Turning Brand Vision into Store Execution

Turning Brand Vision into Store ExecutionThe Vital Role Store Managers Play and How Retailers Can Unlock Their Value

A WBR Digital Whitepaper Presented in Partnership with Square Root

2 • Turning Brand Vision into Store Execution

The retail environment continues to shift, with e-commerce sales continuing to grow. Even though large retailers like Amazon and Walmart are disrupting the in-store experience, brick-and-mortar stores are here to stay. However, in order to successfully engage and delight customers, stores need to be as agile and adaptable as their online counterparts.

In retail, corporate leaders own responsibility of the success of all stores in aggregate. To transform stores and improve performance, they set sales strategies, promotions, and in-store design schemes. These strategies are then largely communicated not by those

setting the strategy, but by District Managers. Then, further down the chain, Store Managers are responsible for the day-to-day execution of these strategies. As you can see, a clear gap exists between the strategy being set by corporate and the Store Managers.

How much do corporate leaders actually know about the way their Store Managers work? What does the relationship between District Managers and Store Managers look like? And how do those Store Managers feel about their jobs? These are the questions we will analyze, and the answers will point toward new ways retail brands can help make their stores more efficient and profitable.

Now more than ever, for retailers to continue to successfully engage with their market, they have to master the in-store customer relationship.

Executive Summary

ContentsExecutive Summary .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................2

Key Findings ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................3

Research Findings

Support Structures and Job Satisfaction ................................................................................................................................................................................................3

Store Managers’ Daily Challenges ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................7

Aligning the Enterprise, from Corporate to Stores ...............................................................................................................................................................................9

The Need for Enabling Technologies and More Store Associates ................................................................................................................................................ 11

Recommendations ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 14

Appendices .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 15

Square Root ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 16


Key Findings

Research Findings

Store Managers split their time between tactical and strategic roles.

Giving them the tools to focus on implementing corporate strategies and high-level employee management can improve their satisfaction and make their stores more successful.

A key challenge is ensuring Store Managers are able to have their voices heard on the corporate level.

Luckily, three-quarters have the chance to give feedback to their district managers at least once a month. The ability to give feedback to corporate makes retail stores more agile and can reduce turnover.

Loss prevention is one of the biggest challenges faced by Store Managers.

Accounting for inventory takes up a significant share of their time, which in turn can take away from strategic initiatives.

Store Managers need more technology and personnel to give them time back for strategic management duties.

Providing them with the right tools can have a great impact on how aligned they feel with corporate leadership.

Store Managers lead the in-store shopping experience, overseeing the store’s layout, ensuring consistently great customer service, and managing logistics such as inventory, ordering, stocking, and cash management. Their jobs are complex, requiring multidimensional

skillsets that include personnel management, organization, and strategic planning. Executing on those responsibilities can be difficult (for instance, one in five Store Managers find interviewing, hiring, and firing very challenging).

Support Structures and Job Satisfaction

Store Managers say serving their customers is both one of their favorite and least favorite aspects of the job, highlighting the complexities inherent to customer service. What else do Store Managers like? Working with people and leading their teams. What else do they dislike? Their hours and heavy workloads.


Research Findings

Are Store Managers happy with their jobs? An average Net Promoter Score of -19 would indicate that they aren’t. Furthermore, the longer Store Managers are in the role, the lower job satisfaction becomes.

With so much on their plates, Store Managers can use all the support they can get. Frequently, this support comes in the form of District Managers, who are responsible for monitoring and optimizing the performance of the stores in their regions. District Managers act as intermediaries between corporate offices and individual stores, translating corporate initiatives and promotions into store-level realities. In addition, District Managers help address each store’s core business challenges by monitoring key metrics set by corporate leaders and prescribing the right corrective actions.

They also serve as invaluable coaches, providing some of the only training Store Managers will receive in vital leadership and operational competencies. In other words,

District Managers are critical to the success of a given store, as well as the professional development of that store’s Manager.

Our research finds three-quarters of Store Managers meet with District Managers or other corporate representatives at least once a month, yet still feel disconnected. Despite these regular meetings, there remains a severe divide in retail management and corporate culture. Upper management, including corporate leaders and District Managers, tend not to have in-store experience, hindering them from possessing the skills that are essential to leading a retail store and sales team. With 43% of Store Managers reporting that they have been in their positions for at least 6 years, developing a strong corporate culture and support system can have a powerful compounded effect over time.

Three-quarters of Store Managers meet with District Managers or other corporate representatives at least once a month.

