Clients frequently ask about how to get more accountability in their organization. They also worry about leaders accepting mediocre performance because the thought of recruiting a replacement just adds work to an overburdened schedule. So they struggle with employees who coast or have inconsistent performance. On the other hand, when we read employee blogs about…
Management is about getting things done through people, so all management training programs can teach all managers how to do that. Or so the conventional wisdom goes. But ask leaders and managers in store support and home office roles about what they’re dealing with in the complex world of retail management, and that conventional wisdom…
Much of retail negotiation hinges on how effectively you build and manage your supplier relationships. When you cultivate strong partnerships, the benefits add up—for you, the vendor, and your customer. What builds true partnerships? We asked key vendors and retailers what influences them most. Here are some tips that came from those discussions. Talk to…
Exposés of what goes on behind the scenes at large, well-known companies are guaranteed attention grabbers, so it’s no surprise that this week’s New York Times story about Amazon’s “bruising workplace” has been getting non-stop coverage. Since the article came out, there has been some controversy about whether the findings are truly representative since they…
The other day I met with a team of senior L&D leaders from a well-known chain. They’re looking for leadership development across all levels of the organization—store leadership, multiunit management, and the home office. I knew they’d probably implemented some kind of leadership development programs in the past, so I wanted to get a better…
Over the last few weeks, at least four retailers have introduced themselves to us by talking about their core values. While values and mission statements have always been around, for many there seems to be a renewed sense of importance in connecting core values with learning and development initiatives. These retailers want to make sure…
The riddle many training departments are facing—and are increasingly frustrated by—is how to get all that excitement and energy from the training to carry on in the field long after the event itself. What we often see is that there’s a lot of focus and attention on the implementation. Maybe it’s being rolled out at…
Salespeople hear all kinds of challenges and objections on the store floor, and of course, pricing is one of the biggest. Today more than ever, the culprit is information: consumers typically have more information at their fingertips than the salespeople do. It’s very common for customers to do price comparisons on their smartphones while shopping…
A new urgency for retail leaders and high-potentials to up their games and take on more responsibility has been driving an increasingly intense focus on retail store leadership training. We’re not only hearing about it from clients; it’s something you can see being played out in the news and in the leadership shuffles among major…
What do you mean? There are many phrases and words used every day, both in the stores and in corporate offices, to describe some action or expectation: “Get to this quickly.” “Be more proactive.” “Run the business like you own it.” “You should get the merchandise on the floor faster.” “You have to tell a…
