New standards for the work of the trade department project. Standardization of business processes in the store. Work on writing standards in the working group

From this article you will learn:

  • Why are customer service standards implemented in the company?
  • What are the benefits of using customer service standards
  • How customer service standards are developed in the company
  • How to Effectively Implement Service Standards
  • What kind typical mistakes arise in the development and implementation of customer service standards

Almost every company has sales managers on its staff. And budding entrepreneurs often face the following situation: a manager quits, and his clients “leave” with him. As a rule, this causes serious financial damage to the company, since “their” clients appear with experienced, professional managers. However, even the loss of one or two customers is still unpleasant. As a rule, the loss of customers with the departure of the manager is simply explained - your employee built relationships with the customer on personal sympathy, and not on loyalty to the company as a whole. To avoid this, it is necessary to develop customer service standards for the company.

What are customer service standards

Customer service standards are an internal corporate set of rules that regulate the company's customer service activities, an algorithm for communicating with customers, and general standards for responding to unusual situations. Customer service standard is an integral part corporate standard company work.
How to handle customer objections. Find out in the training program
Customer Service Standards Features

  1. Arrange. The client does not encounter problems, does not see them, which means that he is sure that all employees without exception are professionals who know their business.
  2. To control. It is difficult to evaluate and control the work of each manager if there are no clear evaluation criteria. At the same time, the implementation of the sales plan cannot be the only evaluation parameter; it is necessary to know whether the manager adheres to the standards of customer service adopted in this company.
  3. Adapt. Among other things, the existence of customer service standards simplifies the procedure

Customer service standards are effective if the customer does not see the difference between the work of two (or more) managers, but sees only "branded" service, always the same, regardless of any external factors and circumstances. A customer service standard that has been proven in practice, supported by experience (perhaps even someone else's), created on the basis of analytical research and recognized methods, can be called "golden". It allows you to increase profits, improve the image of the company, attract new customers.

The use of standards is necessary in the following cases:

  • with increased competition;
  • with an increase in the number of complaints from customers about the work of the management service;
  • with an increase in the number of "problem" cases when working with customers or after customers make a purchase;
  • with an increase in the number of "lost" customers due to the fault of the sales department;
  • in the absence of a built-in and logical technology for working with clients;
  • in the absence of a system for evaluating the work of managers, as well as monitoring the quality of work with clients.

What is the purpose of implementing customer service standards in the company

A superficial glance allows you to see only the tip of the iceberg - convenience for the client. For example, a person who goes on a business trip to another city or country should know the main thing - wherever he is, the company will serve him equally well, the process will be familiar to him and will not cause any difficulties. All actions of both the client and the company are predictable. He knows how the company will behave with him, and the organization, in turn, is ready for any of his questions, requests and wishes. However, behind this is the main task of the company - increasing customer loyalty, and, as a result, improving economic performance.
The goals of implementing standards are as follows.

  • For employees with experience: minimize the number of erroneous and unnecessary actions. The result of this will be saving time for each employee (no errors - no need to waste time correcting them). And, as a result, improved performance.
  • For novice employees: customer service standards allow you to transfer necessary knowledge as concisely as possible and in the shortest possible time.
  • For the company: the abolition of dependence on the old-timers. Not all employees who have worked in the company for many years (or even since the day of its foundation) are able to resist the so-called star disease. Possessing knowledge and experience, a person loses the ability to objectively evaluate his work, it begins to seem to him that it is he who - best manager in company. This can end very badly - in case of dismissal, such an employee will take the base, and turn customers against the company. Customer service standards are needed so that all employees can be evaluated on a single scale, based on the actual benefit they bring to the company, as well as the attitude of the employee to the company.
  • For the company: uniformity of control over the activities of managers. The standards are unambiguous, exclude double interpretations, and therefore cannot cause disputes about the rightness of an employee or employer.
  • For managers: the standards of unified customer service are the same for all managers, and this allows you to make the remuneration of each manager absolutely transparent and intelligible. Realizing that there will be no double interpretations, the manager may not be afraid that he will be paid less than expected - all his mistakes and achievements are immediately visible and understandable.

The application of service standards allows:

  • develop a company style in communicating with clients;
  • increase the effectiveness of the work of managers with new clients;
  • bring the quality of communication with customers to a higher level;
  • to create a positive opinion of the client about the company, so that he would recommend it to his friends, thus increasing the number of potential, and then real customers;
  • minimize conflicts between the manager and the customer;
  • develop a technology for training beginners;
  • transfer the assessment of the manager's work from subjective to objective, transparent and understandable to everyone;
  • establish a procedure for monitoring the work of personnel;
  • increase the motivation of managers to work.

As a result, all of the above will lead to an increase in the client base and the company's income.

Why it is beneficial to use customer service standards in a company

The manager in the company is always under double control - on the part of management and on the part of customers. Customer service standards give the employee confidence that his actions will be analyzed and evaluated objectively. However, the manager understands that there is a clear algorithm for evaluating his work, which means that excuses and the search for arguments in his favor are useless - if he really made a mistake, this will be identified and assessed accordingly. The “debriefing” will be just as fair for the rest of the employees - both the punishment and the reward will be fair. Thus, the manager strives to show the best results in order to receive an appropriate reward.

Benefits of using service standards

  • Accumulation of experience: the entire base is concentrated in the company, and not in the hands of “old-timer” managers. Thus, the departure of one or more "old" employees does not become a "natural disaster" for the company.
  • Motivation, analysis and control: customer service standards allow the development of a transparent scheme for motivating managers based on a clear, almost mathematical analysis of their work. The sales process is streamlined.
  • Setting goals. With the help of standards, the company is able to set clear, reasonable plans. This allows you to keep the atmosphere in the team friendly and stable, and the absence of "indistinct" tasks - to increase the loyalty of managers to the company.
  • Customer Service Standards is a fairly mobile system that allows you to immediately detect errors in working with customers and quickly eliminate them. In addition, at any stage of working with a client, the head of the sales department can intervene in the process, noticing an error in the work of the manager, and even act ahead of the curve - to prevent the error that the manager is making.
  • Quick and easy start for beginners. Customer service standards are actually a knowledge base, collected, analyzed and ordered. Such information is easily transmitted and assimilated by beginners, which means that the beginner quickly gets to work and begins to make a profit. In addition, a newcomer will not spoil the relationship with the client with awkward actions, as he already knows what to do in any conflict and problem situations.
  • Customer trust. Customer service standards allow the latter to feel confident in the company - wherever the customer is, he will always easily recognize "his" company by brand features and can be absolutely sure that in a small town he will be served with the same quality as in a million-plus city, because that everyone in the company knows their job well. So this company can be trusted.

What criteria should customer service standards meet?

  • concreteness. Since customer service quality standards are created to control the activities of a certain group of people, they should be simple and understandable to each member of this group, regardless of their age, work experience, education and other factors. There should be no vague, fuzzy, wording that allows for different interpretations. So, if a room illumination standard is being created, it is not enough to write that it “should be light at any time of the day with the help of lighting devices”. This immediately gives rise to a number of questions and misunderstanding - what does “light” mean? Which lighting can be used at different times of the day? Is the use of all appliances in clear weather considered a violation, and if so, will the person in charge of the premises be punished? Therefore, when drawing up a lighting standard, it is always clearly indicated which lighting devices, at what time of day and in what weather, should work.
  • measurability. The customer service standard cannot contain such ratings as “quick”, “slow”, “prompt”, etc. For example, a manager should not answer an incoming call “quickly” - this is a loose concept. It would be correct to indicate that the manager must answer the incoming call within 7 seconds.
  • The reality of performance. Before you set customer service standards, make sure you have necessary resources for their execution. Make sure employees are provided with the necessary tools for the job. If at some point an employee discovers mutually exclusive or controversial concepts and definitions, immediately respond and correct the defect.
  • Transparency for employees. Since customer service standards are created to improve the efficiency of the company as a whole, it is necessary to bring this information to each manager. The easiest way to explain this is to newcomers, because when they join the organization, they immediately accept the “conditions of the game”. The most difficult thing is the introduction of standards for the "old-timers" - accustomed to working according to their own system, they often do not recognize any innovations. Explain how what is happening will affect customer loyalty, what problems may arise in case of non-compliance with the standard (not for the manager, but first of all for the client).
  • Relevance. Customer service standards should correlate with the objectives of the company as a whole, both today and in the future. Therefore, if necessary, they need to be quickly changed, supplemented, improved. But a balanced approach is needed - too frequent changes introduce an imbalance in the team, the staff may get the impression that "the authorities themselves do not know what they want."
  • Providing employees with autonomy within their powers. No matter how much you want, no standard can provide absolutely all the nuances of working with clients. Therefore, employees should have opportunities for creativity and personal contact with the customer. Provide for some variability - if the manager has been working with the client for a long time, he is able to accept the right decision from those proposed in accordance with his needs and character.
  • Complexity. All activities of the company should be as standardized as possible. This applies to all departments, not just managers directly. For example, if a company is engaged in connecting the Internet, then in addition to the specialist offering the service, the dispatcher, performing technicians, etc. are involved in the execution and execution of the application. It is necessary to form service standards for all employees involved in the process.
  • Economic expediency. Compliance with standards should not be unprofitable for the company.
  • Recommended criterion: observance of a single structure of standards for all positions.