How often does a company representative (such as a District Manager) visit your store?

40% Once per month

35% More than once per month

18% Once per quarter

3% 1-2 times per year

3% We do not have a company representative that visits regularly

1% We only communicate by phone or email

“The relationships between District and Store Managers are extremely strong in our environment. We rely heavily upon District Managers to communicate our process, convey the enhancements and opportunities we’re driving, and enhance productivity and sales within the business channel.”

- Dan Carlson, Director of Store Operations, The Home Depot


Research Findings

How long have you been in your current role?

In two years, where do you see yourself?

11% <1 year

20% 1-2 year

26% 3-5 years

33% Happy in my current role

29% In a different role at the same company

19% In a different role at a different company

16% 6-10 years

27% >10 years

12% In the same role at a different company

7% Other

43% of Store Managers have occupied their positions for at least 6 years.

45% of respondents see themselves still in a Store Manager role two years from now.

“District Managers play a key role in field transformation. That role becomes critical to motivate, engage, and inspire Store Managers so they feel like they’re not just executing a plan but have the ability to receive support, coaching, and mentoring from their District Managers. One of the things we have done as part of our field transformation, is review the spans of control to allow District Managers to spend more time in their stores to effectively drive execution, engage, and develop our people. It’s not about just executing a plan, it’s how we lead for our customers and for our team members — to show up differently and ultimately deliver extraordinary customer care in our stores.”

-Andrea Farris, Vice President, Director Retail Systems, Walgreens Co.


The average Net Promoter Score for Store Managers is -19.

Working with people and helping customers are among the best aspects of the job, while the hours demanded are often viewed unfavorably.

What is your favorite thing about your job? What is your least favorite thing about your job?

Research Findings

Average NPS by Tenure

Interestingly enough, respondents reported customers were both one of their favorite and least favorite aspects of their jobs. In other words, customer service can be inherently divided.

Detractor

<1 year

1-2 years

3-5 years

6-10 years

>10 years

NPS

-5

-15

-20

-24

-25

Neutral Promoter


Store Managers’ Daily Challenges

Meeting management obligations geared towards increasing store performance poses a daily challenge to Store Managers. If these challenges are pushed aside it can result in a loss of customers, revenue, and overall brand loyalty. To continuously increase sales and profitably, effective daily management is fundamental to a store’s success. What are the key challenges Store Managers face handling basic store operations? And how do they learn to be effective managers?

Personnel management continues to be the most challenging aspect of a Store Manager’s duties. Unlike managers in other industries, the majority of

In the survey, we asked Store Managers to rate job challenges versus time spent on tasks within three broad categories - Personnel Duties, Performance and Execution, and Strategy and Planning. Across all three categories, loss prevention stood out as the most challenging aspect of a Store Manager’s job. Following closely behind, and representing the remaining two

retail managers do not have a personnel or business management background or degree. If their background or degree is technical, scientific, or artistic, they are not as familiar with tasks such as interviewing, hiring, and firing. Store Managers also face speed bumps maintaining the engagement and motivation of their teams. In reality, retail hours are long and the volume or scheduling of hours can be unpredictable. Furthermore, a Store Manager’s team is likely to be made up of part-time or inexperienced employees, so maximizing productivity, motivation, and engagement will continue to be one of the most important aspects of the management and leadership role.

categories, was hiring employees and setting store strategy. Unsurprisingly, in terms of time, the bulk of retail managers’ obligations lie in the Performance and Execution category. The top three most time consuming tasks for store managers are customer service, managing inventory, and merchandising product. Given this, not many hours are dedicated to strategy and planning.

“Every leadership role is accountable for diversity, talent, and leadership development. If stores want to create an extraordinary customer experience, we need to train, coach, and mentor all the team members in the stores to put the customers right at the center and continue to find ways to go above and beyond for them.”

- Andrea Farris, Vice President, Director Retail Systems, Walgreens Co.

“Our job at the support office is constantly looking for ways to free up time for team members to spend with their customers. We need to eliminate non value added work and provide our team members with the right tools to do their job more effectively and efficiently.”


“As with any retail business, product is easy to manage from the shelf to the customer. The real challenge is in the interactions with store teams. Store Managers are critical there – how are they able to motivate their teams, promote accountability, and handle conflict? We help Store Managers do all that partly through our corporate culture, by promoting an entrepreneurial spirit that encourages staff to do what’s right for the customer. We rely on our Store Managers to drive that culture and that value-based system in each of their locations.”


