The first time somebody told me that "to keep it you have to give
it away" I thought he was talking nonsense. But over time, the more I have
learned about being a good manager and a good person, the more I have realized
the truth of that seemingly contradictory statement.
These are the four most important things a store manager must give
to his/her staff so the staff can give it back to the store and customers.
Loyalty.
Loyalty is a two way street. If you want loyal employees, you must be a loyal
manager and employer. There are many ways to show loyalty to an employee. It's
being willing to adapt a work schedule when an employee is having challenges at
home or dealing with other concerns. It's figuring out how to give a leave of
absence to a person who needs one even when doing so creates some challenges for
the rest of the team. It's spending that little bit of extra time when an
employee is struggling to learn a new skill or obtain new knowledge. It's
delivering performance reviews and merit raises on time.
Respect.
I have had the pleasure to work for and with some wonderful people; people I had
great respect for. I've also worked for and with some managers I didn't
respect. The reason I didn't respect them is because they weren't people of
their word. They lived by the code of "do as I say, not as I do." They didn't
keep their word. They didn't keep confidences. They put their own needs above
others, believing that rank had its privilege. For a manager/owner to lead a
team he/she must have the respect of the team. Respect isn't really that hard
to keep but it is very tough to earn back when it's been lost.
A positive
attitude.
I've always said that you can walk into almost any store and within minutes
determine how positive the manager/owner is without even meeting them. Their
attitude sets the tone for the entire team. Chances are if an employee greets
you with a smile and friendly welcome that they too were met with a smile and
friendly welcome when they arrived at work that day. My wife jokingly tells our
children that "when mama's not happy, ain't nobody happy." The same principle
holds true in a store, too. When the manager/owner is in a bad mood or is
stressed out there is a dark could over the entire store. It impacts everyone
working that day but most of all it impacts the customer and the day's sales.
The store
priorities.
A manager's/owner's actions - not what they say but what they do - communicates
to the staff what's really important. What matters is not what a manager says
that is important, it's what a manager does that makes the real impact. I've
seen so many managers stand up in a store meeting and babble on about the
importance of customer service, how much they respect the customer, blah blah
blah. Then immediately after the meeting they spend their entire time focused
on merchandising or preparing for a store visit and completely ignoring
customers. Every day you must show and do what is necessary for the store to
succeed. If that's what you do then your team will do the same.
So let me ask, what are you going to give away today?
- Doug
About the author:
Doug Fleener is a veteran retailer with over 25
years of hands-on retail experience with world-class retailers including Bose
Corporation and The Sharper Image. He has also owned and operated his own
specialty stores. In his ten years at Bose, Doug grew the Retail Direct Group
from four to 100 stores and was instrumental in developing Bose’s unique and
engaging retail methods.
Doug is now president and managing partner of
Dynamic Experiences Group LLC, a Lexington, MA based retail and customer
experience consulting firm dedicated to helping retailers improve their customer
experiences that results in higher sales and profits.
Fleener is the author of the book The Profitable
Retailer: 56 surprisingly simple and effective lessons to boost your sales and
profits. He is a frequent speaker around the world on retail issues and his
insights has been covered in leading business media including The New York
Times, Entrepreneur, and Shopping Centers Today. Along with
partner Matt Norcia they write the popular retail blog Retail Contrarian.
Doug lives in Lexington, Massachusetts with his
wife and two daughters, where in his free time he barbecues while listening to
Jimmy Buffet music.