How is the development of customer service standards in the company

The process begins with the appointment of a working group and a direct project leader. The most competent are personnel officers and marketers, and the working group should also include employees of the sales department as the most “immersed” in the situation. The team must have a representative from among the "ordinary" managers - with his help, you can take into account all the nuances of the work of salespeople. Next, we act according to the plan.

  1. The project manager must be empowered to collect information, schedule group meetings.
  2. An action plan for developing customer service standards is drawn up and discussed with the group. Responsible for each area of ​​work and work schedule are appointed.
  3. There is a phased discussion of the work. All subtotals are recorded and analyzed.
  4. The final version of the project is drawn up, which is submitted for consideration to all employees of the company. At this stage, the management makes corrections and suggestions to the plan, and it is important to consider all wishes as tactfully and in the interests of all employees as possible. Often at this stage, a top manager makes a mistake, which can subsequently negate all efforts: what is called, “presses with authority”. It is better to act democratically - to bring proposals and additions to the attention of all members of the working group, give time for reflection and hold a secret ballot. The trust that the manager will provide at this stage will additionally stimulate employees and increase their loyalty to the company. In addition, managers will fulfill the standards, and their opinion should be listened to.
  5. After all additions and proposals are made, the finished customer service standard goes to the CEO (or other person responsible for general leadership in company). At this stage, the head can already make adjustments, and whether or not to accept them will be determined by a secret ballot, in which this time the heads of structural divisions will participate.

What are the steps involved in developing customer service standards?

Stage 1. We determine the indicator by which the company is ahead of its competitors. It will become a cornerstone in the development of customer service standards.
Three main benefits can be identified.

  1. Price-quality ratio"

We choose if the company sells a product with an optimal set of qualities at a minimum cost. Our consumer is a thrifty person who values ​​practicality above all else in a product or service. When developing service standards, special emphasis is placed on everything that helps to reduce the cost of goods (services). It is also important to emphasize the ease of maintenance, the speed of obtaining a product (service), its (her) durability or length in time.

  1. "Best in line"

We use it if the product (service) has one or more unique qualities, parameters, properties that are not represented by competitors. Our consumer prefers reliability, but prestige and the opportunity to show individuality are also important to him.
AT this case the customer service strategy is largely "tied" to the manager - he must thoroughly know the properties of "his" product, as well as analogues, in order to conduct a comparative analysis for the client. Also, the specialist must “know the client by sight” - who is the person who could need exactly your product? In addition, it is important that the manager does not overdo it in trying to sell the best, taking advantage of the fact that the buyer does not pay too much attention to the price.

  1. "Proximity to the consumer"

Assumes an individual approach to each client. Our customer appreciates attention, sincerity. He will pay tribute to the new products that the company will offer, anticipating his requests and needs, but will not overspend, trying to acquire the newest and most prestigious.
The main role in such a strategy is played by the seller of goods (services). He must be a psychologist, be able to maintain a conversation with the customer on any topic, unobtrusively collect information about him, necessary for the sale of goods.
Stage 2. Organizational structure, job selection.
Having decided on a competitive advantage, we select employees for whom customer service standards will be developed. Pay attention to the following.

  • First of all, it is necessary to define customer service standards for “technical” specialists, lower-level employees. These are those employees who repeat the same actions every day when working with clients (for example, “cold calls”). It is relatively easy to create customer service standards for such workers, as well as to implement a system of standards. As a rule, there is no or almost no creative component in the work of such employees and there is no decision-making function.
  • Create customer service standards for executives, starting with the head of the department, is almost impossible. One can only create a common standard for the entire manual, which will include technical aspects work, principles of conducting and reporting.

Stage 3. After choosing the type of advantage, formulate the model " perfect service».
If the company had a code before the introduction of customer service standards corporate ethics, mission and list of values, use this data.
There should be two models: the ideal organization as a whole and the ideal work of specific employees in their positions.
For the first model, we answer a number of questions:

  • What should be our company in the eyes of customers?
  • How should relations between employees of the company be built?
  • How should the relationship between management and executives be built?

Questions for the second model:

  • How should an employee of the company look in front of the client? (appearance and behavior pattern)
  • What is the relationship between the client and individual employee, their character.
  • What situations are possible in working with a client?
  • At what stage does a particular employee begin to communicate with the client (for example, at the beginning of negotiations or at the final stage).
  • Non-standard situations that arise when communicating with a client.
  • Terms of reference for the maintenance of the premises and tools for each position (office, office equipment).
  • A package of documents for each position.

When developing models, it is necessary not only to take into account the opinion of all involved employees of the company and its management, but also to involve customers in the process, especially for the formation of the first model. By the way, some companies also take into account the models of competitors, for which they specifically communicate with them under the guise of customers. Of course, an ordinary customer will not be allowed into the internal “kitchen”, but nevertheless, in this way it is possible to identify annoying or, conversely, details and innovations that are conducive to communication.
Stage 4. Establish common customer service standards for all employees.
At this stage, you need to create a specific subculture that is unique to your organization, but based on the principles business etiquette, work with objections and claims, corporate ethics.
Stage 5. Form unique customer service standards for each specific position involved in the process of working with a client.
At this stage, it is necessary to literally lay out the entire production process “on the shelves”. You can use the following division as a template.

  1. External customer service standards.

These are the standards that the client sees: the type, shape, color of the room, equipment, technology in which the work is being done, as well as the actual communication procedure.

  1. Internal customer service standards.

This group includes standards that the client does not see, although he can see the result of their implementation (for example, when it comes to cleaning premises for work - a store, office, bank branch). This group also includes document processing standards.

  1. Technological standards (regulations for the work of employees).

Step-by-step guide: how to effectively implement customer service standards

In order for the implementation of customer service standards to go smoothly, you need to do it at the stage of company formation. Then the staff will take this for granted. However, many enterprises and organizations were formed long before the introduction of customer service standards became the norm in Russia. In such companies, it is rarely possible to do without open and hidden resistance of employees to innovations that are being introduced by management. Let's talk about how to implement customer service standards as efficiently as possible and minimize employee resistance.

Step 1. Bring the standards to the staff

Remember: in order for corporate rules to work, it is necessary that all employees accept them, and not just “reconcile” under pressure from management. And for acceptance, understanding is necessary - it is important to bring to each employee, from the general director to the incoming technician, why it is necessary to comply with customer service standards. It may be necessary to resort to unpopular measures to influence those who are particularly recalcitrant. But it is important not to go too far, but to really understand what you are dealing with: is it a stubborn reluctance to leave the comfort zone and conservatism, or do employees really have reasons not to accept customer service standards in the form in which you offer them?

Step 2. We hold a meeting of employees

It is necessary to hold a general meeting of employees and clarify the prospects. Don't talk about what punishments threaten an employee who does not want to work according to the new rules. Tell us about the prospects of the company, about the positive consequences, explain that ignoring the changes will have a negative impact on the work of the enterprise as a whole, and therefore on each of its employees. Be sure to print out the standards for each employee who has to work on them, and record the results of the general meeting and distribute them to the employees for signature.

Step 3. Set the "transition period"

Do not try to introduce customer service standards, as they say, one day. In this case, shock therapy is not the best way out. Set a deadline for employees to learn the new rules, conduct several trainings. Do not immediately punish those who make mistakes - explain and correct. But the boundaries of the "transitional period" must be clearly defined and communicated to each employee.

Step 4. We check the assimilation of information by employees and

After the transition period, test employees on the new customer service standards. Do not rush to punish those who showed the worst result, give them a couple of days to prepare, and then conduct a “re-examination”. By this point, employees should have learned that they will have to work according to the new rules. The excuses “I didn't understand”, “It needs to be done differently” are no longer accepted - clarifications could be received during the transition period, and proposals were accepted at the preparation stage and also during the transition period.

Step 5. We develop penalties

Be prepared for the fact that you will have to punish especially stubborn employees. In this case, neither their past merits nor other subjective reasons should stop you. Think over the system of punishments in advance - these can be fines, reprimands, deprivation of bonuses, bonuses, benefits, etc. You may even have to part ways with a few employees. And the parting will be unpleasant, given that in this case the team will most likely be on their side (“They came up with nonsense, and even fired a well-deserved employee because of it!”). But even the hottest heads tend to cool down if they see that you are serious.

Step 6. Require the implementation of standards

Demand service standards from all parts of your production chain. And equally seriously control all participants in the process. For example, if you require a manager to increase the number of sales home internet, then you must be sure that technical service, which works directly at the point of connection, will cope with the increased volume of work. All requirements of customer service standards must be physically achievable.

Step 7. We control compliance with standards

At first, while the employees are not yet sufficiently accustomed to the new requirements, there may be breakdowns, attempts to "under the guise" to switch to the "old" scheme familiar to them. Control yourself, demand the same from the heads of departments, appoint responsible persons directly from among the performers so that they report to you on compliance with customer service standards. These are internal controls. Combine them with methods external control(for example, use the "mystery shopper" service).

Step 8. Standards Analysis

You do not need control for the sake of control, analyze the results and be sure to act on their basis - encourage, fine, conduct additional training. Perhaps it is advisable to change something in the customer service standards, or maybe you did not take into account something at the preparation stage and the standards need to be supplemented.

"You can't improve a process until it's standardized."
Masaaki Imai

One cannot but agree with this statement. It once again confirms that in the case of competition between enterprises retail wins only those who can minimize material losses in technological process providing services to the customer. Thus, to increase the turnover of the store by about 5%, if you trust the statistics.

