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When retail associates hold their head up

January 13, 2013 by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

During a panel discussion this morning at the NRF 102nd Annual Convention & EXPO, the conversation turned to hiring and keeping employees that are willing and able to uphold higher-than-usual standards of customer service and excellence. With retailers increasing their focus on delivering memorable and consistent experiences, how do they keep enough of the right talent on the roles?

Joseph Magnacca, president of daily living products and solutions for Walgreens, referenced his company's ongoing Well Experience conversion, which sees old stores redesigned and rebuilt with more of a lifestyle focus – fresh and prepared foods, more of a neighborhood market feel – and said he was concerned about that very issue, because customer expectation would be much higher under the new design.

But he said that when he looked at the stores before and after the conversion, it was the same people running the stores. The difference?

“Our employees now had their heads up instead of down.”

That's remarkable, isn't it? The same people, doing largely the same job, but with a greater emphasis on doing it well. Morale went up organically, because the associates now feel that what they do has value.

Is there a lesson to be learned in that for your stores?

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