot.com/2015/05/how-to-avoid-being-short-staffed-and.html

It is really important that your team feels on board with the decisions that are made. This involves communicating your ideas and goals with them team. But it also involves ensuring that each and every small decision fits into the big picture. Your team can get really disheartened if they work hard towards a goal and then feel that the rug has been pulled from under them. A very short example-

If all the work that the team had pout in to clinching a particular client was then undermined if the client withdrew their business because of a personal dispute with someone high up in your company.

And finally, I look at how to reward those in your team that exceed or excel. It's important that you reward those in your team that make the business a success. To have people work hard (again) and not reward them is dispiriting. Yo verbally, personally reward someone for a good shift, hard work, a particularly good sale will improve the morale of the whole team-

http://mytimeinretail.blogspot.com/2015/01/how-do-you-reward-your-high-flyers.html

It's payday weekend - what does it mean to me?

Its payday weekend again - either this weekend or next weekend for your customers, with the last day of June on Tuesday. I've often posted payday weekend notices on my blog here (http://mytimeinretail.blogspot.com/2014/03/it-payday-weekend-again.html & http://mytimeinretail.blogspot.com/2014/02/payday-weekend.html) but without too many mentions of what that actually means. So I'll go back to the basics.

What is payday weekend?

In basic terms, it's the weekend straight after the majority of your customers get paid. This is when they are feeling the most flush with money and traditionally when they spend more of this money. The last week or so of the month before payday has often been where people have cut back and only dorms on essentials. They then break over that threshold and have their monthly salary in their account and are ready to treat themselves again. This is when the pursestrings are loosened.

What is different?

In actuality nothing is different - even more so in these days of ready credit but psychologically people feel that they have more money. And this applies to your team as well. And the difference to the town you operate in is that there are more people out shopping for more items at more money. And you have to prepare differently. Depending on your retail business, you will probably need more staff, more stock and your shop needs to be as ready as it can be in time for the expected footfall. So all non-customer tasks should be completed and out if the way long before the weekend trade really kicks in. Replenishnemt needs to be spot on and targeted in the right areas - as effective as possible and not disruptive to the flow of customers.

To some of you, this may seem like the basics but it's important to ensure that you have a plan and a routine to ready yourself and your team for these occasions, a they can make the difference in gaining new customers and retaining existing customers.

Customers

How you are set up for payday weekends and how your customers experience you at this time sets the time for their future visits. If you are more likely to see customers at this time, then you will have a larger pool of customers to make an impression on than normal. Each customer's experience with you this weekend can determine whether they see you as a delight to shop in (for those of you prepared for the extra trade) or a hassle (for those playing catch-up) and you need to ask yourself what you want to be here. The "delights" will see new customers converted and existing customers retained. The "hassles" will see a slow erosion of their trade.

It's time to step forward!

Not everything can be bought on the High Street-

How do you transition you and your team back after time off?

I'm back at work today after 11 days off and I always find this the toughest few days of the year. As I come away from time with the family and look on to time with my work colleagues it always takes a little time for my body and my mood to settle into a normal routine. And I think that "normal" changes every time I go back after a period of time off. 

So, how do you make that transition easier?

How do you get back into the swing if things as quickly as possible, without too much turmoil?

There are a few ways of helping this, and a few things to avoid.

Sleep patterns

I think that a major change in your sleep patterns when you are not at work will bring about a more painful transition when you go back to work. For example, I usually start the day's work at 7:30am and I get up around 5:50am to get ready to work. I try not to get up any later than 6:30am during my time off, and the transition back to 5:50am starts isn't a difficult one. If I laid in bed until 8am or later, then I'm sure I would have much more trouble in getting up and getting motivated to work today.