Increasing competition in retail due to the crisis is forcing even small trading enterprises to pay close attention to the standardization and automation of business processes and product accounting in general. By observing the work of the staff in the store, by the display of goods, by the atmosphere prevailing in the store, it is often possible to determine whether the work of the store is standardized or not.

So why do retailers need standards, and do they even matter?

Taking into account my practical experience in trading, I am sure that they are definitely needed. First of all, in order to provide a comfortable environment in the store for customers. Standards are also needed in order to make it easier for the store manager to manage the store's personnel, objectively evaluate his work on a single scale, and eliminate cases of subjective errors. Just do not forget that the standards must be monitored and constantly explain to the staff the need to comply with them.

In order to monitor the implementation of standards by staff, staff must be trained to apply knowledge in practical work with the help of mentors or with your personal help. Sometimes on projects, we encounter resistance from employees when implementing standards developed by consultants. Often we hear: Why is this necessary? And they worked so well! We ourselves know how to work! Well, now they will start to fine - just not to pay money! As a rule, negligent employees or those who have been working in the company for a long time and are simply afraid of everything new argue this way. It also happens that it was the “old men” who started working together with the owners at the same counter, and now it is difficult for the owner to explain to these employees the importance of changes in work.

There is no doubt that the availability and compliance with the standards of business processes of product distribution will increase the efficiency retail store. Of course, not everything can be standardized, but processes that occur at regular intervals need to be standardized. Having standards will prevent staff from making decisions based on their personal intuition or opinion. After all, as you know, how many people - so many opinions. Imagine for a moment what can happen in your store if each of the employees works as soon as he sees fit. Creating a set of rules, or standards, describing the main business processes of the store, will mean that any of the employees will act in the same way when they are carried out. For the store, it is recommended to prescribe:

  1. organizational structure of the retail enterprise;
  2. assortment policy, including merchandising standards;
  3. business processes of goods distribution;
  4. customer service staff performance standards;
  5. standards of behavior of personnel in the performance of their functional duties in a retail store;
  6. the procedure for opening a store (if it is planned to develop a retail network).

All these processes are important for the store, but in this article I would like to draw the attention of store directors to the standardization and automation of product distribution:

  • Goods order;
  • Receipt of goods;
  • Posting goods to the database;
  • Pricing;
  • Moving goods to the trading floor;
  • Display of goods on the sales floor;
  • Sale of goods;
  • Write-off of goods;
  • Inventory.

Let's dwell on some of them in more detail.

Business process "Ordering goods".

Automation of this business process will help ordering managers to more quickly resolve issues related to the supply of the right product and the required quantity to the store. After all, he will not have to recalculate the balances himself, figure out how many days of trading they will last and at the same time not overload the warehouse space, since it is always small. This work for the manager will be done by an automated inventory management system and will provide him with data in the form of "Analysis of the turnover of goods", from which you can get the following data:

  • weighted average balance for the period;
  • turnover (consumption of goods) for the period;
  • turnover ratio;
  • average shelf life of the product in days.

Minimum inventory standards are used to control the level of inventory and are the basis for the formation of auto orders. When using auto orders, the purchasing manager will only adjust orders before holiday trading or in a situation where it is not possible to pay the supplier on time (this sometimes happens). So far, in such situations, the automated control system is powerless and only human experience and knowledge are needed here.

When implementing the exchange system electronic documents with suppliers, orders for goods are automatically generated and stored in the database to control the work of purchasing managers. To do this, it is enough to install special software for each supplier that connects it with the purchasing department of the retail network. The system automatically checks the stock level and generates an approximate list of orders. It remains for the manager to view the list, if necessary, correct it and send the order to the Supplier. At the same time, the system eliminates the possibility of incorrect ordering, since the data entered by the Customer is automatically transformed into a standardized form. Suppliers within a short time will know what goods, in what quantity and when to deliver, and also have the opportunity to confirm the order indicating the exact quantity of goods that they can deliver within the time specified in the order. This allows purchasing managers not to deal with the preparation of orders manually, which allows them to more effectively manage the assortment: analyze, monitor, competitors, look for new products and suppliers.

Business process "Reception and return of goods".

Acceptance of goods using a data collection terminal (TSD) allows you to control the fulfillment of the order by the Supplier already in the acceptance area, thereby eliminating the possibility of accepting goods that the store does not need. It is also important that the possibility of receiving goods at an inflated price is excluded. It's no secret that suppliers often take advantage of the moment and deliver goods at an inflated price from the agreed price. If the goods are accepted without the use of the TSD, then the discrepancy in the input cost of the goods will be revealed only after the supplier has left. And long negotiations will begin with the commercial department or merchandisers to set the retail price.

Except the above benefits significantly reduces the time from acceptance of goods to their sale. After all, the operator no longer needs to waste time scanning product samples, transferring them from trolley to trolley, etc. Only in the case of acceptance of goods with a set deadline for implementation, the operator will need to enter information at the end of this period into the database, generate an invoice and print price tags. In addition, the automation of this process will reduce the number of operators, because. the receiving manager will partially do his job.

In fact, when automating the acceptance of goods, two business processes are combined: the acceptance of goods and its posting to the database into one. illustrative example optimization of business processes. When implementing a business process for the return of goods, the use of TSD also speeds up the process of forming accompanying documents and the actual return of the goods to the supplier. Automation of this process does not exclude possible errors on the part of performers. Whether they are accidental or intentional is the second question. Therefore, the manager should not forget about the organization of control of acceptance and return of goods. Checking the received goods for compliance with the supplier's invoice and a mark from the security staff will not hurt. It is known that the goods acceptance area is a special risk area in terms of theft of goods and materials. Unfortunately, no automation against theft when accepting goods, possible collusion with a forwarder or with the same security guard, will protect you. It is necessary to develop additional measures to prevent possible theft of goods and materials at the time of their acceptance.

Buisness process« Posting goods to the database» .

In part, we have already considered the benefits of automating this process in the previous paragraph. Here it is worth mentioning the benefits of automatic loading cash registers and weighing equipment (in grocery stores) after the formation of an incoming invoice and the establishment of retail prices. If a few years ago a system administrator was still required to download information, now it can be downloaded not only from the operator’s workplace, but also in remote access mode from central office. Automation of this process allows you to receive daily product reports for the store, respectively, the store manager will promptly receive information about product balances.

Business process "Pricing".

Remember there was a time when markup percentages and retail prices were set manually on a vendor invoice? To do this, they looked for the previous invoice in order to see the markup percentage and not miss the price. Now it is impossible to imagine! And all thanks to the automation of this process. It is only necessary initially for the manager responsible for pricing to set the markup level according to different groups and product subgroups. Everything else - as they say, "a matter of technology." When posting goods to the database, the price for it is formed automatically. Automation of this process allows you to get:

  • analytical information on price changes;
  • control incoming prices for goods from suppliers;
  • control the profitability of any group of goods.

An example from practice.

When diagnosing pricing methods in one retail chain, it turned out that the percentage of margins on product groups by managers commercial department installed centrally. According to the actual state of affairs in the stores of the network, it turned out that the operator calculates the retail cost of goods on a calculator. Moreover, the price rounding rules were applied by each operator independently. Sometimes they make simple arithmetic errors, due to insufficient qualifications. The decision to change the price is formally taken by the commercial director, who sends the order to change the markup to the stores. Unfortunately, it is impossible to find out when the stores actually revalued. Operators can pay attention to mail in a day or a week. Some of them, as it turned out during the diagnostic process, cannot receive mail at all. They sit and keep quiet, they don’t ask anyone, so as not to incur discontent on the part of the authorities. In one of the stores, our consultant helped the unlucky operator to accept mail with a three-day-old Revaluation Order. The company's programmer was unable to answer the question: "Why can't automatic centralized pricing be done?". Dependence on the personality and "professionalism" of the programmer leads the company to lag behind competitors in terms of assortment management, pricing, sales planning and other business processes. So, can it really be easier to part with such a specialist than to convince him of the need to automate the retail network, which, in fact, is his job responsibilities? By chance, are you familiar with this situation?

Business process "Movement of goods from a warehouse to a trading floor» .

If the store maintains separate records of the warehouse and the hall, then the automation of the process of moving goods to the trading floor, of course, reduces the time it takes for goods to arrive on the shelves. Before the advent of TSD, the storekeeper collected samples of goods, marked them with an indication of the quantity that must be transferred to the trading floor, and went with a trolley of these samples to the operator. And the operator is busy posting the incoming goods and cannot form an internal transfer until he completes the previous operation. With the use of TSD, the storekeeper himself can handle the movement of goods to the trading floor by scanning barcodes and indicating the required quantity. Entering information from the TSD into the database and printing out the shipping invoice and price tags is a matter of minutes.

Business process "Sale of goods".

The use of cash registers with software makes it possible to analyze sales of all product categories, the number of buyers, the cost of purchase, and the efficiency of using retail space. This information is key to the analysis of activities and planning the development of a commercial enterprise. In addition, when automating cash transactions the throughput of buyers increases, it becomes possible to introduce loyalty programs for buyers:

  • credit card service;
  • discount programs, congratulations on holidays and birthday;
  • drawing prizes for buyers;
  • payment for mobile services.

Business process "Inventory".

Inventory is a mandatory business process for a trading enterprise. To obtain a more accurate result, it is advisable to prescribe it with the smallest product balances in stores and warehouses. Continuous inventory allows you to check compliance with the rules and conditions for the storage of goods, cash and fixed assets, warehousing, the actual compliance of inventory balances with accounting data.