Research Findings


Personnel Duties

Performance & Execution

Interviewing, hiring, firing

Creating and modifying labor schedules

Dealing with personnel issues

Training employees

Loss prevention

Meeting with suppliers

Facilities compliance and maintenance

Customer service

Inventory, ordering and stocking

Store merchandising

Cash management

Research Findings

The most challenging aspects of the job and the time spent on each of them:

Store strategy

Rolling out new corporate initiatives/promotions

Meeting with district managers

Marketing and promotions

Performance analysis and reporting for corporate

Not Very Challenging

Somewhat Challenging

<2 hours

2-5 hours

6-10 hours

11-15 hours

Strategy & Planning

>15 hours Very Challenging

Strategic planning does not command much time or attention from Store Managers, whose time is mostly spent on logistical and executional duties.

For Store Managers, personnel management stands out as one of the most difficult responsibilities. However, relative to their other duties, Store Managers are spending less time managing their teams.

While loss prevention stands alone as their most difficult logistical obligation, customer service is a Store Manager’s biggest time commitment — by far. Most Store Managers are not meeting much with suppliers, but they are spending a good deal of their time on inventory, ordering, and setting up displays.


Research Findings

Aligning the Enterprise, from Corporate to Stores

Many retail brands still struggle with enterprise-wide alignment. Scattered stores, decentralized operations, and complex hierarchies can hamper corporate leaders’ ability to accurately convey strategy and messaging down to the store level. These challenges also make it more difficult for brands to provide consistent experiences across all stores – as well as to align the in-store and digital shopping experiences.

Many corporate offices are working to bridge this communication gap through retreats and other initiatives meant to bring Store Managers into the strategic conversation. The increasing capabilities and efficiencies driven by technology is also bringing

Store Managers closer to corporate leaders than ever before. New software enables corporate-level staff to collaborate more directly with store staff by communicating and tracking daily business operations. Corporate leaders can now deliver strategic imperatives through global store management platforms – that makes messaging more cohesive and deliverable in real-time, allowing retailers to react better to changing market conditions. Finally, cutting-edge devices like tablets and wearables put all this information right at Store Managers’ fingertips, making the information immediately actionable and helping to bridge the gap between the in-store and digital shopping experiences.

How are you collaborating with your Store Managers?

Transparency Tallie Kawahara | Soma Intimates“Every year we bring all of our Store Managers together with our corporate leadership team to align on our purpose for the year. The Store Managers get to hear all of the leaders speak from the Heads of Stores to the CIO, CFO and CEO to hear our strategy for the year along with everything else that is happening in our 3 amazing brands. We always involve our store teams in our company goals taking them through brand strategy and then highlighting which pieces will be customer-facing because our belief is our store leaders are the most critical role in our organization. We always prioritize feedback from Store Managers and use it as our filter in decision making — I even have an email address that comes straight to me so they can provide anonymous feedback.”

Simplicity Dan Carlson | The Home Depot

“We want to continue to simplify for our stores, to remove the complexities of the rapidly-changing retail world so our store staff can focus on execution. The challenge will be doing that as the lines between commerce channels blur. Technology will help us do that, but it’s a constant challenge to stay ahead of the dramatically changing retail landscape.”

Collaboration Andrea Farris | Walgreens Co.“We continue to work on improving the connection between our team members in the stores and the support office. We’ve made progress over the last few years and we launched a recent initiative called, ‘Field Transformation’ to focus our field leadership on engagement, execution, experience and efficiency, and work together to achieve the shared goals that we have at corporate, as well as in the stores. We need to leverage and empower the leadership in the field to make that connection.”

Growth Chris Taylor | Square Root

“We believe that when Store Managers are empowered by data, they grow as leaders. Understanding their store’s performance relative to other stores, having the ability to share best practices with other store leaders, and driving accountability and action with store associates in meaningful and measureable ways elevates the store manager from tactical executor to strategic growth partner.”


How do you feel about corporate performance expectations and branding consistency?

How do you feel about your collaboration with other Managers and stores?

Agree

Agree

Our company provides a consistent brand experience across all stores

Our company’s in-store brand experience is consistent with the online brand experience

Corporate provides me with the information I need to be successful at my job

The amount of things corporate has asked me to do is achievable

I understand how my store performs compared to other stores

I often share best practices with other store managers

My District Manager has my best interests in mind and advocates for me with corporate

My District Manager and I are on the same page

Somewhat agree

Somewhat agree

Disagree

Disagree

Research Findings

Store Managers are concerned they do not have enough time to accomplish everything that is asked of them, and at times they question their brands’ consistency across stores.

