Retail leadership: the number of books and articles written on this topic line the shelves of bookstores business sections: mostly by non-retailers.........mostly by academic types.
There is supposed to be something magical about it:..........
You need courses to learn how to do it..........
Often military leaders are pointed to as examples of leadership:
men follow to their deaths: they believe so strongly in the message of the golden leader.
And of course the argument comes up whether true leaders are born or developed.
My first day on the job as a store manager I asked my district manager what advice he could give me to be successful and he replied: Do Business.
Do Business.
Thats the same direction he gave everyone. He never said another word. Never gave another minute of training. Because at the end of the day: thats all that counted.
Many of you will remember good old Phil Gardiner from Windsor: of the now defunct Rizzo and Rizzo: Belinda and Brother shoe store chain.
Some said he was tyrant: others were shocked at his tactics.
Phil was known to arrive at your store: look at the numbers and tear the store apart.
Phil was known to look at the numbers during a sidewalk sale and walk across the street and ask the first person he saw to come over and try on shoes.
Phil was not shy: He put money in the till whatever way he had to do it.
Anyone who worked for Phil never forgot him.
His leadership by example was simple:
Sell things. Make money.
But even earlier than Phil I worked as a teen for the US Shoe Corporation:
headed by Bernie Gutman.
One day out of the blue Bernie walked into our new store. Not knowing who he was, when he headed for the stock room, I, at the bold age of 17, asked the President of the worlds then largest shoe company for identification. Lol........
Bernie picked up a shoe box and pointed to the coding system:
(years before bar codes:)
and explained the numbers and what they meant.
Simple: each number stood for a letter of the alphabet: and all 10 letters spelled out:
MAKE PROFIT
DO BUSINESS: MAKE PROFIT
Two fantastic leaders: two simple retail messages.
The Goal of the Game.
Thats really all you need to know to be successful in retail.
Thats all a leader has to communicate to his staff: the goals of the game called retail.
Both of these men lived and breathed these goals: it was their identity.
They were happy if that is all you remembered about them: Do Business: Make Profit
How you achieve these goals:
well thats open to debate:
innovation
customer service
pricing
creative visual merchandising
Doesnt matter.
The strategy of how to best play the game can be taught.
The mental mindset of living the goals is another thing.
I am from the school that believes the fire in the belly for retail work is inborn.
It cannot be taught.......
anymore than you can teach a true retailer to be happy as an accountant crunching numbers in a cubicle all day isolated from others.
That internal fire: the love of the game: the get up and go to achieve goals day after day: the thrill of the deal: or the sale
thats natural.
Retailers are sprinters:
they love daily races:
they love contests
they love challenge
and crave victory
Your staff has it or they dont.
You cant "leadership" your way to making them love the game of retail.
I always cringe at the words: How do you Motivate your staff?
Are you kidding? If you have to "motivate" retail staff:
then you have the wrong staff.
Its more often: How do you manage retail staff who always want to win and race and never do the daily and necessary grunt work of stocking, etc.
All the best retailers want to play the game at full force:
they hate slow sales days
they hate no challenge
It doesnt matter if they are in head office merchandising roles or on the sales floor:
The Deal: making the Deal: closing the Sale: thats what they live for.
Because its their nature. They race because they are racehorses.
Leadership as social work doesnt belong in retail. What belongs in retail is an entire team of racehorses: Nordstroms is the perfect example of hiring racehorses.
Best Buy is a great example with their policy of Results Only.......for staff.
its a policy of "we wont manage and motivate you"
You do that yourself:..........and the results will speak for you.
Get the job done: You are accountable to get the job done: whatever way you can........whatever hours you need: few or many: whenever you feel the time is right:.....you pick your own hours.
A smart policy of hiring true retailers has given Best Buy fantastic productivity results. So staggering in fact: this policy of not managing and leading: just hiring right: they want to find a way to implement it into store level as well.
Because the "leadership" message is: Do Business.
Thats all the leadership you need in retail. Do Business: make profit.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Retail Recruiting: Talent Pool vs Talent Community
Nowadays there is a dramatic difference between maintaining a talent pool database
and
a talent community for private recruiters.
Databases of uploaded resumes get old very quickly: not only that: they tell you next to nothing about candidates: their goals or where they are in their lives today.
Talent communities instead are a recruiters group of like minded professionals that you interact with on an continual basis.
You know who is happy in their jobs and you know who wants to make a move because they just got married. Things like that.
You know which firms have roles opening up soon that will require a specific type of candidate.
On any given day: you probably know the status of at least 1,000 people in your network.
And the job of the recruiter is to keep that dialogue going every single day:
touching base and updating with as many in the network as possible.
No mean feat! Recruiting today means an open door policy of helping your talent pool with everything from resumes to where to find the best movers !
Its not just about getting them hired anymore. Its about becoming part of their careers.......part of their lives.
Recruiters now function like career coaches:
-guiding them to firms that offer their best chance of fulfillment for their personal goals.
-preparing them for interviews and hand holding through the steps
The best recruiters probably dont need more than a day or two to find you at least one suitable candidate for most roles.
Recruiters know who is on the market every single day.
Thats really what you pay a recruiter for: knowledge.
Anyone can find people now: the internet doesnt make that very hard.
Knowing who is on the market for nearly every role every day: is the special skill belonging to social recruiters.
But you can be sure: that relationship has been nurtured for weeks or months and your recruiter is absolutely sure this candidate is a match for your firm!
And if you think it isnt much work spending 8 to 12 hours a day cultivating relationships:
it often feels like being the Old Woman in the Shoe: who had so many children: She didnt know what to do!
Talent communities is the future of recruiting today.
Companies that dont do it themselves or dont hire others to do it:
relying on old HR systems
will simply be left out of the loop;
especially as the Americans aggressively enter the game!
and
a talent community for private recruiters.
Databases of uploaded resumes get old very quickly: not only that: they tell you next to nothing about candidates: their goals or where they are in their lives today.
Talent communities instead are a recruiters group of like minded professionals that you interact with on an continual basis.
You know who is happy in their jobs and you know who wants to make a move because they just got married. Things like that.
You know which firms have roles opening up soon that will require a specific type of candidate.
On any given day: you probably know the status of at least 1,000 people in your network.
