2/5/08 Reading Summary
What I have really liked about the positions I have worked in is that they were constantly changing. Nothing really ever stayed the same and just when you thought there was nothing else to learn, something familiar would completely change. My time in retail was heavy on training, and although the topics were typically soft skill related we needed to be great at those soft skills. Customer service was always a huge skill to have and as a manager leadership was another vital factor.
While working for a retail company that wasn’t as established as they hope to be, there was always room for change. We would get trained on one type of customer skill set, apply it, then receive training on a whole new outlook on customer service just months later. Customer service represents a large portion of your company’s image and if the company wanted to change their perception then the customer service skills would have to change too.
In the retail world, ultimately your success is determined by your sales; and along with customer service, store leadership helps drive those sales. Similar to our customer service training, everything was heavily based on real life scenarios. What would you do if a customer came in requesting this product? How would you boost you store’s morale if sales were down for the month? Transfer of training is extremely important in a retail environment and they really used this practice. Shortly after a training session, your skills were put to the test. You’re observed in the scenarios you practiced and constatnly reminded of the training you received. When given training, an outcome is expected and how you apply your training is measured a number of ways.
While in retail I have worked in a satellite store, and in a store that was part of a group within a certain area. The biggest advantage to working in a store that was part of a group, was that you could offer support to each other. We were in constant communication with each other as to what training was working the best and how other things could be tweaked. Everyone had an idea of what store’s weaknesses and strengths were, and worked well off of the ideas we constantly shared.
A job becomes very stagnant when the learning stops. It’s easy to become less interested in what you are doing or even care. The application of training helps give a purpose to what you are doing and eventually makes you a better employee.