46. Many retailers have improved their operation productivity through
(A) Computerization
(B) Outsourcing
(C) Both A and B
(D) None of these
Answers
Explanation:
Retail productivity is a metric that every store owner or manager wants to maximize. After all, the more productive your stores are, the better it is for your bottom line. Many factors contribute to helping maximize staff productivity — your selling space, fixtures, and products are key examples. But one factor that’s sometimes overlooked (and often under-invested in) is the workforce.
Your employees can be the biggest drivers of retail productivity, so developing their skills and improving their efficiency should be a priority.
In this post, we’ll explore the ways that you can help your team be more productive. Go through the pointers below and consider incorporating them into your staffing strategy.
We’ve talked about investing in your staff a few times on the blog, but it’s worth bringing up again. Customer-facing employees can have a massive impact on store productivity, so don’t make the mistake of undervaluing them.
Think of it this way: your employees, in a sense, breathe life into your store and keep sales going. Metaphorically speaking, cutting labor costs is akin to skimping on your oxygen tank.
As Terry Hawkins, Founder & Chief Creative Officer at Progress Retail, a company that provides tailored retail learning and development solutions, shares,
“All I’ve heard for the last couple of decades from retail management is how to reduce costs. We might think we save money by reducing our wages bill, but ‘cutting costs’ on your oxygen tank kills productivity.” – Terry Hawkins, Founder & Chief Creative Officer at Progress Retail
She adds that encouraging productivity in front-line employees means keeping them inspired and connected. “It’s about giving them a bigger reason to get out of bed in the morning. I’m sorry, but $11 an hour will not make me inspired and passionate to sell your product.”
The next time you’re experiencing low staff productivity, you may want to ask yourself two questions:
Do you have the right people in place?
Are you investing enough in them?
If you answered “no” to either or both, you’ll want to rethink your hiring and staff development strategy.
Having employees with ample product knowledge is good, but no longer enough to compete in today’s retail landscape.
As Ray Riley, Progress Retail’s CEO puts it,
“Education and training is the number one way to improve staff productivity. This is more than just product knowledge, as Amazon can communicate this quite easily. Sales professionals need to meaningfully connect with each customer that walks into their store.” – Ray Riley, CEO, Progress Retail
According to Riley, you need to go beyond inventory training or teaching employees about your brand. You should take things further by “teaching managers and sales professionals to earnestly relate to customers, and show genuine interest in every customer as a human being by engaging them in conversation.”