And the job of the recruiter is to keep that dialogue going every single day:
touching base and updating with as many in the network as possible.
No mean feat! Recruiting today means an open door policy of helping your talent pool with everything from resumes to where to find the best movers !
Its not just about getting them hired anymore. Its about becoming part of their careers.......part of their lives.
Recruiters now function like career coaches:
-guiding them to firms that offer their best chance of fulfillment for their personal goals.
-preparing them for interviews and hand holding through the steps
The best recruiters probably dont need more than a day or two to find you at least one suitable candidate for most roles.
Recruiters know who is on the market every single day.
Thats really what you pay a recruiter for: knowledge.
Anyone can find people now: the internet doesnt make that very hard.
Knowing who is on the market for nearly every role every day: is the special skill belonging to social recruiters.
But you can be sure: that relationship has been nurtured for weeks or months and your recruiter is absolutely sure this candidate is a match for your firm!
And if you think it isnt much work spending 8 to 12 hours a day cultivating relationships:
it often feels like being the Old Woman in the Shoe: who had so many children: She didnt know what to do!
Talent communities is the future of recruiting today.
Companies that dont do it themselves or dont hire others to do it:
relying on old HR systems
will simply be left out of the loop;
especially as the Americans aggressively enter the game!
Monday, April 25, 2011
War for Talent: Fact or Fiction?
We have been hearing the phrase War for Talent since 1997: when it started to become obvious that more people quit than were being hired in many organizations.
Is it true in a recession for retail?
More than ever.
Nearly 61% of all retail workers plan to leave the profession within the next 5 years.
Google the phrase: War for Talent in Google and you will get 92 million articles that mention it.
What exactly is Talent anyway: People know it when they see it: is what they usually say.
For retail thats an even airier concept pre-hire: easy to demonstrate post-hire.
Talent for retail is simply this: The ability to deliver measurable results that impact the retailers bottom line directly.
Everyone else is support staff:
In retail thats around 30% talent or direct money generating staff and 70% non finance producing staff.
Does this even make sense?
It started with stores massively reducing front line sales staff for some reason allocated to cost savings: but few trimmed equally at head office level.
Get rid of the people who generate the income?
Thats exactly what most retailers did when faced with income issues.
I worked in the past consulting with one firm that actually had more head office staff than retail front line staff: More chiefs than warriors.
They flogged these poor store staffers endlessly to produce the money to support this massive reverse pyramid: pushing them for higher and higher sales and more and more hours.
Needless to say: it was unsustainable in the long run and the firm had to drastically scale back.
The obvious answer is to increase the numbers of people that actually generate the money:
and decresase the parasitic support staff.
I sit in awe as HR offices expand and expand and expand: creeping inch by inch across Canada:
some even having City HR managers........all seemingly dedicated to support the current staffing levels instore......and find new ones to replace the outgoers.
HR office growth is vastly exceeding direct income generating staff growth.
Logic would say: there isnt a need to have more and more levels of management for the existing retail staff: there is a need for more customer level staff to drive sales.
Retail is notorious for high turnover.
Retailers are almost never found in the Top 100 Best Companies to Work for lists.
Retail organizations have a reputation for being sweatshops to work in:
and having little regard or esteem for the income producers.
Retail has a reputation of being a temporary miserable career until workers find their "real" jobs.
This imbalance is contrary to the way IT and nearly all other firms work today:
IT firms realize they need more computer system designers than they do computer managers.
IT firms make money: Retail is shuffling along.
Statistics show retail is having a miserable time attracting talent: aka: people who can generate money and profits for them.
Not only is there less "talent' to draw upon:
as fewer and fewer enter the profession
But working conditions for the staff havent changed since the turn of the century:
and I mean the 1900s.......to entice newcomers.
12 hour days
working every weekend
no breaks
endless standing
poor pay: few benefits
untrained tyrannical bosses
working under surveillance cameras
daily performance measurement
use and toss out mentality of many firms
Retail is has taken over the cache of being the cotton fields of the 1800s:
the dead end pit to be avoided.
I actually overhead one senior manager responding to an urgent request to get off work for the death of a family member say: Why? He's already dead. There is nothing you can do now.
How tragic:
What is more fun than good retail?
At least it used to be.
Which brings me back to the war for talent.........the war for true retailers who simply love the game: who generate results year after year
in spite of better opportunities elsewhere: other career choices.
These true retailers are few and far between. These 30% support every single worker in the rest of the organization. And they do it out of pure passion.......and little reward.
Finding STAFF isnt hard. Finding true WARRIOR RETAILERS is like mining for diamonds............
you have to know when you have found a gem
and where to look for them.
Its a battlefield out there: and finding the talent is a skill all of its own!
Are you hiring actual talent? Are you hiring real talent to find talent?
If not: you are losing money every single day.
Is it true in a recession for retail?
More than ever.
Nearly 61% of all retail workers plan to leave the profession within the next 5 years.
Google the phrase: War for Talent in Google and you will get 92 million articles that mention it.
What exactly is Talent anyway: People know it when they see it: is what they usually say.
For retail thats an even airier concept pre-hire: easy to demonstrate post-hire.
Talent for retail is simply this: The ability to deliver measurable results that impact the retailers bottom line directly.
Everyone else is support staff:
In retail thats around 30% talent or direct money generating staff and 70% non finance producing staff.
Does this even make sense?
It started with stores massively reducing front line sales staff for some reason allocated to cost savings: but few trimmed equally at head office level.
Get rid of the people who generate the income?
Thats exactly what most retailers did when faced with income issues.
I worked in the past consulting with one firm that actually had more head office staff than retail front line staff: More chiefs than warriors.
They flogged these poor store staffers endlessly to produce the money to support this massive reverse pyramid: pushing them for higher and higher sales and more and more hours.
Needless to say: it was unsustainable in the long run and the firm had to drastically scale back.
The obvious answer is to increase the numbers of people that actually generate the money:
and decresase the parasitic support staff.
I sit in awe as HR offices expand and expand and expand: creeping inch by inch across Canada:
some even having City HR managers........all seemingly dedicated to support the current staffing levels instore......and find new ones to replace the outgoers.
HR office growth is vastly exceeding direct income generating staff growth.
