How to Retain Your Gen-X Workforce

Retaining retail employees is challenging at the best of times. However, today's younger workforce are not motivated by the same things you are. Author and speaker, Cam Marston, has written a brilliant article that can help get past this hurdle.

You've hired them. Now how can you keep them around? If I could give you one bit of advice on dealing with the latest generation of employees to come under your management, it would be to remember those words…things aren't always what they seem.

If you are like most business leaders, you've no doubt noticed a trend in the way employees behave in recent years. Most likely you consider it a negative trend—too much entitlement, not enough loyalty, no work ethic, only interested in themselves, and on and on. But I challenge you to consider that perhaps these are not negative trends, just different ones.

To better understand who your employees are and what drives them to succeed, perhaps it's easiest to understand who they are not—you. That's right. They may even be your offspring but in the workplace they bear little resemblance to the "you" of yesteryear.

Gen Xers (born 1965-1979) and Millenials (born after 1980) are operating in this world with a completely different perspective. Their definitions of loyalty, time and success are often quite different from yours. Rest assured they do recognize all of these concepts and value them in very important ways. The key to your organization's future success is understanding how the Millenials view the world and using that knowledge to motivate them in a way that works. Here's a hint: meet them where they are and they will achieve your underlying goals; try to force them to fit your definitions and they will run for the door every time. So let's take a look at some of the pervasive myths about our youngest generation in the workforce and discuss why these changes are happening and how you can tailor your workplace to meet the needs of you, your employees and the company.

Myth: Younger generations have no work ethic.
Reality: Younger generations have a self-centered work ethic. This is not necessarily the negative that it may seem at first. Millenials are dedicated to completing their task well. They have not been raised in a way that demands them to look around and see what should be done next. Instead they ask "what is my job" and go about figuring the best, fastest way to complete that task. Then they consider themselves done. This is a key differentiator between your employees and yourself. The younger they are, the more your employees view their jobs as "something to do between the weekends."

For most, early employment has nothing to do with a career path; it is a way to earn money to have fun in their free time. And that is okay. When you understand what motivates your employees you are better able to set mutual expectations for success.

Instead of being frustrated that your youngest employees are not interested in climbing your corporate ladder, embrace their true motivation—reliable spending money—and use it to your advantage. When you tell an employee, "I understand this is not your lifelong career, but to earn the paycheck every week, here is what I expect…" they are much more likely to respond than if you try to motivate with promises of promotions and titles down the road.Understanding that being at the job isn't as important to Millenials as completing the assigned task also opens up new opportunities for motivation and reward.

Younger employees are very likely to respond to offers of paid time off. A leading retail organization has recognized this new way of thinking with its "Working Hard Card." When managers witness an employee rising to a challenge, exceeding expectations or otherwise giving 110 percent, they can hand the employee a "Working Hard Card" on the spot. Each card is worth a set amount of paid time off to be used at the employee's discretion. It is a simple strategy that rewards employees in the currency they value most—their time.

Myth: They don't want to put in the hours to get ahead.
Reality: They are willing to put in the time to do the job, however they are uninterested in "face time." Gen Xers and Millenials view time as a currency. While Baby Boomers tend to see time as something to invest, the younger generations view it as a valuable currency not to be wasted. These are the generations that demand work-life balance and paid time off. They want to get the job done, then put it behind them and enjoy life.

Boomer managers have a tendency to lose the interest of their Millenial employees by looking too far into the future. Millenials live in timeframe based on right now. Their world has proven that nothing is a guarantee—from nationwide layoffs to war to soaring divorce rates—and have decided that there's not a lot you can count on. As a result they are not interested in promotion plans for five years from now. They don't even want to know what will happen at the end of the summer. Life is uncertain.

To reach the Millenial employee and reduce turnover, make it certain. Tell your employee that you have a plan. Take pains to ensure it is in a timeframe short enough for them to envision. Be prepared to fulfill your promise—once fooled, forever jaded. This approach feeds into their reality, while simultaneously building trust and buying you more time. Reward small successes along the way, string these milestones together and you will soon realize longer tenures among your staff.