Doing a job you want to do

This is a massive help, and will probably out-drive any other motives I list here. If you are doing a job that you enjoy, then you've probably most of the way there. It will make an instant impact on the fact that you will have that ready motivation to get up and go after a break. I have a job the I genuinely enjoy and the fact that I have missed a week fills me with a little excitement and I want to get back and see what's going on. This leads me to the next thing, which I think also helps-

Taking a complete break

I believe that not having anything to do with work facilitates a better transition back into work. It may sound strange, but a large part if your time off is being completely away from work and all the distractions and stresses it brings. I go to the extent of not going to the same town, and avoiding the same route on my travels. I think that all of these things help to rest and recuperate and provide you with the refreshing experience that time away from work should bring. The fact that you go back to work cold can be a little worrying but the fact that you have recharged your batteries offsets this. When you're ready to work and ready to get stuck into it, the work moves along quickly and you can easily catch up with colleagues over the course of the first few days.

Lifestyle

As well as keeping a similar sleeping pattern during your time off, it makes sense to keep similar lifestyle patterns - eat at the same time, drink the same amount, at a similar time, exercise at the same time, etc. Having a similar life pattern each day helps the body and mind to operate at it's fullest. It also helps to promote a consistent mood and aids recovery from exercise and illness. All of this will help you to get back into the swing of things as you return to work, as it keeps the culture shock element of your return to a minimum.

Try these tips to help you return - it's helping me today!

Teams take on the characteristics of their leaders

I was watching the Champions League football last night between Chelsea and Paris Saint Germain with great interest. Although I'm a football fan, it was the interaction between the two teams and their treatment of each other and the referee that caught my eye. Chelsea were harassing and cajoling, they complained in unison at any minor indiscretion, they were up-in-arms at the slightest foul on their player whilst pushing and mouthing off at their opponents. It was a horrible right and a really bad advert for football, Chelsea and the Champions League.

In short, the Chelsea team took on the characteristics and manner of their manager, Jose Mourinho. He is a manager of some repute, although there are mixed feelings in the game about how positive an influence he is. Mourinho speaks after matches and blames opposing players, referees, linesmen, the referrers association, the football association. He really doesn't like losing, but rather than this becoming an obsession to win next time, it turns sour and accusational.

Mourinho himself started on the back room staff of Sir Bobby Robson, who's teams were passionate, good-natured and driven to win by trying their best.

All teams inherit the characteristics of their leaders if they stay together long enough. And I say leaders rather than managers because different teams have different dynamics, so the leaders are not always the managers.

Think about how you want your team to be, if you are a leader. And to determine how your team are, you need to look at how you are. If you display all the characteristics that you desire from your team, and train, mentor and manage your team in that way then it's inevitable that they will turn out in many ways like you.

Is this all good?

I remember back when I was managing when I was younger, I was often paired up with an assistant manager who was older than me, female and a different style if manager to me. This have a balanced management team that did different things well. In your team, you will want people that have the same goals as you and that you can work with but you will also want a mix of skills. Having people that are great at different things is a really good balance to have in any organisation. Getting there can sometimes be a journey. It's a case of fully establishing what you want when you start the recruitment process. For different roles, you will need not only different experience or qualifications but different characters and characteristics. Set out person specifications as well as job requirements when you recruit and you can start to build the team that you want and need to succeed.

Think about it!

Get totally behind your promotions to make them successful

Retailers of all shapes and sizes run promotions at different stages. For the likes of Tesco and Boots it's a massive part of their to have a 3 for 2 or Half Price promotion. So why, as I make my way around retail outlets, are the so many half-hearted promotions out there? Why do retailers think up what they must believe is a good offer and then not make it look full? Interesting? Appealing? Worthy of a second look?

Customers can spot these half-hearted promotions from a mile off, so why do we do it? What are we trying to achieve by it? Where do we go from here?

Lots of questions asked, so I suppose now it's time to back this up with some answers. There are several trains why retailers have these half-hearted promotions. One is a disjointed structure where, in large retailers, the store staff dong perhaps understand or buy in to what promotion the head office marketing department are trying to push. I've looked at involving each side in decision making in an earlier blog-

http://mytimeinretail.blogspot.com/2015/02/opinion-even-fact-can-be-best-judged-by.html

And the relationship between stores and head office here-

http://mytimeinretail.blogspot.com/2015/01/when-head-office-tail-wags-dog.html

And in addition to this, communication is absolutely key. If a marketing campaign is sent out to stores with a cover sheet explaining what the promotion is about, why it is being run and what is expected from the stores then it will undoubtedly get a better response than the one that doesn't have this. And, if resources permit, a telephone call to discuss this would turn the success level up even further.