Logic would say: there isnt a need to have more and more levels of management for the existing retail staff: there is a need for more customer level staff to drive sales.
Retail is notorious for high turnover.
Retailers are almost never found in the Top 100 Best Companies to Work for lists.
Retail organizations have a reputation for being sweatshops to work in:
and having little regard or esteem for the income producers.
Retail has a reputation of being a temporary miserable career until workers find their "real" jobs.
This imbalance is contrary to the way IT and nearly all other firms work today:
IT firms realize they need more computer system designers than they do computer managers.
IT firms make money: Retail is shuffling along.
Statistics show retail is having a miserable time attracting talent: aka: people who can generate money and profits for them.
Not only is there less "talent' to draw upon:
as fewer and fewer enter the profession
But working conditions for the staff havent changed since the turn of the century:
and I mean the 1900s.......to entice newcomers.
12 hour days
working every weekend
no breaks
endless standing
poor pay: few benefits
untrained tyrannical bosses
working under surveillance cameras
daily performance measurement
use and toss out mentality of many firms
Retail is has taken over the cache of being the cotton fields of the 1800s:
the dead end pit to be avoided.
I actually overhead one senior manager responding to an urgent request to get off work for the death of a family member say: Why? He's already dead. There is nothing you can do now.
How tragic:
What is more fun than good retail?
At least it used to be.
Which brings me back to the war for talent.........the war for true retailers who simply love the game: who generate results year after year
in spite of better opportunities elsewhere: other career choices.
These true retailers are few and far between. These 30% support every single worker in the rest of the organization. And they do it out of pure passion.......and little reward.
Finding STAFF isnt hard. Finding true WARRIOR RETAILERS is like mining for diamonds............
you have to know when you have found a gem
and where to look for them.
Its a battlefield out there: and finding the talent is a skill all of its own!
Are you hiring actual talent? Are you hiring real talent to find talent?
If not: you are losing money every single day.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Job Hoppers: New Age Trend? Looks like it.
The curse of a resume is that it has to reveal all your secrets:
especially past experience.
And the biggest curse of all is too many jobs in too short a time frame followed by Unemployed altogether.
But the reality today is that changing jobs on a frequent basis is STANDARD.
The number one reason people quit their jobs is no longer because they dont like their boss: although thats still up there.
The number one reason is BOREDOM.
In these days of instant click: online games: on demand TV........slogging away at the same tasks year after year has about as much appeal as using a typewriter is to type.
Our minds are now conditioned for stimulation. Jobs that dont provide much are very low down the totem pole for retention.
It speaks to the fact that a single job role itself: no matter how well paid wont hold employees.
Without total engagement in the full advancement of the firm: social connections inside the firm: social activities inside the firm..........todays workers are gone within about 2-4 years.
Corporate culture has never been more important than it is today: being part of something greater than yourself: is required for a complete employment experience.
When you see serial jobs on a resume; often times today it doesnt say anything negative about the candidate but a lot about the Corporation they worked for!
especially past experience.
And the biggest curse of all is too many jobs in too short a time frame followed by Unemployed altogether.
But the reality today is that changing jobs on a frequent basis is STANDARD.
The number one reason people quit their jobs is no longer because they dont like their boss: although thats still up there.
The number one reason is BOREDOM.
In these days of instant click: online games: on demand TV........slogging away at the same tasks year after year has about as much appeal as using a typewriter is to type.
Our minds are now conditioned for stimulation. Jobs that dont provide much are very low down the totem pole for retention.
It speaks to the fact that a single job role itself: no matter how well paid wont hold employees.
Without total engagement in the full advancement of the firm: social connections inside the firm: social activities inside the firm..........todays workers are gone within about 2-4 years.
Corporate culture has never been more important than it is today: being part of something greater than yourself: is required for a complete employment experience.
When you see serial jobs on a resume; often times today it doesnt say anything negative about the candidate but a lot about the Corporation they worked for!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
New Social Recruiting vs Old School Closed Door Recruiting
We see the best social network recruiters racking up results:
building brand image: building goodwill..........graciously speaking to everyone who choose to explore a career with their firm.
But: then we see the old school recruiters:
You know them:
You need a private access code to reach them
They will call you: you DONT ever call them.
Dinosaur recruiters will soon find they have shut their doors completely on the new age world of recruiting and damage their firms chances of best talent in the process.
Somehow they dont realize in todays world its simply insulting to be cloaked behind a veil of unreachable pinnacles of power.
Candidates of today just dont buy it........that they are "chosen" to be spoken to by the powerful recruiter/HR person: its an arrogance born of excess of earlier times.
Why on earth put yourself up on LinkedIn if you never join a group: never allow anyone to contact you unless you hold that golden key:..........its arrogant to turn LinkedIn into your own private consulting agency:....that only you can access. Free ads. Free contacts: but they give nothing back.
You can spot these onliners: they post their needs everyday: but let you know by blocking access that you arent to approach them. They are there just to use others.
And if thats not evidence: just look at their bios:
they nearly always have a good 20 years experience:
doing things the old way........and are not about to change.
Avoid these types of recruiters and HR people as much as you can:
if this is the way they treat people:
Imagine what its like working for that company!
Stuck in the 80s
building brand image: building goodwill..........graciously speaking to everyone who choose to explore a career with their firm.
But: then we see the old school recruiters:
You know them:
You need a private access code to reach them
They will call you: you DONT ever call them.
Dinosaur recruiters will soon find they have shut their doors completely on the new age world of recruiting and damage their firms chances of best talent in the process.
Somehow they dont realize in todays world its simply insulting to be cloaked behind a veil of unreachable pinnacles of power.
Candidates of today just dont buy it........that they are "chosen" to be spoken to by the powerful recruiter/HR person: its an arrogance born of excess of earlier times.
Why on earth put yourself up on LinkedIn if you never join a group: never allow anyone to contact you unless you hold that golden key:..........its arrogant to turn LinkedIn into your own private consulting agency:....that only you can access. Free ads. Free contacts: but they give nothing back.
You can spot these onliners: they post their needs everyday: but let you know by blocking access that you arent to approach them. They are there just to use others.
And if thats not evidence: just look at their bios:
they nearly always have a good 20 years experience:
doing things the old way........and are not about to change.
