As Art Freedman and I say in Making Money Is Not Illegal, Immoral or Fattening, successful retailers set clear standards for their store and their staff. Then we go on to say that setting standards is not enough. Here’s a reminder from Chapter 4:
“You must implement the standard. This means training staff, coaching staff, starting from the top down. A lot of people don’t understand how to introduce a standard and make it stick in their business. We’re all human beings, so think about how human beings learn. What we just hear, we often forget. What we see, we’re more likely to remember. What we do, we understand. But only what we can teach others, can we master.
“If you say, ‘Well, I told my staff what the standards are,’ we’d come back with, ‘Did you also give it to them in writing so they could go over it again later? Did you demonstrate to them how it’s done, and then did you observe them doing it and give them constructive criticism? When they were ready, did you have them teach the standard to others? And throughout it all, did you encourage them to ask you questions about anything they didn’t understand, and did you invite them to suggest improvements on the standards for you to consider? Did you look them in the eye and ask, ‘Can you do that?’
“Don’t assume that one-time training is enough. Give refresher training, including asking each employee to recommit to the standard. Maybe you think employees will object to all this, but the truth is that most employees are more comfortable at work when they know what’s expected of them. Even for those employees who don’t like the standards, the training, and the refresher training, doing this is a good business decision.”
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