Another reason is just laziness. Again, I've experienced this in large national retailers where the team filling a promotional section know that they will also be the team taking it off when it ends. So they don't fill it right up, it doesn't look appealing, it doesn't sell as well as expected and the team feel less inclined to get behind the next promotion. It's down to the team leaders to monitor this and police it. Once you've set the standards with your team then they will follow and get behind these promotions. Being in control of this and enthusing your team will aid the success of all promotions and team spirit.

To add to this, I'd say that if you are a single outlet or other small retailer that your promotions need to be considered. Just putting on a promotion because "we always have one now" or because "it fits into our promotions planner" isn't a very good reason. Having a promotion because "it's launching a great new product" or because "we have a great offer that out customers will buy into" are really good reasons. Thinking about Boots again, their promotions on skincare and shampoos are great but they seem to follow a schedule where they regularly have promotions on their healthcare department. I don't think that offers on eye drops or fungal nail treatments is going to create queues at their front door. The promotion needs to create excitement, even anticipation to get customers through your door and repeatedly coming back.

If you take a of these factors into account and put them together to create promotions that are well-stocked, look great, and well-thought-out and have a buy in from both staff and customers then this will give your business a real boost.

Not everything can be bought on the High Street

Be on the shop floor and connect with your team

What happens when your team (good and bad) are allowed to run things for themselves?

I ask this question because it's something I've experienced recently and the medium to long term consequences can be quite devastating.

It's a large team that I've done some work with and got quite close to. It can probably be broadly split into two factions - those that work really hard and have the wellbeing of the store and customers at heart, and those they don't. I think anyone that has worked in a large store has had a similar experience. In this case it's the long-standing team members that take care of everything and this half of the team carry out approximately 90% of the work. I'm some instances it's because they just get on with it, in others it's because the newer colleagues have t been trained. Many of the symptoms of this divide are amplified due to the fact the management team spend so much time in their offices and have no presence on the shop floor. The shop floor is where a management team should spend the majority if their time, and is where standards are set and policed. Without this management presence, this particular retailer has suffered in areas.

The established members of the team that were happy in the short term to pick up the pieces have started to become resentful of their extra duties and the lack of support from management and colleagues. It's created a lack of respect for the management team and two separate teams in the same store.

Now for all you owners and managers out there, a simple solution has probably already occurred to you. It's so often missed by retailers. Far too many managers spend far too much time away from their teams and their customers. If you don't want to spend this time out there then retail management or ownership may not be for you.

Communication and support of your team is of paramount importance and without it you won't succeed. Knowing exactly what is going on with your team, particularly having seen it with your own eyes gives you the opportunity to set the agenda, train effectively, gather customer feedback and get the support of your team. All of these factors not only make your team a success, it makes the job 100 times more interesting. Of you're not doing it already then give it a try.


Not everything can be bought on the High Street-

Make decisions based on long-term trends rather than one-off incidents

I've been working with a few retailers recently and we've been looking at the long-term trends in their business. This is getting a fix on what us happening on an average day or event rather than looking at one instance and making a knee-jerk decision.

For example, one retailer has a fortnightly run when they change their promotions over. It keeps their offering looking fresh and keeps customer interest levels high. On the first such changeover of the new year, there were a few changes to how things are done and this meant that the team delivering this were completed early. The retailer wanted to immediately cut the hours allocated to this task and make a cost saving. However, my instinct was to wait and assess how this change went over proceeding weeks, to ensure that the time saving was ongoing, rather than just a one-off event. As it happened, there was a cost saving, but only at about half the level that was expected after the first incidence.

My point is, that by making a decision after the first event, you aren't getting the full picture and may have to make the decision more than once.

Every change to your business will necessitate at the very least, a thought process that looks at whether this changes affects other parts of the business. A new product may need staff training, a change in opening hours will need staff consultations for a change in their hours. And so on.

The next step is how to evaluate the change and how you will make changes, and this is mainly done with evidence. See how the new product is projected to increase sales and how much extra/different knowledge each team member needs to be able to sell it. From there, you have a training budget and can measure this against expected sales. Ensure that it is cost-effective.

