Preventing Disgruntled Retail Employees

It seems as if a member of an Apple Retail store recently decided to voice his concerns and opinions about his life as an Apple Genius to the Internet universe.   It was up on livejournal but it looks like someone got it removed. It was a short weblog with at about 4 posts written by someone who didn't have many positive things to say about his job and exposed the magic behind the curtain at a Apple retail store.

The person obviously is venting.  What I want to know is who dropped the ball and let it get this far?  It went from a disastified employee, to a potential PR nightmare for Apple.    In a world of weblogs, a disgruntled employee can do devastating harm to your business overnight.      Don't believe me?  Go to google and type the name of your favorite retailer and SUCKS and see what comes up.   

Here is how you can keep this from happening in your store:

Be approachable and listen to your team.

Employees need to vent and you are the best person for them to vent to, not the general public.  But they will not come to you if they feel like you are not approachable.  Get out from behind the desk and hang out with the team on the sales floor.    Become part of their social environment and they will be more likely to approach you.   Keep it professional, but make it personal.     This will also create an atmosphere where other employees just might clue you in when Jake or Susan are ready to blow a gasket.

Provide time to discuss the problems

Most managers wait far too long to bring their employees in to talk about issues.  The annual performance review allows too many problems to go unresolved before review time comes around each year.   You need to provide opportunities for your staff to talk to you about issues as often as you can.  This can be as simple as scheduling a day of the month where you set aside time exclusively for employee interaction.    Even better would be to have and open door policy and mean it.    Provide and environment where employees can approach you and you give them your full undivided attention and you will build stronger teams.

Karen has a great post on how to be "mindful" during these conversations and make them even more powerful.   Read it here   Its on how the multitasking but has a powerful message about giving someone your full attention.

Coach often and Coach positively

The more often you touch base with someone regarding their performance, the more likely you will uncover situations like this before they happen.    Don't be afraid of conducting a quick coaching on someones behavior or performance right after you observe them in action.  We called these Curbside Coachings at one retailer and they work.   

And don't make all of your coaching sessions negative ones.   Make sure you recognize when someone is doing something right.

Don't be afraid to ask for feedback or input

In Growing A Business by Paul Hawken, Paul talks about a method of feedback called Go For Brokes.   Management in his company provided the staff with this method to bring to the attention any issues they might have, without any repercussions for bringing them up.   The staff would identify what they thought was broken, whether it be a system, a process or even an individual.

In my years of Sales management I used to ask my staff what I could do better each year.    Since I built a strong relationships, I got many candid and surprising answers, which only made me a better manager.   Don't be afraid to ask, and definitely don't be afraid to listen to what they have to say.

Always know why an employee is working for you.

Don't assume it is just for a paycheck.  You need to understand why that employee is working in your store or you will never be able to manage their performance.   Is he working there because he loves the products? or just because he needs some extra money?   Is he there because he likes working with the general public, or because he just got laid off from his 25 year career and it was the only thing available to him.  Is he working to prove to you he can move to the next step or just there to earn some extra money to buy that new car.    If you don't understand your employees motives for working for you, you will never be able to identify potential problems that employee might cause.     You will also never be able to motivate that employee, but that is another post.

Comments

[Susan]

Great post. I like the curbside coaching concept. Perhaps there are people in the world that like negative feedback, but there aren't many. Your focus on positive coaching is right on.