Case from practice.

On one of the projects in the process of preparing for a complete inventory, I was asked Chief Accountant this store: “But how are we going to count such a quantity of goods? How much will we rewrite everything! Will we close the store for three days?”

I hope for most trade enterprises the time of counting goods "on the knee" has sunk into summer. For those who are just going to automate this process, I would like to give advice - do not delay it, save working paid time and switch to counting goods using a data collection terminal and automated system commodity circulation. A consolidated inventory list is formed very quickly after the actual balances of the goods are entered. The collation list allows you to get reliable information about the surplus or shortage of each item of goods.

It is very important to check for the largest discrepancies in number or amount and make changes to the database before deriving the final result. Inventory automation allows you to reduce the time for a complete inventory by several times. The calculation of the result takes place in a very short term with its detailed specification for each product name. Of course, in addition to automating the inventory process, a clear organization by the head of this process is also necessary. It is necessary to clearly calculate a sufficient number of personnel, determine the procedure for their actions, rationally use the allocated resources for reliable calculation and obtaining a result.

Business process "Product display".

While you are the owner of one store, you can force managers to independently calculate the amount of goods needed for display on the shelf, the layout scheme commercial equipment and location commodity groups. With the increase in the number of stores, this becomes extremely difficult. Merchandising software can come to the rescue, which will help to understand what and how it looks on the trading floor, in which store sales are better. To automate the merchandising process, there are both Western automation complexes: Spaceman, Apollo, Galleria, as well as domestic ones.

For example, the SM Merchandising system is effective enough to develop a unified merchandising standard in retail chains.

This system allows:

  • visually present a store shelf without access to the trading floor, because each item corresponds to a photograph, and on the manager's computer screen, you can see options for laying out goods on a shelf.
  • determine the optimal ratio of the goods sold and the volume of display in the trading floors: on racks and shelves;
  • make a preview of the placement of goods on the shelves, as it will look on the trading floor;
  • spend complex analysis the impact of placing goods on sales placed by a number of goods (when integrated with the analytical module SM Management).

It is known that the use of the Automation & Optimization program allowed Marks & Spencer to switch to a weekly rescheduling of 125 planograms for each of 55 supermarkets - which immediately affected both sales results and inventory and supply chain optimization (SCM). It should be noted that all this work is provided by 18 employees of the marketing department.

What does business process automation provide?

  1. Reducing the time of the "order-delivery" business process from the beginning of order formation to its delivery.
  2. Availability of comprehensive information about the relationship with the supplier: orders, deliveries, prices, returns in each retail store.
  3. The ability to produce according to a centralized scheme and direct deliveries of goods to retail outlets.
  4. Pricing becomes easier: the price is assigned once for one product, and this operation is done at the central office.
  5. Saving highly qualified personnel employed in marketing, logistics and accounting due to the high automation of the main processes and the division of personnel into analysts and operators.

A centralized IS reduces operating costs, as the cost of maintaining IT staff is reduced. Administration and support is carried out from the central office. In the next article, we'll look at the requirements for retail software to truly help improve business performance during challenging times for retailers.

Course of 6 webinars
to create sales standards for your company
with practical tasks

will take place
May 16, 23, 30, June 6, 13, 20, 2017
from 10:00 to 12:00 Moscow time

Everyone needs sales But the standards ... Why are they?
“Let's better find normal sales managers, and everything will go as it should!” That's what most leaders think.
And I agree with them, I have exactly the same dream. But still... To understand if sales standards are needed or just a trendy useless feature, let's look at a few facts.

FACT #1.
What the seller knows ≠ What the company knows.

As a rule, sellers know no more than 50% of the information they need to know. Otherwise, how to explain the fact that often in situations where the manager cannot sell himself, the connected manager easily does it.

In most cases, the manager knows better the assortment of the company, its advantages, and the situation on the market. All this together gives confidence when communicating with a potential customer, is transferred to him (after all, confidence emanating from another is always felt when communicating) and helps to conclude an agreement. By the way, the same statistics (in fact No. 1) are given by certification (testing) of personnel for knowledge of the assortment, materials, design programs, etc.

FACT #2
What the seller knows ≠ What he considers necessary to tell the buyer.

Very often, especially from long-standing sellers, one has to hear: “Well, why talk about this (for example, what is MDF and why is it better) to talk about? Everyone already knows this…” And, as a rule, they tell a maximum of 50% of what is needed.

CONCLUSIONS FROM FACTS 1 AND 2:

1. Buyers receive a maximum of 25% of the information they need to make a purchase decision.

2. Buyers delay the decision until they have collected all the information they need (therefore, they continue to go to other outlets, shops, centers).

3. Buyers may lose interest in purchasing this type of product and switch their attention to alternative ones (for more details, see the article “Peculiarities of sales in the face of falling consumer demand”).

FACT #3
The result of an average seller and a star seller differ by 2-5 times.

Every company has one or two salespeople who sell SIGNIFICANTLY MORE than the rest. This can be explained in different ways: both by the personal qualities of the seller, and best knowledge, and more motivation. Every explanation has its own truth. Such salespeople are often held up as an example to other employees.

And the situation in the company as a whole does not change - no one (or practically no one) reaches the same sales bar.
And a dream appears in the leader’s head: “I wish I could find a couple of such three or three ...!” But even a more careful selection of personnel cannot reveal people who could soon sell as well.

All these facts mean the same thing.
Missing system.
A system of work with a client, which provides each Client with a sufficient level of information to make a decision.
A knowledge system that is shared with every salesperson.
A system that makes sales stars.

Now it's time for SYSTEM. And you can't do without the Standards, as part of the systematic work with the buyer.
But there is no time to create them all the time.
Plus, there is a lack of knowledge, what is important to write down, what can be put off until later, how to formalize them into a document and teach them how to work with them.

Everything will not work out by itself: sensible sellers will not come from anywhere, competitors will not weaken their grip, and buyers will not forgive the stupidity of work.

You need to sit down and take care of your company right now, at least in terms of working with customers.

Let's make Sales Standards, which will be a serious step in building a system for working with buyers.

WHAT THIS ONLINE COURSE GIVES YOU

On the course, we will analyze in great detail the 3 main standards that you must have, and each of you will create your own based on our standards:

1st Standard. Standard for establishing contact with a store visitor

We will prescribe the main speech modules for each type of buyer right online.

Type #1: "Draft Buyer"(running, rather even flying through a retail outlet.

Type No. 2: "Buyer-sightseeing"(walks around the exposition without stopping anywhere, avoids contact).

Type #3: The Contemplative Buyer(having entered the exposition, within 3–5 seconds he approaches a specific product, stops and begins to examine it).

Type #4: "Purchaser Scout/Saboteur"(He comes in and immediately turns to the seller himself or comments on what he saw).

For each type of buyer, the most effective ways to establish contact will be suggested and, thus, your sellers will be able to engage more visitors in the interaction.

We will also make chains of actions that “hypnotize” visitors. No one else will leave you!

2nd Standard. The standard for taking the Visitor's contacts and converting it into Works.

We will prescribe the main speech modules right online, in which situations it is important for us to take experience from the buyer:
1) I'm in a hurry
2) I want to walk around the mall
3) I will call myself
4) I will think
5) Draw a design project

We will also analyze in detail the algorithms for calls on operating hours to obtain an agreement on the date and obligations leading to the sale. Namely:
1) Algorithm of the call after 15 minutes (when the buyer left for a walk on shopping center)
2) Algorithm of calling at the appointed time You will significantly increase the conversion into sales when you teach salespeople to take developments and lead the Client from it to the completion of the transaction.

3rd Standard. The standard for ending a conversation and closing a deal. We will write out the scheme of a “pressing” conversation with the Client so that he can quickly make a decision to buy furniture.

Directly online, we will write down the main speech modules on how to close a deal in situations where:
1) The buyer is ready to buy
2) The buyer is not ready to buy
Always try to sell! And we will teach you how to do it effectively in the "here and now" mode!

These are the results you can get from the creation and implementation of the Standards

Anastasia Plotnikova, HR Director, Interior Lavka, www.inlavka.ru, Moscow, says:

“Interior Lavka is a network of 76 stores throughout Russia that offers its customers furniture and interior items in the Provence style, and is the exclusive distributor of well-known French brands Comptoir de Famille, Country Corner, Maryse a Paris. In addition to our own retail, we have an extensive franchise network. Clients of "Interior Lavka" are people who are accustomed to good service and high quality. And the concept of the company and its style imply a special attitude and atmosphere that we create with our own hands. We thought about how to form at the level of technology unified high standards of service for our customers. In this case, newly coming sales consultants would immediately receive the necessary knowledge and understand our expectations and ideas about how to serve customers. These moments were especially important for us, as we strive to build long-term relationships with each client. The complexity of developing standards was that the company presents two formats on the market: furniture (“Country Corner by Interiernaya Lavka”) and accessories + furniture (“Interior Lavka”). If furniture is a thoughtful and calculated purchase, then accessories are more emotional, so the approach for each of the formats had to be its own, special. With such a request, we turned to the International Furniture Personnel Center. As a result, two standards for the sale of furniture and accessories (for two formats) and a plan for their implementation were developed. We have planned a number of activities: - it was the training of sellers, and managers, and our franchisees, the "Mystery Shopper" campaign was carried out. Subsequently, we rebuilt the management system retail outlets, and learning by creating a visual tutorial for sales consultants and organizing a certification system. The implementation of customer service standards increased conversion rates across all stores and, as a result, increased revenue. In addition, the presence of standards has formed a common understanding among the management of our company, representatives of the training center, specialists from the marketing and retail departments of how we want to serve our customers, and how this should be done. We managed to adjust the process of selecting new employees. Now, in interviews, we primarily pay attention to the ability and desire of candidates to learn and their willingness to follow company standards.”