As in the example I cited above, an analysis if the changes over several weeks and plotting the amount of time saves on each changeover will give you an average number of hours saved per fortnight and then either a reallocation of hours elsewhere in the business, or a staff consultation to see where hours can be saved. In our case, there was a vacancy that came up somewhere else in the store and someone volunteered to change roles and more over there.

Communication is the key, and being able to discuss these matters openly and honestly with your team will ensure a smooth transition in the event of any change.

How to sell your home: What estate agents don't tell you by Steven Thompson http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00I5HOJAM/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_awF5ub0SFJ9E4

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00I5HOJAM/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_awF5ub0SFJ9E4

Have you started the year with a bang?

Calling all retailers - 2015 has started and those selling off all their unsold Christmas products have started with somewhat of a bang. Footfall has been good, the weather has been kind and opening hours have attracted a lot of bargain hunters, in store and moreso online.

Don't dismiss online. Remember back to previous blogs where I spoke about click and collect.

http://mytimeinretail.blogspot.com/2014/04/asda-gets-in-on-click-collect-boom.html

I have seen research by an unnamed High Street retailer that the average customer spends approximately a further £8 when they come into store to collect their goods. The value of this is immense.

If you haven't got your act together for 2015 then ensure that you start to think and act straight away. Get your team together and work out what you want to achieve this year, and then build stepping stones if a rinks that will allow you to get there.

Good luck!

What Traditional Estate Agents don't tell you: A guide to getting the most out of selling your home by Steven Thompson http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00I5HOJAM/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_lhuQub1ZH8DHV

Where does the dynamic in your team come from?

Where does the dynamic in your team come from?

It's not always you, as the business owner, leader or manager - and that's not always a problem! Sometimes the spirit of the store can be a colleague or team member, and it's often their knowledge or ability to enthuse that sets them apart. As long as this person is enthusing people to do the right things (and not poison the well) then use their influence. You can let them lead and inspire the team in their natural way.

I have worked in many retail companies where the powerful influence hasn't been the manager. Some managers respect this and accept the fact that they can still be a manager and leader. Some managers hate this and fight it tooth and nail - I call these "title managers." Title managers need everything to come from them and through them, they hate any idea of influence coming from anywhere else and hunt down any other influential people - with intent to destroy them. It creates a hostile, negative atmosphere. And, in my experience, these managers are usually the ones that don't know a great deal about the business and have a low level of creativity. This stifles the natural creativity of the team and creates a vacuum, where nobody steps into the creative void for fear of the title manager's response.

I say that it is always positive to embrace motivation from within your team, wherever it comes from. An empowered, confident team are far more productive and resourceful than a team afraid to step on the toes of those in power.

Please think about how you want your team to operate - with of without you there.

Thinking about rewarding your team at this time of year

Little treats can make big differences to the morale of your team and how they work for you and interact with your customers - in the long-term this will mean more goodwill, trade and sales for you.

I have worked for many retail organisations, big and small; worked with retailers in an advisory role and run my own retail business.  Where you have people working for you, their morale implants heavily on their commitment to worm and their interactions with your customers. Approaching Christmas is a time where employers often look at rewarding their teams in various ways. I have experienced the following-

*10% of a weekly wage as a bonus. This smacks of a lack of inspiration and thought and unfairly penalises part-time and weekend-only team members

*a choice from a pre-set list of gifts. This takes a little more organisation, but can have the "wow" effect if the gifts are of a good quality.

*a team night out. This will have the added bonus of some team building, but each out for situations arising from too much alcohol.

*a day off work paid for Christmas shopping. The idea is great, but often the time just gets mixed up with annual leave. Try to mix it with a shopping voucher or an afternoon tea at a nice tea room in the local town to ensure it's fully enjoyed for what it's supposed to be.

*a box of chocolates, a box of biscuits or a bottle of wine. This can start to go down the same route as the money route at the top of the list.

In sure that all you inventive entrepreneurs can come up with really great ways of celebrating your teams contribution at this time of year, and inspiring them to greater things in the future.