LAS VEGAS — It’s no secret that convenience retailers and companies in other industries have struggled to maintain full employment rolls in recent years. So it’s no surprise that hiring, training and leading staff were high on the list of workshop and general session topics during the NACS Show in Las Vegas this month.
Here are five insights into the issue that CSP editors gleaned from the sessions they attended …
The Face of Hiring
Connecting the varying pieces of a hiring campaign has been a successful tactic for Racetrac. Nicole Kuhl, brand director for the Atlanta-based fuel and convenience retailer, said she shares the same positive testimonial from employees—including a headshot—across mobile, billboard, social-media and the chain's own website advertising to draw new applicants. Kuhl said this consistency between types of advertisements makes customers familiar with the featured employees. Customers can follow their growth through the company.
Employee Feedback
Retaining c-store employees is difficult. And sometimes finding a solution is as easy as asking, according to general session speaker Scott Stratten of Unmarketing Inc. He encouraged c-store leaders to ask their frontline workers three things:
- What should the company start doing?
- What should it stop doing?
- What should the company continue doing to get employees to stay?
And for the most direct answers, accept the answers on an anonymous basis.
Respecting Employees
More from Stratten on retaining employees: “I’ve heard, ‘Nobody wants to work anymore.” Not true. They just don’t want to work for you.” People are realizing they don’t have to work for low pay with low morale, “and that’s an issue [employers] don’t seem to grasp sometimes,” Stratten said. “Just because they’re younger doesn’t mean they should be treated that way. … A leader’s job is to use their shield to push things out of way so employees can do their jobs.”
Personality & Leadership
Merrick Rosenberg, CEO of Take Flight Learning, breaks down personality traits into four styles: the eagle, parrot, dove and owl.
The eagle is confident, direct and result-oriented. A parrot is fun, outgoing and an optimist. A dove is harmonious, a listener, caring and compassionate. And the owl is thoughtful, logical, systematic and precise. And while everyone thinks their own way is the right way to work and manage others, an owl managing a team of parrots might lead the parrots feeling frustrated, or vice versa, he said.
“Our challenge is not just to really work within our own style so we are comfortable, but to create an environment for the people around us so they are comfortable,” Rosenberg said. “If I’m talking to the dove, I have to soften the words. If I’m talking to the owl, be factual. If I’m talking to the parrot, dial up the energy. If you’re talking to the eagle, get to the point.”
Dealing With Angry Customers
De-escalating a situation in a convenience store with an irate customer is a skill everyone in the c-store industry should be trained in, said Travis Goff, director of risk management at Salt Lake City-based Maverik. “Employees should always care about their own safety first, they should use verbal de-escalation techniques and they should have respectful empathy and be trained to understand the customer,” he said.
In an example of a sub shop customer furious because the store was out of meatballs, Goff, said, “Validate why the customer is upset and humanize the person you’re dealing with. Offer empathy and respectful validation.”