While Store Managers generally have open lines of communication with other stores, they do not necessarily feel connected to their District Managers (or to corporate).

“Before we roll out a new initiative, we pilot it first with our store teams to get their feedback. We take their input seriously, and it always influences our decisions. We want to be sure that everything we do incorporates the voice of our stores. Any company that is not listening to their store teams has their priorities in the wrong place.”

- Tallie Kawahara, VP Stores, Soma Intimates


Research Findings

Store Managers understand how they can improve the performance of their stores, but they cite the need for more time to manage their workloads.

How do you feel about your daily execution of your core tasks?

Agree

I understand the actions I need to take to improve my store’s performance

I know how to prioritize and delegate tasks that corporate has asked me to do

I feel equipped/empowered to make decisions and act quickly

My employees understand the actions I need them to take to improve store performance

We have a way to hold people and teams accountable for in-store issues

I have the needed number of store associates to succeed

I have enough time to successfully manage my workload

Somewhat agree Disagree

“We consider ourselves a store support center, rather than a corporate office. We do whatever we can do here to absorb complexity for our stores so they can focus more on taking care of our customers and building the relationships that lead to repeat business.”


The Need for Enabling Technologies and More Store Associates

With so many responsibilities under their purview, Store Managers need the right mix of tools and technologies to efficiently manage store operations, track performance, and collaborate with District Managers and corporate leaders. According to our research, Store Managers use a whole host of tools to accomplish their goals. Those tools run the technological gamut from innovative services like third party software solutions, to old-fashioned pen and paper. Unfortunately, using this assortment of systems and tools can be inefficient, and in many cases only around half of the Store Managers surveyed said that they have the right mix of tools to do their jobs well.

Additionally, many retail brands are using proprietary systems to help store staff manage their many responsibilities. Although proprietary systems can serve vital operational needs, they can be difficult to scale across numerous store locations. Additionally, they’re often inadequate in solving a central challenge: improving communication between corporate and stores. In fact, more than a quarter of Store Managers say that their system of communication between them and the corporate office is are inefficient, underlining the need for all-encompassing solutions that streamline reporting, communication, and operations management.


Store Managers see a definite need for better, more efficient tools and more rigorous training.

Do you have the tools and technologies you need to be successful?

Agree

We have efficient systems for tracking/reporting compliance issues

I have access to information across all stores (including online) to fulfill in-store client requests

I have all the tools and training I need to be successful in my job

My employees have all the tools and training they need to be successful in their jobs

We have efficient systems of communication between corporate and stores

Somewhat agree Disagree

Research Findings

Comprehensive store relationship management platforms also provide another key benefit: automated, accurate data capture. By eliminating manual reporting and data entry, these platforms make it much easier to understand store-level sales trends, refine goals, and change tactics.

While technology is opening up all new opportunities for Store Managers to work more efficiently and collaboratively, there is still a lot of value in manpower.

When asked what they needed to get their store to perform better, Store Managers overwhelmingly responded that they needed more store associates. In fact, 51% of the Store Managers surveyed cited the need for more manpower, as compared with the 31% who asked for new software. This indicates that it is not just enabling technologies that Store Managers need, but also some extra time to use those technologies.

“We would like for all of our people to be more focused on the performance of the business as a whole, rather than concentrating on individual sites or commerce channels. That will take investment and a better organizational understanding of how our different stores and channels can influence one another.”

- Kurt Rachdorf, Senior Director, Brand Retail Operations, LEGO

“We want people to be leaders, not managers. So we’re trying to find ways to automate management tasks, since we can’t automate the leadership and motivational component. Last year we implemented a new point of sale system that will hopefully take some of the reporting and auditing requirements that our stores were doing and automate it through an exception-based reporting module. We’re also looking into tablet-based field management apps that can help to automate these audits. The goal is to reduce the amount of time our leaders spend reviewing and scheduling so they can focus on working with their teams and emphasizing executional objectives.”

- Kurt Rachdorf, Senior Director, Brand Retail Operations, LEGO


Store Managers have access to a wide array of tools and technologies, although for the most part, only around half believe those tools are the right ones.

More store associates is a top priority.

What tools do you use to manage the following aspects of your job?

