Staff are a vital part of running any kind of shop. The more outlets you have and the more people you employ, the more attention it deserves, because when something goes wrong the effects ripple a long way and can do real damage to the business.
So as an owner, how do you manage your shop floor staff effectively — help them work to their full potential, enjoy the job, and stay honest rather than being tempted into dishonesty in the roles you have given them? Here are five keys to managing shop floor staff. Follow them and they will transform the way you manage your people, and help the business grow in leaps.
1. Hire people with the right experience and skills
The first key to managing shop floor staff well starts somewhere simple: with who you hire. Being willing to put time and effort into interviewing, so as to pick people whose knowledge, skills and experience fit the role, is one of the surest ways to be confident that the person you take on will know what they are doing and do the job well. The skills most shop floor staff need are selling, communication and negotiation, thinking on their feet, and a proper understanding of the products or services being sold.
2. Build a good attitude in your workplace
The next key to managing shop floor staff is attitude, because how people think shapes how they come across — in their expression, their words and their body language. Instil in everyone a service mind: a readiness to look after customers, a smile, a friendly and approachable manner, and a willingness to advise or help at any moment.
Beyond a service mind, do not forget to keep building optimism and a can-do attitude in your staff, so they feel able to try new things and keep stretching what they are capable of. That positive energy lifts the atmosphere in every shop and every branch, and over time it helps everyone work together happily — and pass that happiness on to customers.
3. Set clear goals and listen to what your staff think
The next strategy is setting goals and listening to your staff with an even-handed, fair mind. That way everybody sees the same picture of what the business is working towards, everybody pulls in the same direction, and you lay the foundations of a good company culture for the future.
Staff opinions are something many organisations overlook, but they matter every bit as much as management's, because staff are the people doing the actual work, meeting the actual customers and seeing the actual problems as they arise in each branch. Listening to them with an open, even-handed mind will give you solutions that hit the real problem and hold up over time — and it makes staff feel respected, so they want to stay with you.
4. Pay your staff properly
Naturally, when people have given a job everything they have, they expect pay worth the effort, along with benefits — annual leave, health insurance, a yearly trip. So the next key to managing shop floor staff, as an owner, is paying and looking after your people properly. Never let them feel their employer is taking advantage of them, and remember a small bonus at festival times to keep them motivated.
5. Use a POS to keep a close eye on how your staff are working
The last key is using a point of sale system, which makes your staff's work easier and lets you oversee what everyone in every branch is doing: payments through all the different channels, stock checks by branch, sales analysis, a membership scheme, right through to shaping the marketing strategy that will lift sales and profit. It is two birds with one stone — good for keeping an eye on your staff and good for running the shop.
Make your shop run better and keep an eye on how your staff are working, anywhere and at any time, with a shop management system, the best all-in-one POS from Qashier. It helps you run the shop, manage your staff's work, check stock and finances and handle ingredients more efficiently, with every branch covered and a team on hand to help quickly, seven days a week. For more information, reach us on LINE Official: @qashier.th or call 02-544-0267