Avoid these types of recruiters and HR people as much as you can:
if this is the way they treat people:
Imagine what its like working for that company!
Stuck in the 80s
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Case of the Phantom HR vs Social Face of HR
The keys to the secret world of Human Resources:
the golden office where the fate of so many lies........
Who are these magical people? and why are they hiding like reclusive movie stars?
In this day of fierce competition for retail talent it simply never ceases to amaze me:
why so many HR people hide in the shadows: cloaked in strange veils of annonymity to protect their identities: especially on LInkedIN.
Hanya R: Sr HR, no company, no city: just Canada:...........and you must already have the secret email address to access the kingdom they rule over.
Dont call me: I will call you: if you are worthy. That seems to be their message. ..........designed to keep the undesireables out and away.
Really? Do they really think that pompous attitude is the correct social face for their firms in this day and age?
Afraid of staffers getting in touch? Is your firm that horrible to work for you expect to be blindsided by angry workers bombarding you with complaints?
Afraid of newcomers asking for jobs? Is it in the best interest of your firm to ensure no talent should possibly seek employment unless you tightly control the process?
This old school HR model has seen better days and certainly isnt the model that resonates with candidates today.
In fact: its just the opposite. The keys to the inner sanctum reigned over by regal ancient rulers of HR........are slowly being taken away by the new social media HR experts.
Its just one more example of why many dont seek out retail careers and those who have refuse to intersect for new placements by applying randomly online: in case they run into The Phatom HR: Its just too insulting and degrading in todays environments of equality and open networking.
Retail is short of talent. Younger people are not entering the field for permanent careers.
The median age of retailers is now 43 years old. Thats up 5 years from 2006 and the fastest growing segment of workers is in the 44 to 55 age group. Where is all the staff going to come from to drive corporate numbers when retailers are retiring faster than new ones are signing up?
The warm and engaging open door networkers who welcome all comers and create great candidate experiences are the true HR masters of the future and represent the firms who will attract the best talent. And that means dropping the cold and unwelcome shrouds of HR.
Come on HR people: join the 21st century.
the golden office where the fate of so many lies........
Who are these magical people? and why are they hiding like reclusive movie stars?
In this day of fierce competition for retail talent it simply never ceases to amaze me:
why so many HR people hide in the shadows: cloaked in strange veils of annonymity to protect their identities: especially on LInkedIN.
Hanya R: Sr HR, no company, no city: just Canada:...........and you must already have the secret email address to access the kingdom they rule over.
Dont call me: I will call you: if you are worthy. That seems to be their message. ..........designed to keep the undesireables out and away.
Really? Do they really think that pompous attitude is the correct social face for their firms in this day and age?
Afraid of staffers getting in touch? Is your firm that horrible to work for you expect to be blindsided by angry workers bombarding you with complaints?
Afraid of newcomers asking for jobs? Is it in the best interest of your firm to ensure no talent should possibly seek employment unless you tightly control the process?
This old school HR model has seen better days and certainly isnt the model that resonates with candidates today.
In fact: its just the opposite. The keys to the inner sanctum reigned over by regal ancient rulers of HR........are slowly being taken away by the new social media HR experts.
Its just one more example of why many dont seek out retail careers and those who have refuse to intersect for new placements by applying randomly online: in case they run into The Phatom HR: Its just too insulting and degrading in todays environments of equality and open networking.
Retail is short of talent. Younger people are not entering the field for permanent careers.
The median age of retailers is now 43 years old. Thats up 5 years from 2006 and the fastest growing segment of workers is in the 44 to 55 age group. Where is all the staff going to come from to drive corporate numbers when retailers are retiring faster than new ones are signing up?
The warm and engaging open door networkers who welcome all comers and create great candidate experiences are the true HR masters of the future and represent the firms who will attract the best talent. And that means dropping the cold and unwelcome shrouds of HR.
Come on HR people: join the 21st century.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Retail and the Teamwork Concept: Is it really Valid?
Nearly every retail job posting nowadays has some element of Team Coach, Team Leader, Team Player
as a requirement.
Nearly every resume I see has Exceptional Team Leader on it as well.
And if you work in one of the retail concepts where individual sales arent calculated: its probably a valuable concept.
But what if you dont?
What if you work in the crushing world of jewellery sales, fashion sales, furniture sales.
Teamwork be &*(&: !!!!!
The team doesnt get fired if you are the lowest sales person: YOU DO.
For the most part:
Retail isnt designed to be a team sport:
where 30% of the top players carry the other 70% of the organization
and everyone shares in the rewards.
Retail is a Kentucky Derby Triple Crown horse race:
prizes only go the first, second and third place.
The doors open: and the the game is on!
Best man wins.......best salesperson wins.
Top salespeople get promoted.
Top salespeople are rewarded.
Teamwork my foot!
Why do retail job postings ask for Teamwork skills?: when in truth:
only the warriors will survive long enough to ever have a "team" of their own.
Nearly every corporate retail organization in Canada is built like a sports team:
30% of the people generating the money
70% are support staff
Retailing never used to be this way: every man carried his own wage and delivered a financial contribution to the firm.......every man could justify his costs.
There were no "teams" on salesfloors: no gently supportive and loving coworkers.
There were Sales Warriors:
people who just loved the race:
who played the game for the sake of hearing the cash register ring!
Today those warrior sales types are few and far between:
instead we have nice staff
We find such "nice" staff lingering at the registers: or in change rooms:
not much bothered the customer has arrived........but always ready with a "Can I help you?" if you wait long enough: or not.
Whatever happened to NOT hiring for Team skills and hiring instead for individual Retail Sales Skills?
That inner drive to sell just one more thing! because they simply love to do it?
With our American friends heading north:
Canadian firms wont be able to afford retail structures of 30/70 sales to administrators.
We will have to reshape along old terms: 70 selling and 30 administrators instead.
And oh by the way: Hire people who actually WANT to sell because they love to do it!
as a requirement.
Nearly every resume I see has Exceptional Team Leader on it as well.
And if you work in one of the retail concepts where individual sales arent calculated: its probably a valuable concept.
But what if you dont?
What if you work in the crushing world of jewellery sales, fashion sales, furniture sales.