Khegay Sergey Valerievich says, CEO Mega Art company, company website www.megasmart.kz:
"We have purchased and in 2013. The results of using your method are very encouraging. We compared 2013, when we worked without your methodology, and 2014. The average check in the company increased by 50%. Our average check was in 2013 360 thousand tenge per transaction, and now it has grown to 540 thousand tenge per transaction. To be honest, I am very pleased with your work and the products that you gave us. Because I applied to Alma-Ata companies before you, but they are not specifically designed for furniture, they are just salesmen. And that sales book that they wrote to us, we paid an unreasonable amount of money for it, while we didn’t get any result at all ... Well, there we took 2-3 points for ourselves and implemented them in ourselves, relating to ethics and trade, and in the rest is nothing. Your book is more detailed, in principle everything is clearly explained there. And the video helped us a lot! Because without video material they tried to hammer people into people through a book, read and told - nothing worked ... As soon as we started working with your video materials, we managed to reach out to employees.

WHAT IS SALES STANDARDS?

Sales standards are the most specific instructions on how to properly and competently sell to the largest number of visitors to your outlet.

This is a set of ready-made actions and speech modules for each situation with Clients.

This is the algorithm that most likely leads to the desired result in sales.
And this algorithm is different for different product groups.

See the algorithm for selling cabinet furniture on the diagram:


I summarize.

WHAT DOES THE INTRODUCTION OF SALES STANDARDS GIVE?

First class service: Standards allow you to create a great service, because. sellers begin to serve customers at a high level.

Customer Trust: Sales standards help you acquire new customers and improve relationships with existing ones.

Separation from competitors: Standards help create a branded sales style that will help you stand out from the competition and earn more.

Quick turn on: Standards are a practical tool for onboarding new hires in a sales department or retail store.

On the online course we will thoroughly analyze how to train salespeople to work according to standards. What teaching methods are there, and which ones are the most effective and efficient.

The implementation stage of anything, including the implementation of sales standards, is a key moment at which many "stumble" and, as a result, do not achieve their goals.
And you will be able to implement them, knowing the exact implementation technology.

Result:
1. Ready-made standards, taking into account the characteristics of your company and product, based on phrase templates and examples of MMCC
2. Plan for the implementation of standards
3. Conducted sales training according to the developed Standards
4. Adjusted system of motivation of sellers, taking into account control points for the implementation of the Standards

WHO WILL TEACH THE COURSE

Sergei Alexandrovich Alexandrov

Founder of the International Furniture Personnel Center

Author of four best-selling books for furniture makers:
. “Secrets of sales in the furniture market. 5 steps to build sales in wholesale and retail”
18 main questions that concern furniture business last 10 years"
“Preparation of sales stars on the stream. Just about learning to sell furniture”
"Instructions on how to become an ace of furniture sales"

Natalia Valentinovna Vodianova

Business coach, coach

More than 10 years of work experience in personnel training, including 5 years of work in the furniture industry.

Over the past 5 years, she has worked as a business coach in the federal retail chain of the Angstrem Company, involved in training, development and assessment of personnel. My students are PCs, managers, directors of both Russia and neighboring countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Minsk, Ukraine).

Conducted more than 300 trainings, webinars. Trained over 5000 staff.

Won a victory in All-Russian competition for the training of Sberbank personnel. About 1000 people were trained in 2.5 months.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE COURSE

The course is paid. The cost of participation is affordable even for the smallest furniture company.

Participation options - choose the most convenient for you!

Companies that have successfully completed the course and completed all the practical tasks receive a personalized Certificate from the International Furniture Personnel Center.


JUST LOOK

Course only


WORK

Course + ready-made standard to choose from (kitchens, cabinet, upholstered furniture)


WORK

Course + ready-made standard to choose from (kitchens, cabinet, upholstered furniture) + face-to-face sales training in your company to implement the developed standards)

9 900 rub.

33 500 rub.

19 000 rub.

RUB 103,500

77 000 rub.


Benefit 14,500 rubles.

Benefit 27,500 rubles.

Without verification homework

Answers to your questions

participation in 6 interactive webinars

Access to recordings of past webinars during the course


Answers to your questions

participation in 6 interactive webinars

Access to recordings of past webinars during the course

Ready-made standard to choose from: kitchens, upholstered or cabinet furniture
A demo version of one of the standards can be viewed

Checking homework: individual Feedback from the curator

Answers to your questions

Face-to-face sales training in your company to implement the developed Standards (travel expenses are paid separately)

Book a place in 1 click!Click on the PAY button and choose convenient way payment. All payment systems, including payment by bank transfer.

SECRETS OF AN EFFICIENT STORE

STANDARDIZATION OF BUSINESS PROCESSES IN THE STORE
http://www.retailclub.ru/manage/334.html

"You can't improve a process until it's standardized."
Masaaki Imai

One cannot but agree with this statement. It once again confirms that in the competition between retailers, only those who can minimize material losses in the technological process of providing services to the buyer will win. Thus, to increase the turnover of the store by about 5%, according to statistics. Increasing competition in retail due to the crisis is forcing even small trading enterprises to pay close attention to the standardization and automation of business processes and product accounting in general.

By observing the work of the staff in the store, by the display of goods, by the atmosphere prevailing in the store, it is often possible to determine whether the work of the store is standardized or not. So why do retailers need standards, and do they even matter? Taking into account my practical experience in trading, I am sure that they are definitely needed. First of all, in order to provide a comfortable environment in the store for customers. Standards are also needed in order to make it easier for the store manager to manage the store's personnel, objectively evaluate his work on a single scale, and eliminate cases of subjective errors. Just do not forget that the standards must be monitored and constantly explain to the staff the need to comply with them. In order to monitor the implementation of standards by staff, staff must be trained to apply knowledge in practical work with the help of mentors or with your personal help. Sometimes on projects, we encounter resistance from employees when implementing standards developed by consultants. Often we hear: Why is this necessary? And they worked so well! We ourselves know how to work! Well, now they will start to fine - just not to pay money! As a rule, negligent employees or those who have been working in the company for a long time and are simply afraid of everything new argue this way. It also happens that it was the “old men” who started working together with the owners at the same counter, and now it is difficult for the owner to explain to these employees the importance of changes in work. Of course, the availability and compliance with the standards of business processes of product distribution will also increase the efficiency of a retail store. Of course, not everything can be standardized, but processes that occur with a certain frequency - you need to standardize. Having standards will prevent staff from making decisions based on their personal intuition or opinion. After all, as you know, how many people - so many opinions. Imagine for a moment what can happen in your store if each of the employees works as soon as he sees fit. Creating a set of rules, or standards, describing the main business processes of the store, will mean that any of the employees will act in the same way when they are carried out.

For the store, it is recommended to prescribe:
1) the organizational structure of the retail enterprise;
2) assortment policy, including merchandising standards;
3) business processes of product distribution;
4) work standards for customer service personnel;
5) standards of behavior of personnel in the performance of their functional duties in a retail store;
6) the procedure for opening a store (if it is planned to develop a retail network).

All these processes are important for the store, but in this article I would like to draw the attention of store directors to the standardization and automation of product distribution: Ordering goods - Receiving goods - Posting goods to the database - Pricing - Moving goods to the trading floor - Displaying goods on the trading floor - Realization of goods - Write-off of goods - Inventory. Let's dwell on some of them in more detail.

Business process "Ordering goods". Automation of this business process will help ordering managers to more quickly resolve issues related to the supply of the right product and the required quantity to the store. After all, he will not have to recalculate the balances himself, figure out how many days of trading they will last and at the same time not overload the warehouse space, since it is always small. This work for the manager will be done by an automated inventory management system and will provide him with data in the form of "Analysis of the turnover of goods", from which you can get the following data:

Weighted average balance for the period;
- turnover (consumption of goods) for the period;
- turnover ratio;
- the average shelf life of the goods in days.

Minimum inventory standards are used to control the level of inventory and are the basis for the formation of auto orders. When using auto orders, the purchasing manager will only adjust orders before holiday trading or in a situation where it is not possible to pay the supplier on time (this sometimes happens). So far, in such situations, the automated control system is powerless and only human experience and knowledge are needed here. When implementing a system for exchanging electronic documents with suppliers, orders for goods are automatically generated and stored in a database to control the work of purchasing managers. To do this, it is enough to install special software for each supplier that connects it with the purchasing department of the retail network. The system automatically checks the stock level and generates an approximate list of orders. It remains for the manager to view the list, if necessary, correct it and send the order to the Supplier. At the same time, the system eliminates the possibility of incorrect ordering, since the data entered by the Customer is automatically transformed into a standardized form. Suppliers within a short time will know what goods, in what quantity and when to deliver, and also have the opportunity to confirm the order indicating the exact quantity of goods that they can deliver within the time specified in the order. This allows purchasing managers not to deal with the preparation of orders manually, which allows them to more effectively manage the assortment: analyze, monitor, competitors, look for new products and suppliers.

