This article responds to several questions related to the human resources function of retail sales. The focus is on merit pay, management by objectives, and providing feedback to employees. The scenario is presented within the context of a company that needs to improve earnings and its reputation, and for whom employee morale is low.
Performance Management
Create a job description for a retail sales associate. Create an organizational behavior modification (OBM) plan to define a set of three (3) key behaviors that are necessary for job performance.
Job Description for Retail Sales Associate
• Greet customers and determine their needs and wants
• Discuss potential merchandise purchase of customers
• Recommend merchandise based on discussion with customer
• Advise customers on utilization and care of merchandise
• Upsell related products or services
• Answer customer questions
• Explained return policies and discounts
• Keep merchandise displays in order
Organizational Behavior Modification Plan (OBM)
Key Performance Behaviors
Greet customers within 5 minutes of entry into sales area (allow time for browsing before contact).
a. Sales associate make mental note of customer response and encourages survey feedback for all completed sales with customers given assistance. Measurement: An on-your-honor system with sales associate fine-tuning approach to customer traffic and perceptions about customer receptivity.
2. Point out the new lines of merchandise and highlight features customers have said they like most, while encouraging customer to sign up for loyalty club (show excitement about the merchandise and foster repeat visits to the store).
a. Sales associate keeps a post-it tally of the number of times she has mentioned new features and merchandise lines. Measurement: An on-your-honor system with opportunity to talk at sales meetings about being a brand ambassador. Number of customers signing up for loyalty club.
3. At point-of-purchase, let customers know when new merchandise will arrive in the store (talk about features for which the store has advance knowledge).
a. Sales associate gives her business card and invitations to new merchandise shows and events to customers. Measurement: Acknowledge and praise the number of cards and invitations given to customers.
2.Determine two (2) ways that an HR manager would measure whether prospective employees exhibit the key job performance behaviors. Propose two (2) methods that an HR manager can use to inform employees of the new performance standards.
1. Greet customers within 5 minutes of entry into sales area.
a. Measurement: Acknowledge and praise deft handling of customer traffic.
2. Point out the new lines of merchandise and highlight features customers have said they like most, while encouraging customer to sign up for loyalty club.
a. Measurement: Acknowledge and praise growth in numbers of repeat customers and increases in number of customers joining loyalty club.
3. At point-of-purchase, let customers know when new merchandise will arrive in the store (talk about features for which the store has advance knowledge).
a. Measurement: Number of cards and invitations given to customers. Number of customers who show up at special events bearing the invitation given them by the sales associate.
Methods for introducing new performance standards:
1. At a staff meeting, use visual displays of metrics that are the target of the new performance standards, contrasting current status and goals (i.e., repeat customers, loyalty club members, positive comments on satisfaction surveys, number of attendees at store events, number of brand ambassadors on social media).
2. Provide an attractive cue card that summarizes the key behaviors all sales associates are expected to keep top-of-mind and implement consistently.
3.As the HR manager, create a plan with two (2) methods of providing feedback to employees. Include the frequency with which the feedback would be provided. Propose two (2) actions that company leaders should take to reinforce positive employee behaviors.
Methods of Providing Feedback
1. Provide a running tally of metrics achieved by sales associates on a tear-off section of their paystubs. Each mini-report would be associated with words of praise, encouragement, or tips on how to increase their numbers.
2. At team staff meetings, use the same visual display of data to illustrate the team's accomplishments with respect to the targeted metrics.
Leadership Reinforcement of Key Behaviors
1. Accumulated tally points will be associated with an incentive program that is graduated according to the growth of the metrics, not the actual volume, as this rewards effort and not legacy effects (such as when a sales associate leaves the company and another sales associate receives established customers by default).
2. Publish an internal newsletter for personnel on the intranet (or in print) that recognizes individual sales associates and others for extraordinary performance, both at work and in their communities (reference Costco magazine and Spirit magazine, the inflight publication of Southwest Airlines for examples).
4.As the HR manager, determine three (3) benefits the organization would gain if it adopts a management by objects (MBO) approach in which the employees' goals are aligned with the organization's goals. Provide two (2) reasons why it is important to align pay with performance.
Benefits to Organization
1. By adopting a management by objectives (MBO) approach to align the goals of the organization with the goals of employees, an overall reward can be distributed to all company employees in order to foster important values like customer service, teamwork, and innovation. At the same time, some of the compensation is reserved for incentive programs that specifically target the strongest performers.
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