Teamwork be &*(&: !!!!!
The team doesnt get fired if you are the lowest sales person: YOU DO.
For the most part:
Retail isnt designed to be a team sport:
where 30% of the top players carry the other 70% of the organization
and everyone shares in the rewards.
Retail is a Kentucky Derby Triple Crown horse race:
prizes only go the first, second and third place.
The doors open: and the the game is on!
Best man wins.......best salesperson wins.
Top salespeople get promoted.
Top salespeople are rewarded.
Teamwork my foot!
Why do retail job postings ask for Teamwork skills?: when in truth:
only the warriors will survive long enough to ever have a "team" of their own.
Nearly every corporate retail organization in Canada is built like a sports team:
30% of the people generating the money
70% are support staff
Retailing never used to be this way: every man carried his own wage and delivered a financial contribution to the firm.......every man could justify his costs.
There were no "teams" on salesfloors: no gently supportive and loving coworkers.
There were Sales Warriors:
people who just loved the race:
who played the game for the sake of hearing the cash register ring!
Today those warrior sales types are few and far between:
instead we have nice staff
We find such "nice" staff lingering at the registers: or in change rooms:
not much bothered the customer has arrived........but always ready with a "Can I help you?" if you wait long enough: or not.
Whatever happened to NOT hiring for Team skills and hiring instead for individual Retail Sales Skills?
That inner drive to sell just one more thing! because they simply love to do it?
With our American friends heading north:
Canadian firms wont be able to afford retail structures of 30/70 sales to administrators.
We will have to reshape along old terms: 70 selling and 30 administrators instead.
And oh by the way: Hire people who actually WANT to sell because they love to do it!
Most Candidate Friendly Corporate Job Sites: #1 Best Buy Cda
Anyone who has recently applied for a job online knows the misery of first trying to register: figure out how to use them: how to upload and on and on.
Lonely and frustraing. Some of these sites sponsored by majore drivers like Taleo: you click and click and they keep refusing to accept your data: telling you item # 32 wasnt filled in: but you know you did.
I dont know how many candidates just pack it in..........and remember NOT to revisit that company to apply. The pain of using their applicant systems is just too great.
The return on investment of your time is just too low:
You know the odds of receiving an interview seems almost as bad as buying a winning lottery ticket.
And thats only if you figured out what the heck the job was to begin with:
Most posted jobs these days read like Performance Contracts
or applications to universities.......
Long paragraphs on
The Right Stuff: about the SuperMan/Woman you need to be to do this job.........
Long paragraphs on:
What YOU have to give.........and nearly nothing on what you will get in return.
Long paragraphs full of legal type English no one understands.
Hey: I am a great store manager: what is a Unified Business Directions Account Manager anyway?
And those prequalifying psychological tests: are you kidding me? You want ME to rule MYSELF out?
and how do I end up feeling if you dont call me?
that there is something wrong with me that is so great your firm will NEVER call me?
Hey:Mr HR just want to explore career opportunities with you.........not sign on for the Secret Service or marry your daughter!
Enough! Hell no: we just wont do it anymore!
Thats the message todays candidates are sending and they are fighting back.
Make my candidate experience a good one: or I will pass up your firm: FOREVER.
But then there is the Best Buy Canada career website: and Chad Steham:
Its the friendliest easiest to use career site in Canada........
Not only is it easy to use: it provides lots of helpful feedback features:
Like when can I expect to hear something?
They have managed to create a site that makes the candidate feel nearly human?
Chad regularily gets online and posts in a way that makes him approachable:
that makes you think: this would be a great place to work.
That you wont get hacked to death in the candidate process.
Hes light: hes funny: he encourages all comers: take a look at us!
Chad is a leader in the direction big retail needs to go in order to attract best talent to Retail.
Be sure to follow Chad on LInkedIn.
Lonely and frustraing. Some of these sites sponsored by majore drivers like Taleo: you click and click and they keep refusing to accept your data: telling you item # 32 wasnt filled in: but you know you did.
I dont know how many candidates just pack it in..........and remember NOT to revisit that company to apply. The pain of using their applicant systems is just too great.
The return on investment of your time is just too low:
You know the odds of receiving an interview seems almost as bad as buying a winning lottery ticket.
And thats only if you figured out what the heck the job was to begin with:
Most posted jobs these days read like Performance Contracts
or applications to universities.......
Long paragraphs on
The Right Stuff: about the SuperMan/Woman you need to be to do this job.........
Long paragraphs on:
What YOU have to give.........and nearly nothing on what you will get in return.
Long paragraphs full of legal type English no one understands.
Hey: I am a great store manager: what is a Unified Business Directions Account Manager anyway?
And those prequalifying psychological tests: are you kidding me? You want ME to rule MYSELF out?
and how do I end up feeling if you dont call me?
that there is something wrong with me that is so great your firm will NEVER call me?
Hey:Mr HR just want to explore career opportunities with you.........not sign on for the Secret Service or marry your daughter!
Enough! Hell no: we just wont do it anymore!
Thats the message todays candidates are sending and they are fighting back.
Make my candidate experience a good one: or I will pass up your firm: FOREVER.
But then there is the Best Buy Canada career website: and Chad Steham:
Its the friendliest easiest to use career site in Canada........
Not only is it easy to use: it provides lots of helpful feedback features:
Like when can I expect to hear something?
They have managed to create a site that makes the candidate feel nearly human?
Chad regularily gets online and posts in a way that makes him approachable:
that makes you think: this would be a great place to work.
That you wont get hacked to death in the candidate process.
Hes light: hes funny: he encourages all comers: take a look at us!
Chad is a leader in the direction big retail needs to go in order to attract best talent to Retail.
Be sure to follow Chad on LInkedIn.
Great Candidate Experiences: Who does it Best? #1
Many of you will see me tease Amy Hamdorff: Sourcing Specialist for Western Canada for Starbucks:
as she works tirelessly to promote her brand and attract best talent to gravitate towards her.
I am constantly accusing her of stealing all the best talent!
Amy is actually probably one of the best examples of online social recruiting in all of Canada. She knows and understands that recruiting isnt just about asking people to apply to her firm with open job postings:
its about selling the brand Starbucks to her generation.
The candidate exprience starts with each interaction with the company:
it starts as a customer.