Business process "Receiving and returning goods". Acceptance of goods using a data collection terminal (TSD) allows you to control the fulfillment of the order by the Supplier already in the acceptance area, thereby eliminating the possibility of accepting goods that the store does not need. It is also important that the possibility of receiving goods at an inflated price is excluded. It's no secret that suppliers often take advantage of the moment and deliver goods at an inflated price from the agreed price. If the goods are accepted without the use of the TSD, then the discrepancy in the input cost of the goods will be revealed only after the supplier has left. And long negotiations will begin with the commercial department or merchandisers to set the retail price. In addition to the above advantages, the time from acceptance of goods to its sale is significantly reduced. After all, the operator no longer needs to waste time scanning product samples, transferring them from trolley to trolley, etc. Only in the case of acceptance of goods with a set deadline for implementation, the operator will need to enter information at the end of this period into the database, generate an invoice and print price tags. In addition, the automation of this process will reduce the number of operators, because. the receiving manager will partially do his job. In fact, when automating the acceptance of goods, two business processes are combined: the acceptance of goods and its posting to the database into one. A good example of business process optimization. When implementing a business process for the return of goods, the use of TSD also speeds up the process of generating accompanying documents and the actual return of goods to the supplier. Automation of this process does not exclude possible errors on the part of performers. Whether they are accidental or intentional is the second question. Therefore, the manager should not forget about the organization of control of acceptance and return of goods. Checking the received goods for compliance with the supplier's invoice and a mark from the security staff will not hurt. It is known that the goods acceptance area is a special risk area in terms of theft of goods and materials. Unfortunately, no automation against theft when accepting goods, possible collusion with a forwarder or with the same security guard, will protect you. It is necessary to develop additional measures to prevent possible theft of goods and materials at the time of their acceptance. Business process Posting goods to the database. In part, we have already considered the benefits of automating this process in the previous paragraph. Here it is worth mentioning the advantages of automatic loading of cash registers and weighing equipment (in grocery stores) after the formation of an incoming invoice and the establishment of retail prices. If a few years ago a system administrator was still required to download information, now it can be downloaded not only from the operator's workplace, but also in remote access mode from the central office. Automation of this process allows you to receive daily product reports for the store, respectively, the store manager will promptly receive information about product balances.

Business process "Pricing". Remember there was a time when markup percentages and retail prices were set manually on a vendor invoice? To do this, they looked for the previous invoice in order to see the markup percentage and not miss the price. Now it is impossible to imagine! And all thanks to the automation of this process. It is only necessary initially for the manager responsible for pricing to set the markup level for different groups and subgroups of goods. Everything else - as they say, "a matter of technology." When posting goods to the database, the price for it is formed automatically. Automation of this process allows you to get:
. analytical information on price changes;
. control incoming prices for goods from suppliers;
. control the profitability of any group of goods.
An example from practice. When diagnosing pricing methods in one retail chain, it turned out that the percentage of markups for product groups by managers of the commercial department is set centrally. According to the actual state of affairs in the stores of the network, it turned out that the operator calculates the retail cost of goods on a calculator. Moreover, the price rounding rules were applied by each operator independently. Sometimes they make simple arithmetic errors, due to insufficient qualifications. The decision to change the price is formally taken by the commercial director, who sends the order to the stores to change the margin. Unfortunately, it is impossible to find out when the stores actually revalued. Operators can pay attention to mail in a day or a week. Some of them, as it turned out during the diagnostic process, cannot receive mail at all. They sit and keep quiet, they don’t ask anyone, so as not to incur discontent on the part of the authorities. In one of the stores, our consultant helped the unlucky operator to accept mail with a three-day-old Revaluation Order. The company's programmer was unable to answer the question: "Why can't automatic centralized pricing be done?". Dependence on the personality and "professionalism" of the programmer leads the company to lag behind competitors in terms of assortment management, pricing, sales planning and other business processes. So, can it really be easier to part with such a specialist than to convince him of the need to automate the retail network, which, in fact, is his job responsibilities? By chance, are you familiar with this situation?

Business process “Movement of goods from a warehouse to a trading floor. If the store maintains separate records of the warehouse and the hall, then the automation of the process of moving goods to the trading floor, of course, reduces the time it takes for goods to arrive on the shelves. Before the advent of TSD, the storekeeper collected samples of goods, marked them with an indication of the quantity that must be transferred to the trading floor, and went with a trolley of these samples to the operator. And the operator is busy posting the incoming goods and cannot form an internal transfer until he completes the previous operation. With the use of TSD, the storekeeper himself can handle the movement of goods to the trading floor by scanning barcodes and indicating the required quantity. Entering information from the TSD into the database and printing out the shipping invoice and price tags is a matter of minutes. Business process "Sale of goods". The use of cash registers with software makes it possible to analyze sales of all product categories, the number of buyers, the cost of purchase, and the efficiency of using retail space. This information is key to the analysis of activities and planning the development of a commercial enterprise. In addition, when automating cash transactions, the throughput of customers increases, it becomes possible to introduce loyalty programs for customers:
. credit card service;
. discount programs, congratulations on holidays and birthday;
. drawing prizes for buyers;
. payment for mobile services.

Business process "Inventory".
Inventory is a mandatory business process for a trading company. To obtain a more accurate result, it is advisable to prescribe it with the smallest product balances in stores and warehouses. Continuous inventory allows you to check compliance with the rules and conditions for the storage of goods, cash and fixed assets, warehousing, the actual compliance of inventory balances with accounting data
Case from practice. On one of the projects, in the process of preparing for a complete inventory, the chief accountant of this store asked me: “But how are we going to count such a quantity of goods? How much will we rewrite everything! Will we close the store for three days?” I hope that for the majority of trading enterprises, the time for counting goods “on the knee” has sunk into summer. For those who are just going to automate this process, I would like to give advice - do not delay it, save your working paid time and switch to counting goods using a data collection terminal and an automated goods distribution system. A consolidated inventory list is formed very quickly after the actual balances of the goods are entered. The collation list allows you to get reliable information about the surplus or shortage of each item of goods. It is very important to check for the largest discrepancies in number or amount and make changes to the database before deriving the final result. Inventory automation allows you to reduce the time for a complete inventory by several times. The calculation of the result takes place in a very short time with its detailed specification for each item of goods. Of course, in addition to automating the inventory process, a clear organization by the head of this process is also necessary. It is necessary to clearly calculate a sufficient number of personnel, determine the procedure for their actions, rationally use the allocated resources for reliable calculation and obtaining a result. Business process "Product display". While you are the owner of one store, you can force managers to independently calculate the amount of goods needed for display on the shelf, the scheme for arranging commercial equipment and the location of product groups. With the increase in the number of stores, this becomes extremely difficult. Merchandising software can come to the rescue, which will help to understand what and how it looks on the trading floor, in which store sales are better. To automate the merchandising process, there are both Western automation complexes: Spaceman, Apollo, Galleria, as well as domestic ones. For example, the SM Merchandising system is effective enough to develop a unified merchandising standard in retail chains. This system allows:

Visually imagine a store shelf without access to the trading floor, because each item corresponds to a photograph, and on the manager's computer screen, you can see options for laying out goods on a shelf.
. determine the optimal ratio of the goods sold and the volume of display in the trading floors: on racks and shelves;
. make a preview of the placement of goods on the shelves, as it will look on the trading floor;
. conduct a comprehensive analysis of the impact of product placement on sales of products placed by a number of products (when integrated with the SM Management analytical module).

It is known that the use of the Automation & Optimization program allowed Marks & Spencer to switch to a weekly rescheduling of 125 planograms for each of 55 supermarkets - which immediately affected both sales results and inventory and supply chain optimization (SCM). It should be noted that all this work is provided by 18 employees of the marketing department.
What does business process automation provide?
1. Reducing the time of the "order-delivery" business process from the beginning of the formation of an order to its delivery.
2. Availability of comprehensive information about the relationship with the supplier: orders, deliveries, prices, returns in each retail store.
3. Possibility to make direct deliveries of goods to retail outlets according to a centralized scheme.
4. Pricing becomes easier: the price is assigned once for one product, and this operation is done at the central office.
5. Saving highly qualified personnel employed in marketing, logistics and accounting due to the high automation of the main processes and the division of personnel into analysts and operators.
A centralized IS reduces operating costs, as the cost of maintaining IT staff is reduced. Administration and support is carried out from the central office. In the next article, we'll look at the requirements for retail software to truly help improve business performance during challenging times for retailers.

On the this moment there is no single approach and no classical technology for developing service standards. The main goal of service standards is to create a unique competitive advantage for the company. Therefore, standards are the unconditional "know-how" of any company, and there are simply no "standards for writing standards".

The process of creating standards is a long and painstaking procedure that requires patience and significant time costs on the part of the participants in this process. Therefore, I will also try to suggest some approaches that will optimize this process and make it more compressed in time.

Determination of "Personnel performance standards" and "Customer service standards". Difference and interrelation of "Standards" with other internal corporate documents

One of the frequently asked questions is how standards differ from other documents in the organization, for example job descriptions. Let's try to figure it out by analyzing the main types and types of documents that regulate the work of personnel in an organization.

The documents:

Document and its type

Purpose of document

For whom is it intended

Who formulates or approves

Company mission and values ​​(declarative)

Defines the key basic values ​​and the meaning of the company's existence in society, its social mission

Owners and top managers

Corporate Conduct Code

(declarative)

Describes the organization's expectations from the behavior of staff and its attitude to various aspects of interaction in the company (with customers, management, colleagues).

