Six ways to make people your retail superpower

I was speaking to a regional store manager recently about the exact moment when news of the UK’s first lockdown broke. As she said: “It went very quiet. And then we got on with it.”

Getting on with your job might not seem all that remarkable until you consider what the past year has thrown at retail staff. 

For this store manager it was all about putting customers and community first, making smart local decisions and taking swift action to overcome huge operational challenges – as well as maximising the power of a store team waiting to give 100%. 

It’s a reminder of the extraordinary power of frontline staff. 

Covid’s impact was swift and severe. Whatever was happening at HQ, retail was being redefined at rapid speed in local branches with every customer interaction and transaction. 

Regional teams took the initiative and were committed to steering their stores safely through, going above and beyond the scope of their job. It’s something we can all be proud of.

As we look forward to brighter trading times ahead, no one is better placed to deliver on the high expectations of the post-Covid consumer than these empowered frontline staff.

They helped businesses survive the crisis with impressive agility and dedication. These same attributes are what’s now needed to help stores thrive post-Covid. 

Here are my tips to make this happen:

1. Nurture autonomy. Nothing motivates staff more than a sense of empowerment and a connection and pride in the outcome of their job. Devolving power to local teams to take localised action for their store and customers boosts store performance. 
2. Build customer connections. Research shows that personal, friendly service from retail staff, in store or online, has become of greater value to shoppers during Covid. Give regional staff a route to connect with their own customers that’s fast and easy to use.
3. Create conversations. Customer relationships are a two-way street and it’s crucial to enable staff to hold personal customer conversations, in store and online, through every channel. Make sure you keep up with the apps and platforms your customers use – and keep talking.
4. Facilitate action. Customer insights that lead to swift, localised action will make all the difference to customer satisfaction levels and local store performance. Don’t sit on insights – deploy them quickly so you don’t keep customers waiting.
5. Take pride in the positives. The pandemic has shown us just how proud staff are of their stores and teams. Keep this shared vision and pride alive in branches by sharing and celebrating positive feedback to build strong, happy and committed staff and teams
6. Provide the tools for success. Make sure your staff have the tools they need to achieve their goals and take responsibility for their store’s performances – from technology to training. They will return the investment and your customers will be happy.