The opinion customers have of the firm creates a mental relationship with prospective employees of the future. It sets the tone of great expectations as a consumer and as an employee.
One thing I can say about the Starbucks experience for employees: I have yet to hear a single complaint other than: I want to move up faster in the company!
Why? Because their entire candidate to employee experience is engaging: it wins the hearts of its people. They are proud to work for the firm and feel valued from first contact.
When I receive orders to fill roles I often hear the words: Bring me someone with a Starbucks background. Now thats quite an endorsement!
So Amy and I have a bit of competition going on here. She is able to attrack top talent simply by spreading such a great brand message: she invites all of Canada to participate in everything from coffee tasting to tree planting and by default attract applicants.
She is continually posting updates of Starbucks activities: that not just candidates can participate in. she is a true brand messenger! Who wouldnt want to work for this firm with people like Amy as the social face of the firm? No wonder they consistently come in at the top as one of the best places to work!
Amy is hands down the best social media recruiter I have seen in Canada and old school recruiters need to take special notice of her amazing skills!
The day of the flat boring online job application are dead. Just ask Amy!
as she works tirelessly to promote her brand and attract best talent to gravitate towards her.
I am constantly accusing her of stealing all the best talent!
Amy is actually probably one of the best examples of online social recruiting in all of Canada. She knows and understands that recruiting isnt just about asking people to apply to her firm with open job postings:
its about selling the brand Starbucks to her generation.
The candidate exprience starts with each interaction with the company:
it starts as a customer.
The opinion customers have of the firm creates a mental relationship with prospective employees of the future. It sets the tone of great expectations as a consumer and as an employee.
One thing I can say about the Starbucks experience for employees: I have yet to hear a single complaint other than: I want to move up faster in the company!
Why? Because their entire candidate to employee experience is engaging: it wins the hearts of its people. They are proud to work for the firm and feel valued from first contact.
When I receive orders to fill roles I often hear the words: Bring me someone with a Starbucks background. Now thats quite an endorsement!
So Amy and I have a bit of competition going on here. She is able to attrack top talent simply by spreading such a great brand message: she invites all of Canada to participate in everything from coffee tasting to tree planting and by default attract applicants.
She is continually posting updates of Starbucks activities: that not just candidates can participate in. she is a true brand messenger! Who wouldnt want to work for this firm with people like Amy as the social face of the firm? No wonder they consistently come in at the top as one of the best places to work!
Amy is hands down the best social media recruiter I have seen in Canada and old school recruiters need to take special notice of her amazing skills!
The day of the flat boring online job application are dead. Just ask Amy!
Monday, April 18, 2011
Blackberry World & Retail Workspace: New Realities
So all the staff shows up with their mobile devices in their pockets........some right on their desks.
They check them with every buzz and beep.
Store managers are going crazy: writing up rules to bann them: penalizing their useage: stash them in lockers during work hours.
Cell technology is considered the biggest threat to retail productivity managers have ever faced!
Staff cant be fully engaged at the task at hand! Customers are being ignored!
Really?
Not. ..........mostly not.
77% of all retail workers under the age of 40 social network every single day.......
Managers can no more drive out this technology than buggy makers could stop the onslaught of cars a hundred years ago.
Bann them?
well: managers can drive it underground:
staffers sent for coffee: will check in and take 5 minutes longer to return.
staffers putting out the darn garbage will take that chance to check in.
Lock them up?
well: that generates a lot of resentment and creates a perception of a control freak manager and company
Its really very simple: Embrace the technology.
Use it to your advantage.
Offer up cell phone breaks instead of coffee breaks:
Get the staffers to broadcast that you have 50% off right now.
Ask staffers to broadcast: we are hiring!
Give customers business cards with emails to direct staffers listed on them
Ask staffers to compete store to store with each other for sales: via cell phone for updates!
Yes: ASK them to use the technology: to advance your brand! Imagine all these mini salespeople broadcasting your personal message once an hour to thousands of consumers who WILL hear the message: not MIGHT here the message:
because its endorsed by their friend!
You can fight the losing battle of banning personal cell devices while working or you can turn it into the greatest public relations marketing in history: as well as an attractor for hiring new age workers!
They check them with every buzz and beep.
Store managers are going crazy: writing up rules to bann them: penalizing their useage: stash them in lockers during work hours.
Cell technology is considered the biggest threat to retail productivity managers have ever faced!
Staff cant be fully engaged at the task at hand! Customers are being ignored!
Really?
Not. ..........mostly not.
77% of all retail workers under the age of 40 social network every single day.......
Managers can no more drive out this technology than buggy makers could stop the onslaught of cars a hundred years ago.
Bann them?
well: managers can drive it underground:
staffers sent for coffee: will check in and take 5 minutes longer to return.
staffers putting out the darn garbage will take that chance to check in.
Lock them up?
well: that generates a lot of resentment and creates a perception of a control freak manager and company
Its really very simple: Embrace the technology.
Use it to your advantage.
Offer up cell phone breaks instead of coffee breaks:
Get the staffers to broadcast that you have 50% off right now.
Ask staffers to broadcast: we are hiring!
Give customers business cards with emails to direct staffers listed on them
Ask staffers to compete store to store with each other for sales: via cell phone for updates!
Yes: ASK them to use the technology: to advance your brand! Imagine all these mini salespeople broadcasting your personal message once an hour to thousands of consumers who WILL hear the message: not MIGHT here the message:
because its endorsed by their friend!
You can fight the losing battle of banning personal cell devices while working or you can turn it into the greatest public relations marketing in history: as well as an attractor for hiring new age workers!
New Trend in Retail Recruiting: the Age of the Personal Agent
The days of qualified candidates sitting at home filling out endless online application forms: or faxing resumes is long gone......especially as retail talent numbers are getting fewer and fewer.
The trend now is for jobseekers to link up to a personal recruiter as an agent to represent them.
Recruiters of course are paid by the hiring firms: so its a no risk situation for a candidate.
Recruiter as Talent Agent:
matching clients to candidates.
Now the screening takes place on both sides of the equation:
Candidates are screening employers for best fit
just as much as Employers screen candidates.
The facts support this reversal of power.