Myth: They have no respect for authority.
Reality: They have great respect for leaders and loyalty. But no, as a rule they don't respect authority "just because." For the younger generations, every ounce of loyalty and respect must be earned. But when it is earned, it is given fiercely. In fact, loyalty to the individual is the number one reason Xers and Millennials stay in the job, especially during the first three, tenuous years. Dissatisfaction with the boss is the number one reason they quit.

So in order to increase retention, managers must take a flipped view on leadership—it is no longer enough to hire the right people and show them the way, now you must BE the right person to win their affection. Sounds a little touchy-feely for the workforce, yet the faster leaders understand this new relationship, the sooner you will see the reward in the way of increased retention. There is one big caveat to the "be the person they want you to be" approach to leadership, however.

Millenials have a tendency to seek tight bonds—they want a boss who is close, caring and aware. And you can be all that. It is very easy to cross the line between "boss as advocate" to "boss as friend." That is a slippery slope. It can be especially tempting in situations where managers and employees are close in age. When activities outside of the office become too regular, too casual or largely social in nature, it is time to examine how this will affect your role as a leader. What Millennials need most out of a boss is a guide, not a social life.

Myth: They don't want to grow up.
Reality: They really don't know how. The youngest generations in today's workforce are facing a delayed adulthood. They are getting married later, having children later and just generally facing the "real world" later. This isn't the result of a mutated maturity gene, it just is. And if we are being completely honest, Boomers had a lot to do with why it's happening.

First, as parents, Boomers had a tendency to coddle their children and use their own good fortune to make sure their children didn't experience adversity. Second, as career models, Boomers demonstrated the toll of working long hours and "paying one's dues" in a way that made their children less likely to follow in their footsteps.

Millenials today look at the corporate ladder and think, "there must be another way."My advice to you—don't waste time wishing they were different. Don't spend your energy comparing today's youth to the desires and drive you had at age 18. These employees are not a reflection of you, nor are they an earlier version of you. And again, that is okay. Your task is to take this new understanding and use it to reposition how you interact with, motivate and reward your staff. Take attire for instance. Your 18-year-old self would have gladly donned whatever uniform was necessary to fit the company mold. Be it pressed khakis and a tie or a specific corporate uniform, fitting in was part of the package.

Today's youth wants to stand out. They want their individuality to shine through even when required to provide a consistent standard of service and performance. Balancing corporate needs with individual desires takes some creative thinking.

Home Depot is one company that has addressed this dilemma at a very basic level—company uniforms. They simply require that all employees wear a standard Home Depot apron. Be yourself underneath (within reason) and show the customer that you are on the Home Depot team with this bright orange apron. Is there a standard that you can adopt to accommodate individual preferences? Something to think about. Not all change is bad.

As we've discussed, the myths surrounding today’s young employees are not always what they seem. Attitudes toward work, life, loyalty and respect have all changed, but each is still considered valuable. In fact, some of the demands made by today's youth are creating positive benefits for employees in every generation.

Flexibilty and respect for the individual, as well as the organization, are good for everyone. Loyalty from younger employees, once earned, is long-lasting. The adjustments you make to accommodate the changing attitudes of today's youth will be returned to you tenfold with decreased turnover, improved morale, and measurable business results. And when the frustration mounts, just remember things aren't always what they seem. Open your mind to the possibility that there is a benign, generational reason for the disconnect between what you want and what your employees are providing, and you may just find room to create a shared vision of success.

Cam Marston is a consultant who specializes in multigenerational communications and marketing, educating executives about the workplace expectations of different generations. For more on Cam Marston and Motivating the "What's In It For Me?" Workforce (John Wiley & Sons; May 2007), visit www.cammarston.com.

Higher Prices Don't Mean Lower Sales

I read an online article this week about Karen Wilson (a Canadian designer) who made a strategic decision to charge a premuim for her products (purses). She believed that in the long run she would not be able compete with foreign-made products and knock-offs so she deliberately priced her pocketbooks at a premium level.

