It's alright to have a vision for your store, but you won't get very far if employees don't share, and believe in that vision. Richard Carter gives some tips on how to make sure employees understand where the company is headed.
Every year, we spend thousands of dollars trying to get employee's motivated to improve customer service, follow the new training program and maximise sales opportunities, all with a view to increasing our store's profit. Yet we often fail to achieve the desired uplift in sales and profits. Why? Employees have heard it all before, they're jaded and don't feel any genuine commitment to the business and its objectives.
So how do we break the cycle?
First of all, quick fixes usually don't work. Employees see them for what they are. The key is to capture the discretionary effort of our employees and gain their commitment to our business. To do that, we need to build genuine communications with our employees, share information and make them feel as though they're the most important part of the business (which of course they are).
A good start to getting employees to share your vision is to get the right organisation chart. At Nordstrom, they turned the organisation pyramid upside down and put the customer at the top and the senior management at the bottom. That sends a signal that the employee is the most important person in the company, right up there just beneath the customer.
Walmart makes a big deal about its success always being attributed to its culture. All employees at Walmart are taught the three basic beliefs during induction.
Bookmark article at:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. powered by moSociable 1.0.1 by www.waltercedric.com