Of the 500,000 online hits last month for Jobs in Canada
there were only 28.000 hits for Retail Jobs in Canada
of which
18,000 were Part Time Retail Jobs in Canada
For an industry that is number one or two as largest employers in Canada
thats a pretty thin pool of job seekers:
no more than 5% of all searches.
One major job board had nearly 900 retail postings on one search........
for balance: the same job board had only 36 jobs for architectural jobs.
Firms that simply post a job and wait for candidates to come through the door
are at a distinct disadvantage in their access to talent.
Dont assume candidates are aggressively searching firm after firm for openings.
Dont assume they will find your opening!
Dont assume they have a clue you are hiring!
Dont assume they would ever consider working for you without an agent selling the benefits of your firm!
Dont assume your own corporate recruiter will know who is on the market!
Jobseekers are fed up with the impersonal online applications that never receive much more than canned replies.
Jobseekers know that corporate recruiters are only going to sell the benefits of their particular firm:
they arent working for the candidate and presenting a broad range of opportunties.
Recruiters are often sitting on data bases in the hundreds or thousands of confidential resumes as a result.
Retail recruiting: personal relationship management for candidates: is going to be the driving force in hiring within the next 5 years.
Roles will change so that recruiters will do less seeking out hirers for role to fill:
Hirers will be seeking out recruiters to access their candidate pool instead!
The recruiters with the best talent pool and candidate management experience will lead the industry.
The trend now is for jobseekers to link up to a personal recruiter as an agent to represent them.
Recruiters of course are paid by the hiring firms: so its a no risk situation for a candidate.
Recruiter as Talent Agent:
matching clients to candidates.
Now the screening takes place on both sides of the equation:
Candidates are screening employers for best fit
just as much as Employers screen candidates.
The facts support this reversal of power.
Of the 500,000 online hits last month for Jobs in Canada
there were only 28.000 hits for Retail Jobs in Canada
of which
18,000 were Part Time Retail Jobs in Canada
For an industry that is number one or two as largest employers in Canada
thats a pretty thin pool of job seekers:
no more than 5% of all searches.
One major job board had nearly 900 retail postings on one search........
for balance: the same job board had only 36 jobs for architectural jobs.
Firms that simply post a job and wait for candidates to come through the door
are at a distinct disadvantage in their access to talent.
Dont assume candidates are aggressively searching firm after firm for openings.
Dont assume they will find your opening!
Dont assume they have a clue you are hiring!
Dont assume they would ever consider working for you without an agent selling the benefits of your firm!
Dont assume your own corporate recruiter will know who is on the market!
Jobseekers are fed up with the impersonal online applications that never receive much more than canned replies.
Jobseekers know that corporate recruiters are only going to sell the benefits of their particular firm:
they arent working for the candidate and presenting a broad range of opportunties.
Recruiters are often sitting on data bases in the hundreds or thousands of confidential resumes as a result.
Retail recruiting: personal relationship management for candidates: is going to be the driving force in hiring within the next 5 years.
Roles will change so that recruiters will do less seeking out hirers for role to fill:
Hirers will be seeking out recruiters to access their candidate pool instead!
The recruiters with the best talent pool and candidate management experience will lead the industry.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Hiring the Overqualifed
The recession of the past few years put a lot of retail talent on the market who want back in.
Business is picking up: managers are starting to hire again: but are now faced with a seniority level of applications they have never seen before.
Traditionally; skill levels are determined for any given role.
Candidates who exceed these skill levels are screened out.
Wait a minute! Why is this?
The long held perception is that overqualfied candidates wont last: they wont be motivated: they will be bored....they are too expensive, etc.
According to the Harvard Business Review March 2011: its just not true.
Studies show in the sales professions in particular: seemingly senior or overqualified candidates actually outperform those deemd best fit to hire.
The narrow focus of hiring just to fill one current role is ineffective to long term goals.
Sooner or later all firms need greater levels of talent.
Unless your firm isnt growing anymore:
picking up talent as you have the chance to do so is a tremendous asset builder for your firm!
Dont simply disqualify senior level candidates:
they know they are applying under their skill set:
Maybe they see something in your firms future that inspires them!
Business is picking up: managers are starting to hire again: but are now faced with a seniority level of applications they have never seen before.
Traditionally; skill levels are determined for any given role.
Candidates who exceed these skill levels are screened out.
Wait a minute! Why is this?
The long held perception is that overqualfied candidates wont last: they wont be motivated: they will be bored....they are too expensive, etc.
According to the Harvard Business Review March 2011: its just not true.
Studies show in the sales professions in particular: seemingly senior or overqualified candidates actually outperform those deemd best fit to hire.
The narrow focus of hiring just to fill one current role is ineffective to long term goals.
Sooner or later all firms need greater levels of talent.
Unless your firm isnt growing anymore:
picking up talent as you have the chance to do so is a tremendous asset builder for your firm!
Dont simply disqualify senior level candidates:
they know they are applying under their skill set:
Maybe they see something in your firms future that inspires them!
The Best Retail Talent Goes to the Best Candidate Experience
I shake my head everyday.There never seems to be an end to candidates misery in their hiring experiences.
Every day I hear about rude and aggressive first contact interviewers: promises of further contact that never come: candidates left dangling in the wind wondering if they were not a "fit" or the job was filled.
Those who are unemployed simply have to endure these things and march forward with more applications. Those who are simply considering a switch give up.
The list includes the frustration of having to navigate and apply through confusing corporate application systems: registering and re-registering dozens of times a day at different sites that take 20 minutes each to complete.........none of which is designed to serve the applicant: only to make life easier for the recruiter.
The annoyance of auto messages saying: Due to the Large Number of Candidates: you will only be contacted IF we determine you are qualified for our needs.
Interpreted as: We dont care if you spent all that time researching our firm: this posting and filling out our forms. You probably dont cut it and you probably wont hear anything back from us........and by the way: if you do hear something in response: consider yourself lucky. Your time: your application: is probably insignificant to us.
Then there are the job postings themselves: nearly unintelligible..........filled with jargon and expectations, etc..........with vague references to Core Deliverables and Accountabilities and Personalities like Servant Coach.......and nothing about
What Duties we want you to Perform!
Paragraphs and paragraphs of What We Want from You.............in bizarre "corporate speak" terms.