For all employees of the organization

Owners and top managers

Rules of the internal work schedule(technical)

Regulates disciplinary matters and procedures common to all employees

For all employees of the organization

Organization leader. The content of the document is governed by labor law

Job descriptions (technical)

Describe WHAT the employees are responsible for, their powers and responsibilities

For each position

Head of the organization

All of the above documents are essential for writing standards and should be used when writing them.

IMPORTANT: standards should not duplicate the content of these documents, but may disclose exactly how the requirements of these documents should be met.

Staff performance standards

They describe WHAT and HOW employees should do to perform their job duties efficiently. Can be highlighted common standards for all employees of the company and individual for each position.

General - for all employees, individual - for each position (if necessary, it can be specified taking into account the specific tasks of employees in the same position)

Company executives, immediate supervisors

Technology standards (technical)

Describe the procedure for the provision of services / requirements for knowledge of those. characteristics of the goods, as well as criteria for the condition of those areas, tools, documentation, etc. for which they are responsible.

For each position

Direct supervisors or manufacturers of goods

Customer Service Standards (technical)

Describe the rules and requirements for the order of direct interaction with customers

For each position

immediate supervisors

Staff performance standards- formalized and specified requirements for those actions of personnel that employees must perform with a certain frequency, in a certain order, at a certain time or in typical situations.

Customer Service Standards- part of the "Standards of work of staff", relating to direct interaction with customers.

Goals of implementing the "Standards" in the organization, expected effects and results

Primary goal - provide the company with a strategic competitive advantage. The presence of standards guarantees the client that no matter which employee of the company he communicates with, he will receive the service of the "brand" quality that is inherent in this brand.

Tasks for the implementation of standards:

  • unify the actions of personnel in various areas. This is of particular relevance for networks seeking to achieve brand recognition through uniformity in the delivery of services and quality of customer service.
  • Make work procedures as clear as possible for employees (not only WHAT to do, but also HOW). This is primarily relevant for line personnel, in whose activities a large number of similar / standard actions or situations can be distinguished.
  • Create grounds for a transparent and objective assessment of the work of employees

Effects and results from the implementation of the Standards:

  • Achieving a uniform quality of services and customer service for all points of the network or distinctive features point of sale (“recognizable”, “predictable” service).
  • Optimization of work processes and procedures (elimination of unnecessary or erroneous actions on the part of personnel)
  • Clarity of the workflow for employees, minimizing the time spent by managers on the adaptation of new employees
  • Increasing the motivation of employees by understanding the criteria for evaluating the work and work of colleagues

What Standards Can't Do:

  • Re-educate employees in terms of their attitude towards customers (therefore, you need to select the “right” people)
  • Replace the control function on the part of the manager (the existence of standards will not ensure their automatic implementation, so the control function on the part of the manager is very important. However, standards greatly facilitate the control procedure).

Determining the criteria to be met by effective staff and customer service standards

Staff performance standards must meet the following criteria:

  • concreteness- should not contain vague and ambiguous formulations that allow different interpretations by people with different education, upbringing, experience, etc.

Employees must wear daily make-up

Employees are required to wear makeup. Allowed use:

Natural pastel shades (beige, greenish, baked milk colors)

Shades of lipstick or lip gloss that are close to natural (natural pink, light brown)

Pale pink or peach blush

Black or brown mascaras

Lighting in the room should be bright in the evening and appropriate to the weather in the daytime.

Lighting must meet the following requirements:

In the evening - all lighting fixtures (ceiling and wall) are turned on

In the daytime in cloudy weather - ceiling lights are on, in clear weather - only wall lighting or no lighting is allowed.

  • measurability- if the standard requires the employee to perform any action within a certain time or with a quality that can be measured in any units, then this time or units of measurement should be clearly recorded

Often there is a combination of vagueness and immeasurability of the wording

  • Reality of execution— standards should not contain mutually exclusive or conflicting requirements. In addition, employees must understand what resources or techniques they can use to meet the requirements of the standards.

Wrong wording of the standard

Correct wording of the standard

  1. The employee is obliged to greet each visitor entering the trading floor with the phrase “Good afternoon, what would you like to see?”
  2. The employee is obliged to maintain constant contact with the client in the process of servicing him, has no right to be distracted by conversations with employees or other visitors

1. If the employee is not busy serving the buyer, he must greet each visitor entering the trading floor with the phrase “Good afternoon, can I help you and advise you?”

2. The employee is obliged to maintain constant contact with the client in the process of servicing him, and does not have the right to be distracted by conversations with employees or other visitors.

3. In the event that all employees are busy with service, and at the same time new visitors appear on the trading floor, the employee closest to them must apologize to his client, greet the new visitor and invite him to start familiarizing himself with the assortment / look at catalogs, asking him to wait, until one of the consultants is free, and again return to the conversation with the client being served.

  • Transparency for employees of the goals that are achieved through compliance with the standard - employees will be sincere in meeting standards only if they understand what the standard is for, what customer need it satisfies, and how the customer may feel if the standard is not met. This criterion is important, first of all, in relation to those standards that regulate contact with customers.

An example of writing a standard in accordance with this condition:

  • Relevance— standards should be changed in accordance with new tasks, approaches, requirements and strategy of the company.
  • Giving employees autonomy within their powers, variability of standards- First of all, this criterion refers to the standards of customer service. Standards should leave some freedom for creativity and personal expression of employees. This allows us to avoid the "robotization" of service, to introduce elements of sincerity and personal attitude of employees. The principle of "necessity and sufficiency" of standards must be respected, the service process in most companies cannot be 100% standardized.
  • Complexity - standards (including customer service standards) should cover all company personnel, and not just positions directly responsible for working with customers.
  • Economic expediency - standards must be economically justified. If the implementation of standards turns out to be unjustified costs for the company, it is not advisable to introduce such a standard.
  • Recommended criterion: observance of a single structure of standards for all positions. This allows employees to quickly navigate the requirements, and managers to more clearly and systematically monitor compliance with standards.

Algorithm for developing the Standards for the work of personnel and customer service

  1. Define Type competitive advantage, according to which the standards will be developed.

Trout's Scheme: Competitive advantage can be realized in three ways:

  • Price-quality ratio". Requires a set of the most important parameters for the consumer for minimal money, aimed at satisfying such customer benefits as practicality and savings
  • Position "best by product". Assumes that the product (product + service) has a unique quality in one or more parameters. This strategy serves such needs as prestige, reliability, the desire to emphasize one's individuality.
  • The strategy of "proximity to the consumer" - involves the provision of a service that a particular client needs, an individual attitude.

Requirements for standards:

  • If a company implements a value-for-money strategy, then standards are important to help reduce the customer's cost of purchasing a product. Therefore, standards are needed for the purchasing department, as well as for participants in the entire technological chain that the product passes through. For sellers of a practice oriented strategy, the standards often describe speed and ease of service.
  • If the company implements the strategy "best in product", then the seller needs to: know the product well; be able to conduct a comparative analysis with cheaper products (the phrases “our price is high, because a quality product”, “they will break down right away”, “we guarantee quality” do not count), as well as know the situations in which the client needs the best product. So, the offer of the most reliable equipment that will function for 100 years, and the client is going to renew this product every five years, is inappropriate, and it is important to help the client make a choice towards a less expensive product.
  • If a company implements a strategy of "proximity to the consumer", then the most high requirements presented to the work of the seller. To realize the competitive advantage of the company - an individual solution to the client's problem - the seller must be able to collect the maximum amount of information about the buyer, and also clearly understand in what situation what changes in the product are necessary for the client. In addition, when implementing such a strategy, the seller must become “their boyfriend” and be able to keep up the conversation not only about shades of nail polish, but also about new fashion, yachting, difficulties in relationships with relatives, etc.

Important:

  • regardless of the price segment and type of competitive advantage, the client wants to receive attention and sincerity in communication.
  • the standards should be high enough to meet and exceed the needs of the target client audience, but not expensive enough for them to scare away customers with cost indicators.
  1. Consider the organizational structure, select positions to be described in the standards.

When considering the organizational structure and selecting positions for standardization, it is important to consider the following points:

  • Positions are subject to standardization, the functionality of which is of a procedural nature, i.e. in many respects it consists of cyclic actions that are repeated during the working day or for a longer period of time, incl. if these procedures relate to interaction with customers. The work of line specialists can be standardized to some extent in all areas. If the company plans to work on the implementation of standards gradually, then it is better to start with those positions that have direct contact with customers.
  • The more autonomy in decision-making the position implies, the more difficult it is to describe the standards. For managers, from the level of the head of the department, only standards that are common to all employees of the organization, as well as describing the technical aspects of activities and issues related to reporting, can be used.
    1. Describe the vision of the "ideal" service in accordance with the chosen type of competitive advantage.

    If the company has a written mission and values, a code of corporate conduct, these documents can be used to form a vision.

    At this stage, it is important to form two types of visions:

    1. Vision of the "ideal" organization as a whole.
    2. Vision of the “ideal” work of an employee in each specific standardized position.

    Company vision:

    When shaping a vision companies it is important to answer the questions:

    Question

    Bank or brokerage house

    Boutique, fashion club, beauty salon

    How should our customers see the company?

    Measured, everything is clearly organized and predictable, giving a sense of stability, solidity

    Dynamic, quickly solving any issues, offering a non-standard approach, giving the client a sense of his individuality, uniqueness, originality

    What should be the relationship between employees?

