We've talked a lot this month about retail sales training and holding employees accountable. One of the biggest skills that I think people miss is “How do I give feedback?” Because ultimately you would need to be able to give feedback that's both good and bad, right? So I always suggest first off that it's private. You don't ever want to get feedback like in front of other employees or customers. You want to do it somewhere off from everybody else to hear and then use the Oreo principle, which is start off with something good, then you've got something that may be bad or that they could do better, and then, you want to give them positive reinforcement to go with it.
So maybe you're going to start off with a goal. “This is what we wanted to do, but unfortunately, you're missing it. What I think you're doing is you're taking too much time with customers or you're hiding behind the racks or whatever it's going to be. But I know that you can do a good job of it because last week you are a #1 seller of whatever that product is.”
The important thing is to realize that feedback, both good and bad is the foundation of managing a team and why they probably call you boss.
If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!