​​Would Recording In-Store Associates Help as a Training Tool?

Ethosphere, a Seattle-based startup that recently secured a new funding round, is launching a retail coaching tool that records the in-store conversations of store associates. The tool then leverages AI to analyze associate performance and offer feedback.

With the Ethosphere platform, store employees wear lightweight, watch-sized microphones during their shifts to record their interactions with customers. To avoid privacy issues, only the employee’s side of the conversation is recorded, not the customer’s.

Tapping LLMs [large language models] and voice AI technology, those conversations are transcribed and assessed on how well the associate follows the retailer’s selling approach — particularly around aspects such as greeting, understanding the customer’s needs, explaining the product, and upselling. The platform then offers praise, as well as suggestions for improvement to further develop selling skills.

Ethosphere said on its website that the platform allows retailers to “deliver unparalleled guidance, in your brand voice, tailored to each associate.”

Examples of such guidance for associates from Ethosphere’s website are shown below:

Evan Smith, Ethosphere’s CEO (and formerly VP, technology strategy and business transformation at Starbucks), told Geekwire that some employees enjoy the gamification element of platform. He also noted that retail’s high turnover rate comes partly due to subpar training and lack of feedback. He said, “Feeling seen, feeling heard, and feeling recognized is really a big piece of the puzzle that, in some respects, is missing in retail.”

For managers, the use of AI promises to “de-bias” how they view their teams, allowing them to better celebrate high performers and understand the weak spots of underperformers. Retailers also gain access to a dashboard, where they may evaluate selling areas in which a store’s team might collectively need more training.

The tool further enables retailers to “comprehend which managers are developing and moving their teams to customer experience greatness.”

Ethosphere told Geekwire the firm is currently working with quick-service restaurants, apparel stores, and luxury shops.

Sri Chandrasekar, managing partner at Point72 Ventures, which led the new funding round, said, “We see their focus on augmenting, not replacing, human interaction as a critical differentiator, making their solution a deeply compelling answer in the evolution of retail.”

Ethosphere: An Evolution of Past Retail Associate Training Tools?

Recording customer conversations for training purposes is already fairly common on customer service calls. On a 2023 Reddit post, a user claiming to be a service rep said they regularly hear feedback on their calls.

The rep wrote, “There is quality control guide that lays out what we should do, and how many points for each segment. (Greeting, 2 points; your name, 2 points; company name, department, offer to help…. confirming customer name, address, email, phone numbers, etc. ) Points can also be deducted for more subjective things like tone, too much silence, keeping caller on hold too long or failing to recognize opportunity to up-sell. If average quality falls below 90% you miss bonuses for the month.”