Many retailers would consider this to be a suicidal approach but I respect her decision. She was also clever in HOW she executed her plan. Retailers who sell her products were skeptical about her pricing so she offered area rights and gave each retailer the exclusive right to sell her products within their local trading area.

Her strategy seems to be paying off. She has a growing list of retailers and is currently expanding her product line to keep up with the demand.

Remember, price is not the only influencing factor in a person's buying decision. If you provide true value and can effectively position that value, price becomes less of a factor. However, when everything is equal, price becomes the default factor.

Take a lesson from Karen's approach and think of how you can change your results.

**Read the entire on-line article here.

5 Types of Shoppers

I came across this article written by Mark Hunter

In the retail industry, it seems as though we are constantly faced with the issue of trying to find new customers. Most of us are obsessed with making sure our advertising displays, and pricing all "scream out" to attract new customers. This focus on pursuing new customers is certainly prudent and necessary, but, at the same time, it can wind up hurting us. Therefore, our focus really should be on the 20% of our clients who currently are our best customers.

This idea of focusing on the best current customers should be seen as an on-going opportunity. To better understand the rationale behind this theory and to face the challenge, we need to break down shoppers into five main types:

Loyal Customers: They represent no more than 20% of our customer base, but make up more than 50% of our sales.

Discount Customers: They shop our stores frequently, but make their decisions based on the size of our markdowns.

Impulse Customers: They do not have buying a particular item at the top of their "To Do" list, but come into the store on a whim. They will purchase what seems good at the time.

Need-Based Customers: They have a specific intention to buy a particular type of item.

Wandering Customers: They have no specific need or desire in mind when they come into the store. Rather, they want a sense of experience and/or community.

If we are serious about growing our business, we need to focus our effort on the Loyal customers, and merchandise our store to leverage the Impulse shoppers. The other three types of customers do represent a segment of our business, but they can also cause us to misdirect our resources if we put too much emphasis on them.

Let me further explain the five types of customers and elaborate on what we should be doing with them.

Loyal Customers: Naturally, we need to be communicating with these customers on a regular basis by telephone, mail, email, etc. These people are the ones who can and should influence our buying and merchandising decisions. Nothing will make a Loyal customer feel better than soliciting their input and showing them how much you value it. In my mind, you can never do enough for them. Many times, the more you do for them, the more they will recommend you to others.

Discount Customers: This category helps ensure your inventory is turning over and, as a result, it is a key contributor to cash flow. This same group, however, can often wind up costing you money because they are more inclined to return product.

Impulse Customers: Clearly, this is the segment of our clientele that we all like to serve. There is nothing more exciting than assisting an Impulse shopper and having them respond favorably to our recommendations. We want to target our displays towards this group because they will provide us with a significant amount of customer insight and knowledge.

Need-Based Customers: People in this category are driven by a specific need. When they enter the store, they will look to see if they can have that need filled quickly. If not, they will leave right away. They buy for a variety of reasons such as a specific occasion, a specific need, or an absolute price point. As difficult as it can be to satisfy these people, they can also become Loyal customers if they are well taken care of. Salespeople may not find them to be a lot of fun to serve, but, in the end, they can often represent your greatest source of long-term growth. It is important to remember that Need-Based customers can easily be lost to Internet sales or a different retailer. To overcome this threat, positive personal interaction is required, usually from one of your top salespeople. If they are treated to a level of service not available from the web or another retail location there is a very strong chance of making them Loyal customers. For this reason, Need-Based customers offer the greatest long-term potential, surpassing even the Impulse segment.

Wandering Customers: For many stores, this is the largest segment in terms of traffic, while, at the same time, they make up the smallest percentage of sales. There is not a whole lot you can do about this group because the number of Wanderers you have is driven more by your store location than anything else. Keep in mind, however, that although they may not represent a large percentage of your immediate sales, they are a real voice for you in the community. Many Wanderers shop merely for the interaction and experience it provides them. Shopping is no different to them than it is for another person to go to the gym on a regular basis. Since they are merely looking for interaction, they are also very likely to communicate to others the experience they had in the store. Therefore, although Wandering customers cannot be ignored, the time spent with them needs to be minimized.

