Geschreven door Henrieke Graven | December 11, 2018
Faced with intense competition from online stores, retailers are searching high and low for staff who are customer-oriented and able to provide good advice. These are skills that don't come naturally to everyone but, luckily, can be learned. The HR and Learning & Development departments therefore play an important role in ushering in the much-needed revival of retail.
Little lasting effect
In an attempt to really hammer in skills such as providing the best possible service and customer-orientation, many companies turn to programs that focus on creating a culture change within the company. However, this is often a lengthy and expensive process – time is the one thing that the
rapidly changing retail sector does not have. Gathering all your people together in a room for a day in an attempt to set a common course for the company also has little lasting effect. The inspiration that staff takes away from a day like this quickly evaporates when they return to their daily tasks. The biggest flaw that both these options present is that they lack a long-term approach to participants' development and cannot be measured. This means that there is no certain way of properly justifying the time and money invested in these processes.
Good advice
The true skill of providing advice is more about the ‘how’ than the ‘what'. Experienced sales personnel who love their job are well-informed about the product range and can offer customers extensive advice. But good advice is all about how it is given rather than the information provided. After all, customers can just as easily look up the list of ingredients of a product online. Giving good advice that takes into account the wishes of the customer while also pushing sales is an art. Sales personnel will make measurable progress by learning from others, practicing, and incorporating feedback into their methods.
New skills applied in-store
For ambitious retailers, the integrated training of their staff presents the best solution. Instead of sending their staff out on a course and hoping that everything will fall into place, they can turn to new modern solutions that use technology. During a kick-off meeting, the importance of the training is explained. Then the staff can get started with online role-playing games. The participants practice using situations that they will be confronted with in practice and real-life examples. The new skills that they learn are then applied to their work straight away, making a vital contribution to creating the modern, contemporary store.
Coolblue presents the perfect example of a company that emphasizes customer-orientation and in-store advice. This Rotterdam-based company believes in a blended approach that combines online learning and testing and applying and practicing newly acquired skills in practice. Interested in how this company makes this work? Then read the Coolblue case study.
