Four retail store tips for managing staff

It’s just true that a company’s staff have a tremendous effect on a company’s prospects of success. If the team is firing on all cylinders, then the business will move in the right direction; if the team is substandard, then things will be more difficult. This is true of all companies and industries, though to various degrees.

When it comes to retail, it’s even more important, since the roles are “public facing.” If a customer has a bad interaction with an employee, then he or she will likely become an ex-customer. These things really do matter! As such, it’s important that any retail company knows how to successfully manage their employees.

Below, we take a look at a few useful tips for making this happen. 

Hire the right people

It all beings with the hiring process. If you don’t get this right, then you’ll be presenting your business with some big headaches, both professionally and financially (it can cost a lot of money to replace a worker). If you know that you’re getting off on the right foot, however, then everything will be much more straightforward. To do this, make sure you’re developing a robust hiring process, one that filters out potentially problematic employees.

You’ll also want to look beyond the CV. Follow up with their references, and also trust your instincts - if you see a person favourably, then it’s likely that a customer would, too. 

Get streamlined

Of course, you could assemble the greatest team of retail employees in the world, but if they’re not well organised, then they’ll find it difficult to reach their full potential. To ensure that you always have the right number of people working and more, you’ll need to have software that’ll help you to manage your employees well.

If you don’t already have such software, you can look at working with Mitrefinch, who have a range of software products that can help you to better manage your team. There’s nothing worse, from a staff or customer’s point of view, than there not being enough members of staff in a store. 

Ongoing training

Companies don’t hire the finished article. They hire the right people that they can train. If you’re going to get the most from your team of staff, then you should be providing ongoing training, and especially when you introduce new software onto the shopfloor.

Also, be aware that there are always new ways to provide outstanding customer service, but you can’t expect your staff to actively look up these developments on their own. Stay up to date yourself, and providing training as and when it’s necessary. 

Encouragement and respect

Finally, always keep in mind that it will be much better for your company if your staff are happy in their work. They’ll work harder, there’ll be a better atmosphere, and that will transfer to people who come into your store. Make sure that you’re treating them with encouragement and respect, and actively working towards making them happy in their work.