Retail is an art, backed up by science. The science is the information we have from financials to research data (the "backroom stuff"). The art is in how we operate on the floor: our merchandising, our people, and, ultimately, our customers.

For all of us, the competitive pressure has never been greater and it is only going to become more difficult. To be successful, it will require patience and understanding in knowing our customers and the behavior patterns that drive their decision-making process. Using this understanding to help turn Discount, Impulse, Need-Based, and even Wandering Customers into Loyal ones will help grow our business. At the same time, ensuring that our Loyal Customers have a positive experience each time they enter our store will only serve to increase our bottom-line profits.

Cheers!

Kelley

What Are YOUR Policies?

I'm always fascinated how many retailers create policies to manage the extreme situations. I ran across this article on-line that focuses on handling returns and how the policies of some retailers are costing them business.

All Michelle Gluckow and her 13-year-old daughter wanted to do was buy a summer's worth of camp clothes in one night at a New Jersey Abercrombie & Fitch.

After she suffered through long lines, blaring music and low lighting, Gluckow says, the cashier refused to sell her all 24 items, because of a policy that capped purchases at 20 to limit reselling. Gluckow, incredulous that she couldn't pay full price for all the clothes she wanted, refused to leave the store until she had all the layered outfits her daughter needed. "In my opinion, the [20-item] policy is ridiculous," says Gluckow, who was buying different colors and items, all in the same size. "They said they were just protecting their other customers, which I thought was ironic."

Ultimately, she says, the manager grudgingly let her split the purchase between two credit cards. Gluckow says the Abercrombie manager told her she could pay cash or with a check for the four items over the 20-item limit, but she refused. Splitting it between two credit cards seemed silly enough.

Gluckow was luckier than Robert Martin, who says he couldn't get Sears to take back a faulty 7-month-old phone -- despite repeated calls and letters -- because accepting it back would violate store policy. Martin, a 30-year Sears credit card holder, says the decision shows why many businesses are losing loyal customers.

Read the full article here. © 2007 USA Today. All rights reserved.© 2007 ECT News Network. All rights reserved.

Sometime last year, I wrote a post about policies and how the wrong policy can hurt your business. While I certainly understand that retailers face more challenges today with respect to people buying an item then returning it a few days or weeks later, it is still a VERY small portion of the buying public who actually does this.

I personally believe that the more liberal your return policies are, the easier you make it do business with you. And this often leads to increased business.

I welcome your comments on this topic.

Cheers!
Kelley

What's Your Conversion?

What's your current conversion? That is, what percentage of people who enter your store actually make a purchase?

If you don't track this critical measurement, I guarantee that you are likely underestimating how many people visit your store in a day/week/month, overestimating your conversion, and missing valuable sales opportunities.

When I worked with one retailer, the staff consistently complained that customer traffic was slow in the early part of the week. After installing traffic counters, the managers realized that it was not nearly as low as they expected.

Before installing the counters they believed their conversion ratio was approximately 20%. However, the data showed their actual conversion was just over 10% which demonstrated a HUGE opportunity to improve their sales.

If you own, or work in, a small store, you may think the investment of traffic counters is an expense you can't afford. My perspective is that you cannot afford NOT to track the numberof people who flow into your store.

Proper analyzing can help you optimize your scheduling--including when your key people should be working. And this can actually save you money by helping you increase your sales during peak times in your store.

Cheers!

Old Business-New Approach-Huge Results

I watched the morning news with great interest this morning because the station featured a segment on an old business-dental.

At least 25% of the population experiences major stress when visiting the dentist; usually because of a negative or painful experience sometime in their past.

However, a new approach is being taken by several dental offices.

They are offering a range of additional services, each designed to help the patient relax BEFORE their actual appointment. They call themselves Dental Spas and they offer services such as massage therapy, hot stone massage, manicures, and in some cases, even champagne.