    Employees are part of a single mechanism. Each is a highly qualified specialist and is responsible for his area. The roles are clearly defined.

    Employees are partners. The most important thing is to achieve a team result. Employees should always be ready to help a colleague, even at the expense of their own time and tasks.

    What should be the relationship between leaders and subordinates?

    A clearly built hierarchy, strict discipline, observance of subordination, the impossibility of discussing the decisions of the head, their precise execution.

    Communications are democratic in nature, disagreement with the opinion of the manager is allowed if the employee is confident in the effectiveness of the proposed solution. Friendliness, sometimes moving to the level of informal relations between managers and employees.

    Vision for specific positions:

    When shaping a vision positions it is important to answer the questions:

    Question

    fashion store consultant

    Cleaning staff at a fitness club

    What impression should the employee in this position make on the client (features of appearance and behavior)

    The employee must be well-groomed, look modern, demonstrate the latest fashion trends. At the same time, the employee should not “suppress” the client, demonstrate his external superiority or obviously better awareness in matters of fashion and style. Must give the impression of a competent professional.

    The employee should be as invisible as possible. In situations of contact with the client (client's request or complaint), he is kind and helpful.

    The nature of the position's relationship with the client

    An unobtrusive adviser, a delicate and competent assistant and consultant.

    Providing cleanliness and comfort for guests without attracting attention

    What types of interaction situations with customers can take place

    1. New customer service.

    2. Servicing a regular customer.

    3. Consultation of a potential client

    4. Client's complaint.

    Communication when making a request or complaint from a client

    What stages of communication with the client can be implemented by the position

    1. Greeting the guest.

    2. Identification of needs

    4. Fitting

    5. Discussing doubts and objections.

    6. Offer of additional services.

    7. Registration of the sale

    8. End contact.

    1. Greeting the guest.

    2. Guest's request.

    3. Guest's complaint.

    Specific situations that arise in the performance of functions or interaction with clients

    The need to change clothes repeatedly when cleaning wet areas

    Territory and equipment for which the position is responsible

    1. The premises of the trading floor and fitting rooms.

    2. Checkout area.

    3. Cash register.

    4. Terminal for payment by plastic cards

    Hall on the first floor, sauna pool. Cleaning equipment, household chemicals used for cleaning (list).

    Documents for which the position is responsible

    1. Sales report (monthly, daily)

    2. Cash book

    3. Overhead

    4. Price tags

    1. Journal of cleaning the premises.

    2. Journal of accounting for the consumption of detergents.

    To form a vision, it is necessary to take into account the opinion of 3 parties:

    1. Owners and managers of the company.

    Methods: group discussion, meeting, brainstorm, analysis of the results of independent studies.

    1. Employees directly involved in customer service.

    Methods: brainstorming, role-playing game"Customer of the company", analysis of the results of research on the quality of service, comparative analysis with competitors.

    1. Clients.

    Methods: interviews, questionnaires, "included" analysis of service procedures, focus groups.

    4. In addition, in order to “detune” from competitors, to find moments where the company has the opportunity to demonstrate a clear advantage or isolate bright “selling” moments, you can visit to competitors disguised as a client. This procedure It is especially useful because it allows you to feel in the place of the client, look at the service process "from the other side", understand the important points for the client in service.

    1. Select blocks of requirements that should apply to all employees.

    Main sections:

    1. General standards of employee behavior and customer relations
    2. Handling customer requests or complaints
    3. telephone etiquette
    4. Relationships with leaders
    5. Relationships with colleagues

    Each block, if appropriate, must be divided into main components in accordance with the most typical situations that arise in work (for example, communication with a new client and communication with regular customer etc.)

    1. Select blocks of standards for each position.

    The main ones (the classification is given in terms of the convenience of ensuring control and description of standards):

    1. Service standards - visible to customers (external)

    1.1. Technical standards

    • Appearance
    • condition of the premises
    • status of reporting equipment

    1.2. Interaction standards

  • Describing the procedure for interacting with the client
    1. Service standards - invisible (internal)
  • Procedures hidden from the eyes of customers (cleaning, preparing the premises for operation, etc.).
  • preparation of documents and reports
    1. Technological standards (related to the regulation of the implementation production processes employees).

    The general principle is to first prescribe the most frequently occurring situations or procedures, and then disclose them in standards.

    The procedure for organizing the development of Standards in the company.

    1. Creation of a working group.

    Rules for creating a working group:

    • The working group should include heads of client departments, a personnel manager, a service manager, a part of employees who work directly with clients, and, if possible, a marketer. The inclusion of ordinary specialists in the working group is important not only in order to take into account their opinion as the people who best represent the nuances of the service process, but also to facilitate the subsequent implementation of standards in the work.
    • The standards development project leader should be empowered to request information and arrange interactions with the company's management and owners. If the company has a rigidly built hierarchical management system, the team leader must belong to the number of top managers in order to receive the appropriate authority.
    • To develop standards for individual positions, employees or managers whose opinion and information may be important, as well as external experts - specialists in the field of service or in professional fields, can be involved in the work.
    • It is desirable that in working group an expert (internal or external) was present who can carry out the interim and final audit of the standards.

    2. Determining who is responsible for various areas of work and standardization of individual positions.

    3. Gathering information regarding the vision and expectations from the content of the standards from the company's management, employees, customers (ie the formation of visions through appropriate activities).

    4. Work on writing standards in the working group.

    • A plan for the development of standards is determined (indicating the deadlines and responsible for each of the stages)
    • Meetings of the working groups are held regularly, with a fixed frequency. The frequency is set depending on how quickly it is necessary to develop the final version of the standards.
    • The person responsible for the block summarizes the information received from management, employees, customers and submits the draft standard for consideration to the members of the working group (it is desirable that the members of the working group have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the standard before the meeting, and during the meeting to discuss the wishes and comments that have arisen).
    • During the discussion of the working group, additions and clarifications are made to the standards, if necessary, additional experts are involved. The working group should also evaluate the standards in terms of their compliance with the criteria of the standards (measurability, specificity, etc.), if necessary, the standard is being finalized. At this stage, it is also important to assess whether this standard is mandatory and whether it can be replaced by another solution. If such proposals arise, it is necessary to form a list of them, evaluate the budget and the possibility of execution.

    5. Audit of the standard.

    The final version of the standard is audited by a working group expert or external consultants. If possible, it can be recommended to ask real customers to evaluate the standard.

    It can be very effective to conduct a preliminary audit “in real time”, i.e. implementation of a visit by a representative of the target client group in the mode Mystery shopping. In this case, the inspector gets acquainted with the proposed standards in advance and during the visit assesses how appropriate and convenient they are, as well as how realistic, from his point of view, their implementation.

    6. Finalization and design in accordance with the approved design standard and standard structure. Produced by the person responsible for the development of this standard. Then the standards are finalized by the working group, taking into account the comments and suggestions that have arisen.

    7. Approval by company management. After the final agreement, execution and approval by the working group, the standards are submitted for approval to the company's management.

    Methodology for the implementation of the Standards. Ensuring external and internal control over their observance.

    Implementation of approved standards is carried out in several stages.

    In order for the implementation of standards to be as effective as possible, it is necessary this work carry out systematically and consistently, allocate a sufficient amount of time for the implementation of standards (with a competent approach, it may take about 6 months for the full implementation of standards).

    Stage 1. Informing staff about the start of development and implementation of standards in the organization.

    Methods: posting information in a corporate publication, posting on general meeting employees, bringing information through direct supervisors. To increase the motivation and interest of the staff in this process, to ensure the involvement of the staff, you can announce a competition for the best ideas.

    Stage 2. Establishment of working groups for the development of standards. Inclusion of lay employees in the working groups will contribute to the goal of better awareness of this process, as well as ensure that the views of lay personnel are taken into account, which will facilitate subsequent implementation.

    Stage 3. Analysis of approved standards in terms of staff availability necessary knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as the sufficiency of motivation to meet the standards.

    It is advisable at this stage to conduct an assessment in terms of the compliance of the current state with the new service standards in order to see the areas of the strongest discrepancies and draw the attention of the staff to them (it is better to do this through the “Mystery shopping” procedure).

    Drawing up a training plan for missing knowledge and skills, if necessary, correction of the motivation system. If it is planned that the quality of compliance with service standards will affect motivation systems, then the change and introduction new System wages. It is more correct to first introduce new standards and give employees time to master them, and only then introduce changes to the Pay System.

    Stage 4. Informing employees about the introduction of standards. Clarification of the goals and organizational changes that are associated with the introduction of standards.

    Stage 5 Familiarization of employees with the content of the standards:

    1. Acquaintance with the documents describing the standards. Explanation of new procedures and rules.

    It is recommended to issue common standards services in the form of a book (if there is a sufficient budget, arrange with the participation of designers and layout designers and print in a printing house), and job standards- in the form of separate brochures, because they may change more often. Technology standards are often regulated by product manufacturers or service developers, and may be described in brochures or other documents provided by manufacturers.

    The design of standards emphasizes the importance and value of this document for the organization.

    2. Conducting training on the implementation of standards (or training in the "field" mode).

    stage 6. Organization of control.

    What is not controlled is not executed.

    The most effective is the combination of internal and external control procedures.

    Internal control- is provided by monitoring the work of employees by managers, the results are recorded in specially designed forms.

    External control– is provided by conducting special programs by external specialists (Mystery shopping, survey of real customers after the visit).