Successful Service Department Management - IDDBA 2018-09-20 · Course 6: Developing a Profit Center...

Successful Service Department

ManagementCourse 6: Developing a Profi t Center Team

A Management Series for Supermarket Deli, Bakery and Cheese Department Managers

Course 6: Developing a Profit Center Team

Successful Service Department ManagementA management Series for Supermarket Deli,

Bakery, and Cheese Department Managers

PO Box 5528Madison, WI [email protected]

First Edition

© 2011, International Dairy•Deli•Bakery Association™

No part of this publication may be altered without the express written permission of the International Dairy•Deli•Bakery Association.

The information presented in this book has been compiled from sources and documents believed to be reliable. However, the accuracy of the information is not guaranteed, nor is any responsibility assumed or implied by the International Dairy•Deli•Bakery Association.

© 2011 International Dairy•Deli•Bakery Association™ i

About Th is Series

Th e Successful Service Department Management series has been designed specifi cally for deli, bakery, and cheese department managers. Its purpose is to provide you with the information you need to manage your depart-ment successfully.

Whether you are a newcomer to management or an expe-rienced veteran, this educational series will help you gain knowledge of the workings of your department.

Th is series is divided into seven courses:

• Course 1: Understanding the Concept of Profi t

• Course 2: Sales and Merchandising

• Course 3: Increasing Gross Margins

• Course 4: Controlling Inventories

• Course 5: Managing Direct Expenses

• Course 6: Developing a Profi t Center Team

Successful Service Department Management includes six courses, a Final Quiz, a Final Quiz Answer Key, and an Associate Tracking Tool.

As you work through this series, you’ll fi nd:

Exercises

Answer Keys

Skills Enrichment Activities

Links to FREE Job Guides at IDDBA’s Web site

How To Get Th e Best Results

Th is Successful Service Department Management training series has been designed for you to take all six of the courses from start to fi nish or to choose course subjects based on your needs. To get the full benefi t of the series we recommend that you take one course per week in the order we’ve provided and complete the Skills Enrichment Activities (SEA). However, you can customize this based on your available training time, what works best for you, and the needs of your business.

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What You’ll LearnWhat You’ll Learn::• How to determine profi t, margin, and gross

margin for your department’s products and for your department.

• How to use merchandising techniques to increase sales in your department.

• To explain where shrink comes from and how to reduce it in your department.

• How to write an eff ective order for your department.

• To read a department profi t & loss state-ment knowledgeably.

• To write a department schedule that maxi-mizes customer service and profi tability.

• How to build employee motivation through training and communication.

Successful Service Department Management Series

ii © 2011 International Dairy•Deli•Bakery Association™

Successful Service Department Management

Skills Enrichment Activities

Th e Skills Enrichment Activities are at the end of each course. Th ey will help you further your professional development by giving you a chance to apply the knowledge and skills you’ve learned in each course. Using information unique to your department, the SEA process will give you insight that could impact department profi tability and prompt you to make new management decisions. It will also help you examine new ways to motivate and inspire your team. You may choose to do one, several, or all the enrichment activities.

IDDBA Job Guides for Department Associates

Some of the concepts and skills you learn will be helpful for your department staff to know. Aft er all, an inspired, moti-vated team is one of the best investments you can make in your pursuit to greater profi tability and customer engagement. Th ese free, downloadable IDDBA Job Guides cover topics like Understanding Profi t, Reducing Shrink, the G.R.E.A.T. salesmanship model, etc. Use them during on-the-job training and coaching sessions.

Progress Record

Use this Progress Record to keep track of your course and exam completions.

Course Name Completion Date Skills Enrichment Activities Completion Date Job Guides Used ✓

Course 1: Understanding

the Concept of Profit

A: Category Profit AnalysisUnderstanding Profit

B: Department Operating Report

Course 2: Sales

and Merchandising

A: Store Display Test Capturing Impulse Sales with G.R.E.A.T. Success

B: Plan an In-Store Promotion Sign Management and Effective Communication

Course 3: Increasing

Gross Margins

A: Generating Profit by Increasing Prices

B: Generating Profit by Promoting High-Margin, Slow-Moving Items

C: Generating Profit by Determining Which Categories Should be Promoted

Course 4:

Controlling Inventories

A: Analyzing Ordering Methods

Reducing ShrinkB: Ordering for a Difficult Category

C: Analyzing Mark-Downs

D: Analyzing Other Sources of Shrink

Course 5: Managing

Direct Expenses

A: Tracking and Creating an Hourly Sales History

B: Creating a Task List

C: Creating a Daily Assignment Schedule

Course 6: Developing a

Profit Center Team

A: Improving the Interviewing and Orientation Processes

B: New-Hire Questionnaire

C: On-Going Positive Feedback Challenge

Final Quiz

© 2011 International Dairy•Deli•Bakery Association™ 3

Th roughout this series, we’ve looked at a variety of tech-niques to build sales and profi t in the department. But to execute any of these strategies, one more vital ingredient is needed — teamwork.

