By Megan Moyer, corporate marketing manager, for the “Profits in the front end” blog series
Getting your staff involved in generating and implementing ideas for your store is a great way to get them invested in the success of the store and empower them to think creatively to find ways to build the business, which ultimately benefits you all.
What have you implemented to help your employees feel comfortable bringing new ideas to you? A suggestion box? Maybe you make it a point to touch base with each employee separately on a regular basis. Or do you have a regular staff meeting where you set aside time
for anyone to offer their ideas? (It can be intimidating to share your ideas in front of a group, so do have another option for those who may not be comfortable in that situation.)
When there are suggestions that have promise or potential, involve the team member that suggested it in vetting it. You can coach them on what they have to consider and find out in order for you to make a decision whether to pursue it or not. For instance, if there was an idea for merchandising your endcaps, let the employee do the research and analysis and provide you with an outline or a plan to determine product needed, potential revenue and how you can promote it. Perhaps another has an idea for adding automated messages to your phone system to promote specials and programs while your patients are on hold. Have them look into vendors, costs, flexibility, and integration with your system.
You may need to set aside time during their shift so they can accomplish the legwork or if you expect them to conduct the research outside of work, tie an incentive to the extra effort they will be putting in.
Let your employees know:
- Not every idea will be implemented
- They may have to look outside their area of expertise to get all the pieces of the puzzle
- They will need to determine and gain an understanding of the return on investment
If the idea is implemented, since it was their idea, your team member will be truly committed to making it work, and, hopefully, other employees will support them by trying to make it work as well. There are plenty of benefits to be gained:
- Employee loyalty improves when they are invested in the success of the business
- Morale skyrockets when they know their ideas will be considered
- Sales increase, or operations are streamlined, or jobs are made easier
- Team relationships strengthen
- You get time back when you give employees license to investigate their ideas themselves
- Your customers notice the changes, and their shopping experience improves because of them
You know the saying, “two heads are better than one?” Well, more than two heads are exponentially better than that. Give employees a chance to flex their creativity and expand their skills. If an idea doesn’t pan out, surely something valuable was learned along the way and relationships were strengthened from the exercise itself.
