Missing Piece

You read that right. A missing piece of the store puzzle. It could be a sales associate or a manager. Sometimes a store just needs that one person to make a difference. How do you know what’s missing?

Well, that is an interesting question. Here are some things to think about:

Do you wish there was more time in the day? Are you working more than 8 hours a day just to get tasks done? Are you bringing work home with you?

What if you could have someone to trust in to help you? Sounds like a no brainer, I know, but one of the hardest positions to fill in a store is a sound Assistant Store Manager. This person needs to be able to read your thoughts and be just as strong as you in decision making. It is always hard to find that person that is your right arm, but you can always identify certain strengths in a person and develop them to be the manager you need. We forget that. Training and developing your people should be the most important aspect of your job. Instead of looking outside your store, perhaps there is someone there that you need and just hasn’t had the attention yet or perhaps it is someone who is sitting in a key holder role and may be up to the challenge. You never know until you ask.

Assistant store managers are the glue that holds your store together. They usually don’t get the credit they deserve, but they are a company’s next store manager whether they believe it or not. They are responsible for running the floor and helping to build a strong operational routine. If you don’t have that strong piece as part of your management team, you will never have a successful business. The only issue that sucks with the assistant role is if they are the best at what they do, you will lose them. ASM’s should have your back no matter what. They shouldn’t undermine your vision or management style. If that trust is gone, so should your support of them. They will make your job harder than it needs to be. So that is why this piece is so essential and hard to fill.

I have all my key managers, but I feel they are burning out. What can I do to help support them?

Find key sales associates. It is that simple. I bet you have an anal-retentive stylist on your team that loves organizing. Make that person a key member of your merchandising team. Scheduling people to their abilities is the best thing you can do help your store run like a well-oiled machine. I won’t get too much into scheduling (saving for another time), but if you aren’t taking people’s skillsets into consideration when making the schedule, NO WONDER WHY YOUR TEAM IS STRESSED!

Do you wish you had that community connection? Are you in need of a person that brings customers in? Do you wish you had that perfect employee that represents the spirit of your brand?

That, my friends, is what I call the dream team. Where else would you find that person than your own customer base. Yes, it IS good to recruit and hire your customers. They already love the store because they are regular shoppers. Why not give them a few hours and the discount? You may be surprised as to the connections that person can bring to your stores’ environment. I bring this up because I had the fortune of having several of those dreams in a store and every time they worked, I made my planned sales for the day. Yep. That’s right! A must have for any successful store.

Missing pieces are always going to be on your mind when looking at your teams’ dynamic, but you have the opportunity to put the right pieces together and make your store the best it can be. Never under estimate the power of your imagination and your will to make it work.