Followed by a measly one line posting at the end with
What We Will Give You in Return:
some kind of vague rewarding enriching adventure and
Compensation: based upon experience.
The Reward line is: negligible.
We expect miracles from you. We will give you back: maybe something.
In fact: many of my candidates have decided they will absolutely no longer fill out corporate online forms and pre-qualify themselves with personality tests, questions of core skills, etc.
They will apply only to jobs where there is a direct person to contact: or will only use a recruiter.
A day as a candidate is a day of confusion, insults and neglect.
Whats the cost of corporations behaving badly?
Just yesterday I spoke to a C Level candidate: the type everyone wants to hire:
who spoke of their front line experience with a corporate first reviewer:
of how the questions seemed to be designed to trip them up
how the tone was aggressive and sharp
how nothing more was ever heard in return: no thank you for your time.
Nothing.
The only thing this top level executive remembered is:
I dont like that company!
I wasnt treated well.
And who are they telling? People like me: Their associates: Their friends.
In short: that 20 minute interview served to destroy XX numbers of marketing dollars the firm spends to build thier brand. Gone.
People like me dont want to refer our candidates to mean companies.
Friends and associates remember: dont apply to that firm.
If your sales associates treated your customers in the same lousy format:
you would get rid of them.
Is it acceptable for the first contact at your head office to represent your brand that way too?
Candidates are your customers. They have often decided to apply because they identify with your products and messages.
Surveys reveal horrificly bad corporate behaviour.
Only 27% of most companies will even bother to thank you for applying and advising that you were not selected! Imagine if only 27% of your friends ever thanked you for a gift or returned your calls!
With Stats Canada reporting that around 61% of all retail workers in Canada plan to leave the industry in the next 5 years: there is no surplus of retail workers: there is in fact a shortage. More on that topic in another blog.
Bottom line is:
The Hiring Experience is as much a part of your Corporate Sales Process as Instore Sales Experiences are.
The best talent gravitates to the best candidate experience: and nowadays: that often starts with a personal relationship with a private recruiter. Fewer and fewer candidates are willing to endure the misery of most corporate recruiting experiences.
Thats good news for me as more and more top talents seek me out to represent them.
The tides are turning. The game is changing so that Retail Canada has to go out and access the candidate: as opposed to the candidate begging at their doorsteps.
What they will find: is that more and more candidates have agents; private recruiters who represent clients: that serve as a gateway to access their skills. Candidates now filter who reaches them instead.
Retailers need to learn to give as much love to their applicants as they do their customers. They are one and the same!
Every day I hear about rude and aggressive first contact interviewers: promises of further contact that never come: candidates left dangling in the wind wondering if they were not a "fit" or the job was filled.
Those who are unemployed simply have to endure these things and march forward with more applications. Those who are simply considering a switch give up.
The list includes the frustration of having to navigate and apply through confusing corporate application systems: registering and re-registering dozens of times a day at different sites that take 20 minutes each to complete.........none of which is designed to serve the applicant: only to make life easier for the recruiter.
The annoyance of auto messages saying: Due to the Large Number of Candidates: you will only be contacted IF we determine you are qualified for our needs.
Interpreted as: We dont care if you spent all that time researching our firm: this posting and filling out our forms. You probably dont cut it and you probably wont hear anything back from us........and by the way: if you do hear something in response: consider yourself lucky. Your time: your application: is probably insignificant to us.
Then there are the job postings themselves: nearly unintelligible..........filled with jargon and expectations, etc..........with vague references to Core Deliverables and Accountabilities and Personalities like Servant Coach.......and nothing about
What Duties we want you to Perform!
Paragraphs and paragraphs of What We Want from You.............in bizarre "corporate speak" terms.
Followed by a measly one line posting at the end with
What We Will Give You in Return:
some kind of vague rewarding enriching adventure and
Compensation: based upon experience.
The Reward line is: negligible.
We expect miracles from you. We will give you back: maybe something.
In fact: many of my candidates have decided they will absolutely no longer fill out corporate online forms and pre-qualify themselves with personality tests, questions of core skills, etc.
They will apply only to jobs where there is a direct person to contact: or will only use a recruiter.
A day as a candidate is a day of confusion, insults and neglect.
Whats the cost of corporations behaving badly?
Just yesterday I spoke to a C Level candidate: the type everyone wants to hire:
who spoke of their front line experience with a corporate first reviewer:
of how the questions seemed to be designed to trip them up
how the tone was aggressive and sharp
how nothing more was ever heard in return: no thank you for your time.
Nothing.
The only thing this top level executive remembered is:
I dont like that company!
I wasnt treated well.
And who are they telling? People like me: Their associates: Their friends.
In short: that 20 minute interview served to destroy XX numbers of marketing dollars the firm spends to build thier brand. Gone.
People like me dont want to refer our candidates to mean companies.
Friends and associates remember: dont apply to that firm.
If your sales associates treated your customers in the same lousy format:
you would get rid of them.
Is it acceptable for the first contact at your head office to represent your brand that way too?
Candidates are your customers. They have often decided to apply because they identify with your products and messages.
Surveys reveal horrificly bad corporate behaviour.
Only 27% of most companies will even bother to thank you for applying and advising that you were not selected! Imagine if only 27% of your friends ever thanked you for a gift or returned your calls!
With Stats Canada reporting that around 61% of all retail workers in Canada plan to leave the industry in the next 5 years: there is no surplus of retail workers: there is in fact a shortage. More on that topic in another blog.
Bottom line is:
The Hiring Experience is as much a part of your Corporate Sales Process as Instore Sales Experiences are.
The best talent gravitates to the best candidate experience: and nowadays: that often starts with a personal relationship with a private recruiter. Fewer and fewer candidates are willing to endure the misery of most corporate recruiting experiences.
Thats good news for me as more and more top talents seek me out to represent them.
The tides are turning. The game is changing so that Retail Canada has to go out and access the candidate: as opposed to the candidate begging at their doorsteps.
What they will find: is that more and more candidates have agents; private recruiters who represent clients: that serve as a gateway to access their skills. Candidates now filter who reaches them instead.
Retailers need to learn to give as much love to their applicants as they do their customers. They are one and the same!
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