Without a committed, enthusiastic team, all of the man-ager’s eff orts to improve profi tability are likely to produce few results. Th e employees in the department are the ones who determine the success or failure of the strategies cov-ered in this course. Every department employee must be committed to the goal of making the department a success, and they must all work together to accomplish it.

So, the question is, how do you turn your employees into a real team?

As every good coach knows, a great team does not just happen. It is developed over time, using specifi c strategies. Building a great team in a department involves fi ve diff er-ent management strategies. Th ey are:

• Setting the right expectations

• Providing the right training

• Modeling the right behavior

• Giving the right feedback

• Building a sense of involvement

All of these strategies are inter-linked — that is, they must all be used together to build the kind of commit-ment that produces a superior team.

For insight on how these strategies create a high-performing team, we need to examine each one in more detail, start-ing with setting the right expectations.

Course 6: Developing a Profit Center Team

What You’ll LearnWhat You’ll Learn::

• How to Build Motivation by Communicating Clear Expectations

• How to Build Motivation Th rough Training

• How to Give Eff ective Feedback

• How to Build Motivation Th rough Communication

4 © 2011 International Dairy•Deli•Bakery Association™


Expectations

From the fi rst moment a prospective employee walks into the department, their expectations of the job are being formed, even during the interview process.

What you say and do during the fi rst interview has more impact on future performance than you might realize. An employee’s fi rst impression of the job is formed by:

• How the job is described

• How much respect and consideration he or she is shown

• How you treat other employees while the person is present

Before an employee is ever hired, they have already formed their fi rst impression of what is expected and what is important about this job.

Th at initial impression is further formed by what happens the fi rst day on the job. A new hire’s feelings of inclusion in the team depend on:

• How much time you spend making the person feel welcome

• How the new employee is introduced to other department staff members

• Whether the person is introduced to other employees in the store

• How much of an eff ort is made to include the person in conversations, breaks, lunch, and other social activities

• How much specifi c information the person receives about what’s expected on the job

Once the person has been made to feel like part of the team, and knows exactly what is expected on the job, the next step is providing the right training.

Skills Enrichment Activity A:

Improving the Interviewing

and Orientation Processes


Course 6: Developing a Profi t Center Team

Training

Taking the time to train is one of the most crucial steps in creating a committed team. Th e amount of training you provide and the way you conduct the training sends a strong message about your commitment to the job expectations you’ve laid out.

By telling new hires specifi cally what is expected, showing how to do it correctly, and explaining why it is important, you send the message that “this is important.”And when we allow practice and give feedback, we add another message as well, “you must be able to do this properly.”To build a knowledgeable team capable of giving back-up support to each other when needed, training should be a regular part of all department operations. Every employee on the staff should be cross-trained in a variety of jobs.

Cross-training is important for a number of reasons:

• It helps employees see the importance of every job in the department

• It builds a sense of equality and team feeling

• It gives a lot more fl exibility in scheduling

• It reduces the impact if someone calls in sick

While the right training is a vital part of building a good team, so also is model-ing the right behavior. Let’s look at this area next.

E X A M P L EE X A M P L E

Actions Speak Louder than Words

If we say that job knowledge and proper food handling procedures are important, but we don’t provide any real training on these subjects, the real message the trainee receives is, “it’s not that important.”

To build job expectations into actual job performance, our training should include:

• Creating a written list of all tasks the person is expected to perform

• Showing the right way to do each task

• Explaining why each task is important to the suc-cess of the department

• Allowing time for the trainee to become proficient

• Giving feedback on the trainee’s performance

Skills Enrichment Activity B:

New Hire Questionnaire



Behavior Modeling

Th e purpose of training is to show the employee the right way to do each job. But people learn more about the right way from watching what other people actually do than from listening to what they say.

For example, let’s say that during training we tell our trainee that customer service is the number one priority in the department. And we show the new person how to approach the customer, what to do, and so on.

But, aft er the training, a customer approaches us while we are busy writing an order. Rather than stopping to wait on the customer, we call the new trainee over to wait on the person.

What message was just communicated to the trainee? “It is OK to get someone else to wait on customers if you have important work to do.”Th us, with one simple statement, we have just undermined an important part of the training.

Chances are, if we repeat that behavior very oft en, we’ll fi nd that customer service becomes a low priority in the department. Waiting on customers will be passed to those who “don’t have anything more important to do.”

