RSR Research: Getting Store Buy-in for Workforce Optimization - Lessons Learned
Through a special arrangement, what follows is an excerpt of a current article from Retail Paradox, RSR Research's weekly analysis on emerging issues facing retailers, presented here for discussion.
I attended KronosWorks last week, where several Kronos for Retail customers presented on their implementations of workforce management. Most focused on implementing forecasting and scheduling, and while they ranged from grocery to big box specialty to small independents, and they were all in various stages of implementation - some had barely started testing, others were well into rollout - several common themes emerged among the speakers. These weren't themes about the technology solutions so much as cultural and change management themes. And while some of the lessons are old lessons, they were all good ones:
Use the implementation to standardize workforce management processes. Several speakers emphasized the importance of going through process re-engineering before implementing. They used this step to make sure that the process is consistent across the chain - a potential risk when it comes to making sure that legally required policies and actions are enforced. It also helped make sure that responsibilities are aligned to the right people.
Put store managers on the project team. Several retailers mentioned that they had store managers on the project team. And even though it was challenging to make that happen, they emphasized that it helped tremendously with project success. In the case of a large grocer, it deliberately chose the biggest complainer about in-store technology projects. By co-opting the potential biggest saboteur and turning him into an advocate, the grocer eliminated what could have been a big roadblock to project success.
Make sure store managers have the right skill sets. Another large grocer recognized that the new emphasis on skills-based scheduling would require very different behavior from managers. Store managers might not have the right skill sets to make the most of the tools, so the retailer developed a very extensive training program - most stores received training and high levels of support for 6-8 weeks.
It's not possible to over-communicate to stores about the implementation. When one larger grocery retailer that had long operated on fixed shifts moved towards schedule optimization and more flexible shifts, heavy emphasis was placed on the value of employees getting to express their preferences and easier ways to cover, swap, and request days off. Communications about it were blasted to employees at every turn. When it came time to roll the solution out, the grocer left it up to the regional managers to decide where the training and the rollout was going to fit into all the other things that stores had to do, so that it wasn't a case of "corporate" dictating what would happen.
Discussion Questions: What do you think are some core strategies for improving store implementation of workforce management? What steps should be taken to ensure strong cooperation from store managers as well as the store staff?
[Author's commentary] My biggest take-away from these sessions? We're just on the cusp of realizing the full benefits from workforce management tools - there's still a lot more that can be done. Also, as the data collection and model tweaking gets better, the value of the tools will only increase. The challenge really will be in making sure that "these powers are only used for good," to borrow some comic-book phrasing. As one speaker commented, this is not about trying to balance a two-sided equation, but a three-sided one: cost vs. service vs. productivity. If you squeeze too hard on any one side, the other two will suffer. In today's competitive environment, no retailer can afford to squeeze any of these dimensions.