By David Brown, President and Co-Founder, Edge Retail Academy
Published in The Retail Jeweler
Regardless of the size of your business, having a store manager can be an effective way of delegating management tasks and easing your own workload. Recognizing that a management hire is different from hiring an ordinary staff member is a key part of making the right decision.
Generally, a manager will either be promoted from within the current staff ranks or hired from an outside source. The advantage of an internal promotion is you are well aware of the employee’s performance and attitude which will ideally transfer to the new position. What you may not know is their ability to cope with extra responsibilities. The Peter Principle states that employees get promoted to their level of incompetence. This means that someone will continue to progress up the hierarchy until they reach the level that they can go no further. Unfortunately, this may mean that they have reached a level where they lose effectiveness.
The other disadvantage with promoting internally is that you may lose an effective performer at their current level. It often seems logical to promote the best salesperson to become head of the sales team, yet the skills required to manage other staff are totally different than the skills needed to sell effectively. This may have a double negative effect, in the sense that you could create a poor manager and lose your best
salesperson at the same time.
When hiring a new manager its important to run through a number of key criteria that you should consider before finalizing the hire.
- Know what you want.
Waiting to see what turns up is not the ideal situation. Picture the perfect manager in your head. What skills and attributes would they need to have? What would not be ideal in a manager and would not be acceptable? - Consider getting some personality analytics done.
There are a host of tools available that can make the process of second guessing who you hire so much easier. Personality assessments will show you their strengths and weaknesses ahead of finding out firsthand. - Be clear on how the business operates.
You will need to explain clearly your operations, your strengths and weaknesses. A good candidate will want to know about your business, and you should be prepared to answer. - Cast a wide net.
Consider all the places a potential candidate might be and make sure you’re promoting your position accordingly. Social media and websites like Linked In can uncover potential managers in areas that traditional media can’t. - Consider headhunting.
If you’ve seen an effective manager elsewhere then consider approaching them. Your chances of transferring their success to your business is much greater. - Make the interview count and consider more than one.
Interviews are the most important part of the process and you should consider having more than one with the best candidates. - Follow up on references.
Always check references, preferably by phone. More can be gleaned from a conversation than will ever be revealed in a written reference - Determine you are willing to let go.
If it’s the first time hiring a manager, then you’ll need to implement a clear job description and areas of responsibility. One of the biggest frustrations for managers is being given no clear responsibilities that they can perform unhindered
Hiring is an important part of the employment process and care and attention should be given to it, especially when the candidate is a manager. One of the best questions to ask former employers can be “Would you hire them again?” The hesitation that might follow can tell you more than anything else they might say!
David Brown is President of the Edge Retail Academy. If you would like more information or strategies on this topic, contact us! The Edge Retail Academy is a highly effective jewelry industry consulting company that provides customized strategies for retailers and vendors to increase profits, optimize growth, reduce debt, create profitable inventory solutions, build effective teams and enhance brand loyalty and profitability. The Academy is committed to helping jewelry businesses improve their bottom line while reducing uncertainty and stress. Edge Retail Academy software and the unique talent pool of their business advisors provide real world knowledge and advice for guaranteed results, all on a “no-contract” basis. 877-569-8657, ext. 1, Inquiries@EdgeRetailAcademy.com or www.edgeretailacademy.com
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