Organizational Behavior Plan for Retail Sales Associates

Job Description for Sales Associates

An effective job description performs many functions — attracting the right people, holding existing employees accountable to defined standards, and helping management structure the organization more effectively (Florentine, 2015). The job description for the sales associate needs to be aligned with the overall corporate objectives in order to be at its most effective. The overall objectives appear to be the simultaneous goals of increasing sales and increasing service. These are not necessarily mutually exclusive, because higher levels of service often result in more sales, but in retail the two can sometimes conflict. Such a situation would arise in the case of the pushy salesperson more interested in earning a commission than meeting the needs of the customer. A job description should describe the position and its role within the organization, not just a set list of tasks. The qualifications should also align with the skills and attributes needed to perform the role effectively.

A sales associate plays a critical role in the store. The sales associate is the main point of contact with the customer and thus is the face of the organization. It is essential that the sales associate delivers the highest standard of service possible — service is our calling card. We firmly believe that happy customers are going to be repeat customers, and this makes meeting customer needs essential. The sales associate will be responsible for greeting customers, answering their questions, and providing advice. Specific tasks will include processing sales transactions and interacting with customers on a near-constant basis.

The key attributes we look for in a sales associate are a dedication to customer service, excellent communication skills, trustworthiness, an ability to handle cash and credit transactions, a high level of product knowledge, and a high energy level. Sales associates will be measured on customer satisfaction, product knowledge, attitude, and sales. This represents a blend of subjective and objective measures, which reflects the fact that sales associates not only need to generate results but also need to make a strong impression on customers.

There are four behaviors that are most important to the sales associate position. The first is attentiveness to the customer. This involves several facets — ensuring that sales associates are in communication with customers, listening to customer needs, making sure customers have access to fitting rooms, and ensuring that staff are available to answer questions. Sales associates need to be able to do these things without complaint or any negativity. The second behavior is excellent communication skills — in particular, listening, advising, and selling. These behaviors are required of the position, and the sales associate needs to know how and when to employ them. A third behavior is hard work. When a sales associate is on the retail floor, they are there to meet the customers' needs. The company receives complaints daily about associates who are inattentive, unavailable, or otherwise distracted, and it is important that such incidents are eliminated. The fourth behavior is diligence in acquiring product knowledge. Sales associates should be able to dispense information and advice to customers — this is part of the value-added service that a high-end store offers.

Organizational Behavior Modification Plan

An organizational behavior modification program can ensure that these behavioral attributes are consistently demonstrated by staff. An organizational behavior modification plan is a plan to ensure that behaviors are aligned with the needs of the organization (Redmon, Mawhinney & Thomas, 2001). Following the downsizing of a few years ago, there is a risk that the behaviors of sales associates are not as closely aligned with the needs of the organization as management would prefer. Thus, a plan needs to be put into place to bring about that alignment.

Training is a key element of the plan. New sales associates will need to go through a comprehensive training program that clearly shows them what is required of the role. Moreover, existing sales associates should also receive remedial training to ensure they are aware of the standards the company expects to uphold. This training should include an element of benchmarking. Because much of the sales associate role involves soft skills that are difficult to quantify, the best way to ensure that associates understand what is expected of them is to allow them to see it directly. This might require the use of videos or scenario-based presentations, but having clear benchmarks will be important for helping sales associates understand what the expected service levels actually look like in practice.

The company will also need to communicate performance standards and individual results to employees. Regular performance reviews are one mechanism, but they are usually conducted only quarterly or semi-annually. The reality is that feedback should be more frequent in order to correct behavior quickly. However, output results in sales and service can vary daily, so a balance must be struck between measures that are both timely and meaningful. In addition to formal performance reviews, management should provide ongoing informal feedback to sales associates to ensure a clear flow of communication and to allow any undesirable behavior to be corrected as quickly as possible.

The plan will benefit the organization by more closely aligning the role of the sales associate with the organization's objectives. The strategy is to win repeat customers through excellent customer service, so if staff are trained and motivated to deliver exceptional service, they will help the organization meet its goals.