Training retail staff is an incredibly important part of running a campus bookstore. Without the proper training, staff won’t know how to handle customer service, run the checkout stand, restock items, and other crucial aspects of their role. Learn what mistakes to avoid when training staff to make sure your employees can competently handle any task that comes their way.
Mistake 1 – Not Aligning Training with Business Goals
If your training regimen doesn’t align with your business goals, then your staff won’t have a clear picture of what exactly you want them to accomplish. Don’t let an unstructured training regimen send your team into a tailspin. Conduct a thorough analysis of your training regimen and ensure it aligns with what your overall goals for the business are. Identify the gaps between your current regimen and what you hope your team to achieve.
Mistake 2 – Dumbing it Down
If you treat training like a kindergarten class, it will reflect in your team’s abilities. Don’t assume your staff can use common sense to make sales. Take their training seriously, and they will blossom into the competent employees you know they can be. Focus on fundamentals first, then build upon them so your team will know how to handle any situation they find themselves in.
Mistake 3 – Ignoring Role Specific Training
Role-specific training is specialized training for certain areas of your retail business. For example, an inventory stocker will need different training than your lead cashier. Your inventory stocker will need to know where each item goes, how many units to put on the shelf at one time, and how to place items in a visually appealing way. On the other hand, your lead cashier will need to be an expert on your point of sale (POS) system and tackling customer service issues as they come up. Be sure to teach each role’s specific ins and outs to your team so they know exactly what’s expected of them for their role.
Sources
https://www.linkedin.com/advice/1/what-top-mistakes-avoid-when-developing-retail-y8jdf
https://www.retaildoc.com/blog/8-mistakes-that-kill-your-retail-sales-training-and-how-to-fix-them
https://www.lightspeedhq.com/blog/the-dos-and-donts-of-retail-employee-training
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