There are costs associated with electronic payments, but when you consider the risks in terms of employee theft and the extra administration costs, it can be more cost-effective to go cashless. While the terms have slight differences, they basically refer to a single system or piece of software that enables you to connect all inventory and sales data with the added flexibility and accessibility of cloud-based systems particularly useful for those who manage multiple locations.
TIP: Separate or poorly linked systems make it much harder for operators to track inventory and easier for thieves to steal. In addition to promoting social distancing, c-stores need to be designed to prevent theft. Start with a well-organized space and elevated sales counters that offer visibility of the entire space. Adequate lighting inside and out is a vital security measure, while investing in lockable cabinets for vape and tobacco products provides peace of mind. TIP: Create better sightlines by avoiding large or clustered displays.
With attention focused on crisis management of late, some employees could take advantage: Fraud training for senior employees, visible anti-fraud efforts and the promotion of trust and transparency are essential. She can be reached at [email protected].
Limit the number of shoppers in store Limiting the amount of shoppers allowed inside at a given time will prevent your retail store from becoming too crowded. Signage Similar to how at-home security system stickers deter burglars, anti-theft signs can ward off potential retail crime.
Place signs near your storefront or your front door to make it clear that your store is being monitored. This is often the first place that shoppers look and it mitigates privacy concerns. Feature a set of eyes or list the consequences of retail crime fines, jail time etc. Other times, small problems recur incessantly and become part of the fabric of the workplace.
But some small problems fester and grow. Over time, they become large problems. For one thing, solving a problem after it has already festered and grown large is so much more difficult than preventing that problem in the first place, or solving it while it was smaller.
Now much time and energy has to be spent cleaning up the mess and restoring the status quo. For another thing, in the midst of a problem, people are never going to be at their best. The situation is urgent and people are stressed, frustrated, and in a hurry. Many managers fail to deal with problems until they get angry. Sometimes these conversations become heated. On top of all that, employees often feel attacked when they are confronted with a negative assessment of their behavior.
These conversations often come as a shock, as if without warning, especially when the performance in question is a problem that has been festering for some time. Did I spell out expectations clearly? Am I being fair? These conversations are going to be difficult. Most performance improvement conversations are doomed before they even start. These conversations are often followed by hours of fixing, salvaging, and cleaning up to get things back on track. The manager goes right back to his hands-off, under-managing ways, awaiting the next unnecessary crisis, when he will spring into action once again.
Meanwhile, the employee is likely to feel demoralized. There are bad feelings. Sometimes it can be hard to bounce back and start feeling good about the job and the manager again. In many cases, things do get back to normal. But sometimes, especially after a very difficult confrontation between a manager and an employee, the situation goes downhill. The employee might even go into a downward spiral. Do you want to be great at solving performance problems on your loss prevention team?
Do you want to find it downright easy to tell associates when and how they need to improve? If you do, you need to anticipate and avoid one problem after another—and solve small problems whenever they crop up.
If you engage in regular problem solving, nine out of ten performance problems will be solved quickly and easily or will be avoided altogether. In most cases, even long-standing problems will die away under the withering medicine of regular and consistent strong management.
No problem is so small that it should be left alone; small problems too often fester and grow into bigger problems. Sometimes managers are afraid to nitpick.
If you are talking with employees about the details of their work on a regular basis, then talking about small problems— whatever they may be— should be something you do as a matter of course. Solving small problems should be part of your ongoing dialogue with that employee. In this context, nitpicking is a good thing. It sends a message that high performance is the only option, that details matter, and that you are paying close attention.
You are also doing the employee a favor by making her aware of the small problem so that she can fix it or avoid it in the future. Over time, you are doing the employee the added favor of helping her become more detail oriented. This is not about perfectionism.
Perfectionism is the disabling fear of completing a task, dressed up in the pursuit of an illusory quality standard. Zeroing in on small problems is about constant improvement. In the course of regular guidance and direction, addressing one small problem after another is what ongoing performance improvement actually looks like. Constant evaluation and feedback help you revise and adjust your marching orders.
In turn, the employee revises and adjusts her performance. Through this slow, steady progress, you help employees revise and adjust so they can keep practicing and fine-tuning. When you diagnose a performance problem, start focusing intensely in your regular management conversations on spelling out concrete solutions as in these examples.
Tell him to start coming in on time. Talk to him before he has a chance to be tardy again. At the end of his shift today, remind him exactly at what time he is supposed to arrive tomorrow.
Ask him if he is giving himself enough time to get to work in the morning. Give her a checklist of every detail and specification she needs to get right.
Talk it through in advance. Ask her to carry the checklist and check off each detail and specification as she completes them. If an employee is too slow, set a realistic quota of tasks per hour or set realistic short-term deadlines with a clear timetable of benchmarks from beginning to the end. Suggest that she give herself a time limit to complete each task and stick to it. Many of the most vexing employee performance problems seem intangible and therefore difficult to coach employees out of.
A study of self-checkouts with handheld scanners, conducted by criminologists at the University of Leicester, also found evidence of widespread theft. The Leicester researchers concluded that the ease of theft is likely inspiring people who might not otherwise steal to do so. Rather than walk into a store intending to take something, a shopper might, at the end of a trip, decide that a discount is in order.
Whether out of social responsibility or frustration with shrinkage, some retailers, including Albertsons, Big Y Supermarket, Pavilions, and Vons, have scaled back or eliminated self-scanning, at least in some stores. But others continue to add it. Worldwide, self-checkout terminals are expected to number , by next year, up from , in
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