3rd party software

Tool developed by my company’s IT department

Labor scheduling

Point-of-sale

Inventory management

Corporate communication

Customer relationship management

Finance/financial reporting

Compliance and audits

Sales and sales reporting

Employee training

N/A Pen & paper Proprietary internal system

To make my store perform better, I wish I had more/better:

56% Associates

31% Software

29% Training

22% Strategic direction

20% Hardware

13% On-site leadership from district managers

Research Findings


Key Recommendations

Make leadership the #1 responsibility of Store Managers by freeing up their time.

Staff development is an integral part of a Store Manager’s daily responsibilities, making leadership ability an important quality to foster. Store Managers need access to the right technologies so they are able to easily automate and simplify workflows, freeing up time to focus on leadership. Strong managers allow other employees to contribute more effectively to operational procedures, product training, and most importantly, customer service excellence. Building out the leadership skill set of a great Store Manager ultimately makes their stores more efficient, as well as better stewards of the corporate brand.

Focus on operational excellence to drive brand consistency, customer experience, and sales.

A companywide strategy focusing on the quality of operational excellence will drive brand consistency, customer experience, and ultimately impact sales. Concurrently, dependable operational procedures will aid in retail control of shrink and loss prevention, one of the key issues identified from our survey respondents. Implementing effective procedures, establishing corporate and store level management initiatives, focusing on internal and external theft, and conducting regular in-store audits will help to improve operational compliance. Simultaneously, Store Managers need to promote organizational

standards and ensure all team members are aware of the loss prevention best practices and procedures. Retail stores are finding new and improved ways to stay ahead of the curve, so it’s imperative for Store Managers to show the added value these procedures have across the enterprise.

Clearly define KPIs and measure them regularly to gauge store performance.

For Store Managers and other team members, measuring well defined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and overall reporting are vital gauges of store performance. However, retail organizations often don’t maintain an effective and actionable set of KPIs. Store Managers feel this is because the tools and technologies they use are disparate, and don’t have the capabilities or functionality for quality reporting.

Technology plays a huge role in this, and the right technology brings new approaches to process improvements. A single management tool enables corporate to have consistent messaging across an organization as a whole, getting corporate, field, and stores on the same page by uncovering the strengths and weaknesses of each store. It allows District Managers to support corporate culture, and Store Managers to support store execution and reporting — by identifying opportunities and clear plans-of-action, showing relative performance across similar stores, and distilling in-store observations for leadership.

“Technology plays a key role, mobile technology especially. Instead of being in the office looking over reports or multiple applications designed for a desktop environment, we need to make the information accessible at any time, on any device type so Store Managers can spend more time on the sales floor interacting with customers, supporting team members and ultimately championing everyone’s right to be happy and healthy.”



Appendix A: Methodology For this report, Square Root surveyed more than 1,000 Store Managers representing a variety

of industries. Survey participants included professionals with responsibility for developing and implementing sales, marketing, and operations initiatives on store levels. The stores represented were mostly corporate-owned or franchises. Survey responses were collected from March through May of 2016.

Appendix B: Demographic Information

Store Managers’ Supervisors

Store Ownership

Which best describes your store?

87% Area/regional manager

6% Other

5% Franchise owner/dealership owner

2% Myself

83% Corporate-owned

9% Other

6% Franchised

2% Not sure

15% Other

13% Apparel

13% Grocery & convenience

11% Drug, health & beauty

6% Misc. specialty

5% Discount & variety

5% Discount department

5% Furniture & home accessories

4% Hope improvement

3% Shoe

3% Department

3% Auto & marine parts

Appendices

3% Hobby, craft & toy

3% Electronics

3% Luxury, jewelry & accessories

2% Quick service restaurant

2% Sporting goods

1% Full service restaurants


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A special thank you to our research partner, Square Root, whose vision and expertise helped make this report possible. Square Root, an Austin-based Software as a Service (SaaS) company, creates technology solutions that power data-driven decision making for leading automotive and retail enterprises. Built for companies with distributed retail networks, Square Root’s store relationship management platform, CoEFFICIENT®,

WBR Digital produces quality content and digital campaigns for high-performing businesses across a wide range of industries. See how you can put our team of content specialists and marketers to work for your business.

delivers actionable data insights to align organizations, increase transparency, encourage collaboration, and improve store performance. Founded in 2006, Square Root has been bootstrapped to success, and serves as a trusted partner to many of the most well-known and complex enterprises in the world.

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Turning Brand Vision into Store Execution

Retail

Transcript of Turning Brand Vision into Store Execution