The new offices, added onto the 52-store chain's distribution center (a former ball-bearing factory), include a spacious lobby with high ceilings and open, functional work areas. Set behind the initial lobby of workspaces is a full-scale mock c-store with forecourt and parked cars. Completed late [image-nocss] last year at a cost of $4 million, the 30,000-square-foot addition houses its executive, operational, accounting, marketing and human resources departments.
In addition to its aesthetic impact, Bill Nolan, vice president of marketing for Family Express said the setup serves a functional purpose. When marketing people want to test the logistics of a new gondola or item set, he or she can simply walk over to the store and review measurements as if in a real store. A trip of about three-to-five miles is now unnecessary.
"It's functional," said Nolan. "It's 30 seconds from the desk where you're meeting with a supplier to look at the total staging. From a marketing [perspective], that's valuable."
Also, people from different departments now have easy access to each other, simplifying communications, he added.
In its totality, everything from the full-blown c-store to the art on the walls, the redesigned space is meant to inspire creativity and innovation, said Gus Olympidis, president and CEO of Family Express. "This is a facility that underscores the fact that we like our customers," he said.
Part of the renovation includes a training space complete with state-of-the-art teleconferencing equipment. Upgrading the program with the training rooms, equipment and instructional materials would ultimately cost $700,000, but it's an investment to improve store-level consistency and reduce turnover (which is already 42% on average and zero in many stores; the industry as a whole faces triple-digit rates).
The training facility is set up for both growth and consistency, able to handle large groups for start-up and replacement-staff trainings or multi-store communications for broader updates.
The goal, Olympidis said, is to bridge the obstacle of distance with regards to training, so that even if staff members are already in the field they can continue to train and retrain without having to go to the main office. "It's about building relationships and extending kindness," said Kris Condon, the company's director of human resources, "even if they're not kind to you."
"It's going beyond saying, 'Hi'," Gus said. Building trust and diffusing conflict are goals, but the bigger picture can be considered anthropological. "We capitalize on [our customers' natural], tribal inclination'to belong' by treating them as neighbors," he said. "It's hard for someone to feel that they belong if they are not recognized. So, our greetings have to come from the heart. It has to be genuine or it risks becoming an irritant."
[Editor's Note: For more on Family Express and its innovative perspective--including the chain's "hybrid" distribution model focused on perishables--look for the May cover feature of CSP magazine. And for CSP TV coverage of this unique operation, click here.]
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