Smoother Operations, Higher Profits
The fifth installment in a series of research and best practice sharing from SUPERVALU University focuses on these crucial areas as perceived by retail associates.
Associates often ask themselves and their employers: What's expected of me, and how will I be measured? Our research consistently shows that stores performing well in the organizational survey area of operations set clear expectations and goals for employees. In this category, SUPERVALU University survey ratings and comments centered on store conditions, store appearance and labor.
The stores that performed well in this category reported meeting labor goals, carrying consistent quality products, and maintaining clean, bright store conditions. Employees at the higher-performing stores mentioned that their stores had adequate staff to effectively complete tasks, and they thought store conditions were consistent, even without management present.
The stores we reviewed that had low scores in operations had a common theme of erratic store conditions, unachieved labor goals and theft concerns. When trends are reviewed, it's apparent that the stores that aren't performing well in this area were able to identify a number of operational shortfalls. However, they weren't able to suggest solutions to fix the problems identified.
Other survey questions asked about employees taking active roles in maintaining store conditions, and customers being satisfied with store conditions Stores that scored low in operations also scored very low in this area.
Based on verbatim comments, employees in these stores seemed overworked and understaffed, and they lacked pride in the organization. They also mentioned issues such as poor store conditions, lack of store cleanliness, and excessive out-of-stocks and product shrink.
Clear Store Expectations, Goals and Results
Most associates want to know how their store is doing, and whether they're on a winning team. Our research shows that communication on store performance is highly important. Such communication needs to be targeted to the appropriate audience, with the right information about what role employees should play on the team and how well the team is performing overall. Based on our survey results, stores that do well in this area know their financial goals and provide associates with regular progress reports. Even employees in non-managerial roles said they knew how the store or department was performing. Stores that scored low in this area weren't communicating store expectations, goals or results on a regular basis. Other hallmarks of this poorly performing group were low-quality products, excessive waste, no communication on goals or results, and high prices.
Stores that received high scores in the area of profits communicated goals and strategy, and reported back to all team members how the stores were performing against those goals. The staff in stores that scored low in this area talked about a lack of communication, customer complaints on pricing, inferior store conditions, and no solutions to problems.
In the high-scoring stores, management scored significantly higher in analyzing sales and profit results regularly, compared with lower-scoring stores. The low-scoring stores scored significantly lower in being able to prescribe solutions when sales and profits didn't meet their budgets.
The operations and profits categories of the survey results revealed that standards or goals for operations and profit are critical for consistency in these areas. Best-in-class retailers we've surveyed focus on regular department meetings, updates, specific standards, and measurement and compliance throughout their operations. Much like other areas of the survey, the operations and profits categories demonstrate how important it is for employees to have clear expectations, receive ongoing feedback and demonstrate accountability to achieve goals in all areas of operations.