I used to work in retail many moons ago and I can tell you one thing for sure. If you are a boss, you better be nice to your associates on the way up, because you will be seeing them on the way down. So many feel that once they get into a position of power they can do whatever they want. They can treat their associates any way they feel they want to.
I have got news for you, this is not a good habit to get into.
I can tell you from experience that your employees will respond more positively, if they feel as if they are really part of a team. I have known too many that assume they can get by with just about anything. When you are a boss you need to make your employees feel that they have a job worth staying for. They need to feel that they are appreciated, not the other way around.
If an associate feels there is nothing keeping them in a job or it’s not worth the pay, they will find a way to leave. Over the few years that I worked in retail I posed many questions to many individuals. Not just the people I worked with, but the customers I helped.
Each of them wants to feel as if they are a part of the team.
- A customer wants to know that their concerns are being listened too: not just falling on deaf ears.
- An associate wants to know that he or she is valued: not looked upon as some street walker that is prostituting themselves out for the bottom line of the company.
- When speaking with some of the employees they all said the same thing.We want raises and bonuses every once in a while.
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They want to know that their hard work is valued and that they are doing a good job, regardless of what is happening. An employee doesn’t want a boss that only gives them praise when they do something that will fills the companies bottom line.
In retail, when working for many establishments, you are responsible for taking care of the customers and getting credit. If your boss only gives you praise when you get credit and not any other time, this is a bad sign. I worked for one store in particular and their credit solicitation was beyond belief. They cared more about that than they cared about treating their employees with respect and dignity.
When you didn’t get credit you were trashed openly. If you carry this course of action on for too long, or at all, their mental and physical well-being will suffer in the long run.
Ladies and gentleman, this is no way to treat those you work with.
Paying your employees in food, rather than a bonus, is also not the best way to show you care. This is an avoidance and manipulation factor and nothing more. You are filling your associates with food in hopes that they won’t notice what you are doing. I have got news for you, the smart ones do notice what is going.
Now some of you may not even give this a second thought, I have met and worked with many who have operated like this. But you will care when all of your best employees have walked and you are stuck with those who don’t know how to do the job properly.
The smart ones find a way to get out, before it’s too late.
If you are thinking of a career in retail management (or management in general) or if you already on that path, just be weary of your actions. It will mean the difference between keeping your employees in a hostile work environment and eventually losing them.