Th is same dynamic comes into play in setting the norms for teamwork and communication in the department. If we say we want cooperation and open communication, then we must model the behavior by:

• Providing help when staff members are struggling

• Listening without judging when an employee brings up a mistake

• Accepting the blame when we are at fault

• Bringing up problems in a constructive way

Th e old adage “actions speak louder than words”is never more true than as a manager. Everything you do sets the norm for what is important and how things should be done.



Exercise 1: Expectations, Training, & Behavior Modeling

Directions: Answer the following questions to see how much you’ve learned about setting expectations, training, and modeling the right behavior.

1. You are about to start interviewing applicants for a frontline associate position. What should you say about the job to set the right expectations from the start? What should you do during the interview to set the right tone?

2. You have assigned a new hire in the department to work with one of your long-time employees during training. The person you’ve assigned to the trainee has never trained anyone before. What, if anything, should you do to be sure the training will be done right?

3. You are very concerned right now about your assistant in the department. She has been late on several occasions without calling, and she has also started yelling at some of the newer employees when they make mistakes. As you think about this, you realize that you have also been guilty of some of this same behavior yourself.

What, if anything, should you say to your assistant about her problems?

Answer Key

page 11



Feedback

To obtain the performance we want, we have to set the right expectations, train our employees well, and model the performance we expect. To maintain our employees’ performance, we must give them the right feedback. Th e question is, what is the right feedback?

Th e right feedback is specifi c information about performance that focuses on what the person did right, rather than on what they did wrong. It is also called positive reinforce-ment — catching people in the act of doing something right and praising them for it.

Positive reinforcement is a powerful source of motiva-tion. It is based on the principle that people like to feel good about themselves. And, since praise makes people feel good about themselves, they tend to do more of those things they get praised for.

In employee surveys, the number one source of motivation for most people is being fully appreciated for the work they do.

While praising and appreciating people’s work seems so simple, it has far-reaching repercussions for the department. When we remember to praise people who go the extra step, the overall eff ect is to improve morale and job quality.

However, when we forget to notice our people’s positive eff orts, or comment only when they do something wrong, it has the exact opposite eff ect. People become apathetic and stop trying.

Unfortunately, the more people in the department, the more diffi cult it becomes to notice when people do things well. It takes a lot of discipline and awareness. But of all the tasks a manager performs, giving regular praise has the most far-reaching eff ect on employee morale.

One of the more diffi cult but appreciated things you can do for your people is to give them a sense of being “in”on things. As a source of motivation, “feeling a part of things”ranks second only to “feeling fully appreciated”as a source of motivation. Th e more involved they feel in department and store activities, the more interested they are likely to be in their work.

E X A M P L EE X A M P L E

Positive Reinforcement

Let’s suppose an employee takes extra care to create an interesting, eye-catching display. And we notice the effort and we praise the good work. The next time that employee builds a display, the person will be much more likely to put some extra effort into it because the activity led to positive consequences

Skills Enrichment Activity C: On-Going

Positive Feedback Challenge



Communication

So, how do you create an environment where associates feel part of the team?

Th e answer lies in good communication:

• Keep employees informed of what’s going on in the department and the store and

• Ask for their input to solve problems and make improvements

Over time, employees’ interest in the job is a direct refl ection of how their contributions are valued. If they feel like valued contributors, their interest is likely to remain high. If they feel as though their opinions do not matter, their attitude is likely to turn to apathy — doing just enough to “get by.”

Building an eff ective team in a department is not diffi cult, but it does take work. Th e manager’s chief responsibilities are to:

• Set the right expectations

• Provide good training

• Model the right behavior

• Provide positive feedback

• Create a sense of involvement

To see what insights you can learn about giving feedback and creating involve-ment, try the exercise on the next page.

▶



Review of Course 6

Directions: Answer the following questions to see how much you’ve learned.

1. You have a new employee in the department, Susan. She completed training a month ago, and for the most part, seems to be doing a good job. She is conscientious and eager to please. She is also a hard worker, and doesn’t spend a lot of time on idle chatter. One thing that bothers you, however, is that she rarely smiles when waiting on customers and seldom talks with them.

What kind of feedback should you give to Susan about this problem?

2. In most respects, you are very pleased with your department staff. They support each other, have great teamwork and put out a lot of effort. But one thing that other store employees have commented on is that they seem to be a “clique.”They stick to themselves and don’t go out of their way to help or support other departments in the store.

As the manager, how would you deal with this problem?

page 12



Exercise 1: Expectations, Training, & Behavior Modeling

1. You are about to start interviewing applicants for a frontline associate position. What should you say about the job to set the right expectations from the start? What should you do during the interview to set the right tone?