Not surprisingly, the concept is taking off and becoming wildly successful.

Think of how this concept applies to your business and determine what you could do with your "typical" retail store to make it different than your competitors.

Cheers!

Save Your Customer's Time

"According to a Wall Street Journal article, the average shopper at a Wal-Mart Supercenter spends 21 minutes in the store and, in the process of speeding through the shop, fails to find 30 percent of the items they came in to buy." (Source Retail Wire)

That's the advantage a small, boutique store has over their big-box competitor. The challenge is helping your customers recognize that you can save them time. In today's time-strapped society, you can gain a signifigant advantage by demonstrating this to your customers. You can't compete on price so why not focus on the time element?

Case in point...I much prefer to shop at a smaller hardware store and grocery store than the big competitors because I know I can get in and out of the store FAST.

Why not loudly and proudly state this in your advertising? This certainly goes against many retailer's philosphy of advertising specials and low prices. But, if positioned properly, you could attract many consumers away from your big-box competitor. The change would not happen overnight (there's no such thing as a quick fix) but it could be significant.

Got comments on this posting? I'd love to hear them.

Cheers!
Kelley

The Art of Skillful Qualifying

I am constantly under whelmed when sales associates approach me in a store. I find they typically use one of a few approaches:

1. They stand and wait for me to ask questions.
2. They launch into a pitch about the product.
3. They attempt to make small talk to try to make me open up.

Each of these approaches is very ineffective and does nothing to help the customer move toward making a buying decision. If you really want to make a difference and demonstrate to your customer why they should buy from you need to take a different approach.

First of all, recognize that if you truly want to separate yourself from your competition you must fully understand their needs before you begin talking about a product. Unfortunately, this seldom happens in the retail sales situation. However, that can make it very easy for you to begin differentiating yourself from other retailers. Here’s how you do it:

Ask questions.

§ What brings you into our store?
§ What reasons do you have for buying a…?
§ What were you looking for in a…?
§ Who else is involved in this purchase?
§ What is most important to you with this purchase?
§ Where else have you been?
§ What was your experience at…?

Each of these questions gives you the chance to uncover the customer’s buying motives. Every time you learn more about your customer the closer you get to actually closing a sale providing you utilize that information properly.

You’ll notice that the above questions are all open ended which means they require the customer to respond with more than just a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. Open-ended questions serve two purposes;

1. They require the customer to think before responding. This means that you will receive quality information that will help you determine their specific needs and wants.

2. They actively engage the customer. This means that they will begin to feel more comfortable with you because they are actually participating in the buying/selling process.

The critical thing to remember is that virtually everyone in the world loves talking about themselves and the more you encourage the customer to talk about themselves or their situation the more they will begin to trust and open up to you.

The majority of retail sales staff do not appreciate the power of this approach. In my training workshops I frequently hear objections such as:

“This process takes too long. I don’t have time.”
“People get defensive when I ask them questions.”
“Customers only care about getting the best price.”

I definitely understand these objections. Effective qualifying does take time. Some people do get defensive. And some customers do care only about getting the best price. However, this approach will garner you different results.

First of all, the time you invest qualifying will be saved in presenting your product and trying to overcome objections. If you fully understand what your customer needs and want you will be able to show them a product/service that meets those needs. This means that they will have fewer objections. I have discovered that the more thoroughly you qualify a customer the less likely they will express objections.

Second, if you create a comfortable environment people will answer any question you ask. But you must give them a reason to do so. They must see that the question(s) you are asking are leading somewhere and are being asked for a specific reason.

Third, you need to determine if the price conscious customer is someone you really want as a client.Skillful qualifying takes effort, energy and practice. I suggest that you develop a list of open-ended questions that are relevant to your industry and practice utilizing them. The more comfortable you become asking valuable questions the more effective you will be become at uncovering your customer’s needs and wants. In turn, you will demonstrate to them why they should buy from you, today, at your price.

Cheers!
Kelley