Gap Stores
have introduced a new strategy for dealing with its employees which has reaped
huge rewards for little expenditure and may have relevance for market trading.
According to
an article in Inc. Magazine, Gap conducted a trial in 28 of its stores pitting “control
stores” against those which introduced consistent work schedules for their employees.
Traditional wisdom said that keeping employees “on their toes” with “lean
and mean” staffing arrangements was the way to go. This study proved otherwise.
A number of measures were introduced to give employees more surety –
1. Managers were no longer able to
change shifts at very short notice.
2. As many employees as possible were
given guaranteed hours per week.
3. Rosters were posted at least 2 weeks
in advance.
4. Consistent start and end times for
shifts.
5. Rostering more staff for peak
periods.
The stores
that embraced the more predictable work environment achieved a 7% productivity
increase which was worth a staggering $3million to Gap.
Now, we
mentioned a possible relevance to market traders and here is the connection.
Traders are required to perform an incredible variety of different tasks in
their small businesses ranging from the bottom of the pile (cleaning and other
menial tasks) to more high level things like forward planning, business loans
and leases, bulk buying contracts, and so on. Getting some structure and predictability
in place is important for efficient operation and the more we fragment and
create uncertainty, the less efficient we are going to be.
Traders are
constantly crying out for direction and surety. The whole debate over tenure is
based on that desire for surety. Things like renewal are always going to throw a spanner
in the works, and innovation will always have an unpredictable element, but the easier we can make that process, the more productive we
can be. Sometimes traders don’t help that process with their own complications
and sometimes it is apparent lack of empathy from management that is the
culprit.
Maximising
surety in the retail environment is not easy but if the Gap experience is any
guide, the rewards for all participants might be substantial.