To set the right expectations, talk about the job in terms of results as well as responsibilities. For example: “Th e purpose of this job is to provide customers with superior products, a superior environment and superior service. As part of your job, you will be responsible for preparing quality product, insuring that all equipment and department is clean, and making customers feel welcome and valued.”To set the right tone, treat each applicant with courtesy and respect. Make the interview an open conversation, rather than a stress-ful interrogation.

2. You have assigned a new hire in the department to work with one of your long-time employees during training. The person you’ve assigned to the trainee has never trained anyone before. What, if anything, should you do to be sure the training will be done right?

Work with the long-time employee to develop a written list of tasks for the job. Help the trainer plan how the training will be done, and what kind of practice the trainee should have on each task. Periodically, ask the trainee to explain or demonstrate some of the skills learned.

3. You are very concerned right now about your assistant in the department. She has been late on several occasions without calling, and she has also started yelling at some of the newer employees when they make mistakes. As you think about this, you realize that you have also been guilty of some of this same behavior yourself.

What, if anything, should you say to your assistant about her problems?

Th e problem should defi nitely be discussed. You may want to start the discussion by mentioning your own behavior, then discussing the fact that you are seeing the behavior from the assistant. Th en discuss the negative eff ects of the behavior on the department. Th is kind of conversation will place you both “in the same boat”so you can collectively strategize ways to improve.Th e one thing not to do is to bring up her behavior without taking ownership of your own similar problems.



Review of Course 6

1. You have a new employee in the department, Susan. She completed training a month ago, and for the most part, seems to be doing a good job. She is conscientious and eager to please. She is also a hard worker, and doesn’t spend a lot of time on idle chatter. One thing that bothers you, however, is that she rarely smiles when waiting on customers and seldom talks with them.

What kind of feedback should you give to Susan about this problem?

Th e best feedback would be to observe Susan until you caught her smiling and talking with a customer, then compliment her on the eff ort. In the process, you can also compliment her on all the other things she does well in the department.

2. In most respects, you are very pleased with your department staff. They support each other, have great teamwork and put out a lot of effort. But one thing that other store employees have commented on is that they seem to be a “clique.”They stick to themselves and don’t go out of their way to help or support other departments in the store.As the manager, how would you deal with this problem?

Th is can be a common problem in the department. Employees feel isolated because they are only involved in one aspect of the store. One way to solve the problem is by communicating more about total store activities, fi lling employees in on issues in other depart-ments and asking for their support as needed. You might also arrange for interdepartmental lunches or other social activities to allow employees to mingle.



Skills Enrichment Activity A: Improving the Interviewing and Orientation Processes

Directions: Th is activity examines your department’s integration of new associates into the team. Use these questions to analyze the interview process and develop a training outline for new associates. You can also improve effi ciency in the department by rotating assignments to cross-train employees.

1. What are the results you expect from a new hire? ___________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What can you do during the interview to show what results you expect from a new employee? ________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. What can you do to make a new employee:

Feel like a part of the group? ___________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Feel confident serving customers? _______________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Know about products and product care and handling? ___________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________



4. Develop a training outline for a new associate

a. What are the tasks an associate is expected to perform and how long do they take?

Task How Long?

b. How will the training be conducted? ____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

c. What courses are to be included? ______________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

d. How will you evaluate the trainee’s progress? ______________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Develop a chart to use to track new employees’ proficiency at various assignments.



Skills Enrichment Activity B: New-Hire Questionnaire

Directions: Distribute this questionnaire to new associates in your department aft er their fi rst week of work. Th is should be used to examine the interviewing and orientation process to focus on welcoming new associates into the department. Th is can be fi lled out anonymously.

1. During your interview, did you feel you could ask questions and get information? Explain. ____________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What additional information do you wish you had been told during your interview? _______________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Did what you were told about your job turn out to be like it is? Explain. _______________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Did the interviewer make you feel comfortable during the interview? What could have been done differently? ________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. What information did you receive about your job during the first week you worked? _______________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. What additional information would have been helpful to you? ____________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. Did you feel that you were part of the team your first week? Explain. ______________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. Did you feel comfortable serving customers your first week? Explain. ______________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. What could your supervisor or other employees have done to make you feel more comfortable? ________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________



Skills Enrichment Activity C: On-Going Positive Feedback Challenge

Directions: Experiment with and note below the results of giving positive feedback. Catch people in the act of doing something right and praise them for their eff orts. Observe each person’s reaction to the feedback. Continue to do this and monitor the department morale. Also, write down your goals for continuous improvement ideas for each depart-ment staff member.

Successful Service Department Management - IDDBA 2018-09-20 · Course 6: Developing a Profit Center...

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