Tim Banker’s Post

There is a sacred bond in retail that unites employees, and that bond is a shared annoyance with corporate decisions and collective eye rolls for out of touch policies. so I applaud this effort from Home Depot to get corporate employees in the store and on the front lines to learn what the face of their brand and true arbiters of customer experience work with and experience everyday. it's not just being yelled at by customers, although that does happen, it's also telling a customer about a new policy from corporate that makes their job harder and the experience worse, but increases margin by a third of a cent! remember in 2020 when we declared front line employees essential and heroes? let's not forget that. they make the brand happen. they make the experience happen. #retail #customerexperience

Wow! This is a big deal, and I’m sure there may be some resistance! That said, it’s a great way for executives to gain a better understanding of the issues employees and stores face and for managers to see corporate leaders at their level. It's like going out to the field when you're on staff in the military 😉 #HomeDepot #LeadershipDevelopment #LeadershipMatters #EmployeesMatter #Management #Executives

What a great example of keeping the corporate staff connected. I spend 130+ nights on the road, spending time with our sales teams, customers, and business partners every year. Comtrad Strategic Sourcing Inc. is committed to living our core values. For us, a Customer-first mindset means understanding what, why, when, and how we can generate value for them. Collaboration means listening to our vendors, business partners, customers, employees, and other stakeholders so we can pursue what is right for the collective. Integrity means we practice everyday excellence in how we approach our business, our tasks and our relationships. Growth-mindset means we are constantly pushing ourselves, and each other to be better everyday. Every choice in life has a consequence and requires sacrifice…. My choice is to ensure we are doing everything we can, to be the very best version of ourselves, everyday. Staying connected is an important aspect of that choice, for me, and it is important to demonstrate the level of commitment, drive, and intensity required to generate our success. #humbleandhungry #liveyourvalues #bethechangeyouwanttosee #keepworking #youonlycoastoneway

Make your managers get their hands dirty! I've long said that when a dealership hires a new employee, that individual should have to spend some time working in each department of a dealership. Not only does this help them to understand the inner workings of the machine, but it also forces them to understand that each area of the dealership has a unique set of challenges to deal with. If your sales team knew what it was like to work on the service counter, don't you think they would quit blaming service for so many things that go wrong back there. This would also be a great program for many of the vendors in the powersports industry. Look at the work history for the executives at many of the major OEMs, and you will find that few of these people have ever had a real job. They got a piece of paper from an ivy league school and then went out with all the knowledge anyone would need to solve the world's problems. The only problem is that retail doesn't flow cleanly from one chapter to the next, it's chaotic, volatile, and full of surprises. I bet if the executives at some of the major OE's had to work in dealerships for a couple of weeks each year, we'd see massive changes in how they operate, and all they ask dealers to do. I'd love for an executive to need an answer to a critical question relating to a hot customer, and then watch them submit an online request for help. They'd wait a few days, and then the first reply would just be someone checking a box, and they'd just ask another question (that was already answered in the original question). Our world would quickly improve. In summary: The Home Depot Depot is implementing a new initiative requiring all corporate employees, including senior management and remote workers, to work an eight-hour shift at one of its stores every quarter. The program, starting in the fourth quarter of 2024, aims to help staff better understand the challenges and opportunities faced by retail workers. CEO Ted Decker emphasized the need to stay connected to the core of their business, which is their frontline associates, in a memo announcing the change. This move comes as Home Depot faces declining sales after a pandemic-driven boom and amid increasing labor activism across the retail sector. The company, which generates over $150 billion in annual revenue, has seen rising concerns from workers about sporadic schedules, low pay, and the challenges of theft and difficult customers. Home Depot's leadership hopes this initiative will foster empathy and support for store associates while helping to navigate these industry-wide pressures. To read the full post, click on through... https://lnkd.in/eWJbB3rj #HomeDepot #Bloomberg #Work #Management #FrontLines

Working in the DIY field.. Always been a fan of the leading DIY industry leader.. Bridging the gap between corporate strategy and the “frontline” as referred to in the article by imposing work hours in-stores has value on so many levels: 1. People: understanding work conditions on the floor. 2. Customer: understanding customers’ touchpoints and better observe the customer journey within stores. 3. Strategy: understanding what is required to reach full alignment or re-alignment, between corporate and store staff. So many lessons from this approach…

Brick-and-mortar retail is expected to account for nearly 84% of sales this year — retaining engaged and effective in-store staff is important as ever for retailers. With so many other business challenges to juggle, how can retailers ensure they’re prioritizing employee satisfaction? This recent study sheds some light: https://loom.ly/tWHbZl8 #retailnews #employeesatsifaction #retailtrends #groceryindustry #CoinstarForRetail

Home Depot Plans to Make Every Employee, Including Executives, Work in Stores. It's an Absolutely Brilliant Move. How to prep your executives to make the most of their time hands-on with employees and customers. https://ow.ly/IlkZ50TNBtp #IncDotCom #ExecsHandsOn #ExecDecisionMaking

The Home Depot's decision to require its corporate workforce to work shifts in its retail stores is a brilliant way to stay connected to the core of its business. 💡 Too often, there’s a disconnect between what’s happening in the store and what’s discussed on quarterly calls. This initiative bridges that gap, giving corporate teams firsthand insight into retail workers' real challenges and experiences. 👏 I’d love to see more retail brands take a similar approach to strengthen alignment across all levels! #RetailinRealTime

Let’s talk about The Home Depot. They’re now requiring their corporate team to do an 8 hour retail shift every quarter. Here’s what I think about that: Political funding and affiliation thoughts about this company aside, I have been saying for over a decade to whomever will listen that I think it’s wildly important for every level (but specifically senior) corporate employees to learn and perform the roles of the front line customer facing staff of their companies - for at least a single day. I went from being hourly retail staff to retail management to retail corporate within 3 years in my early 20’s and I will always remember how confused I was that VP’s and above seemed completely blindsided when I was surfacing problems that everyone on the floor discussed every day. After that, I spent nearly a decade in CX management. I led and motivated teams 80+ in size and also answered the angriest calls or chats you could ever imagine myself - most to a peaceful resolution. If you haven’t ever been on that side of the workforce or don’t care to ever be, I do believe there’s a gap in perspective when it comes to solving big and impactful problems because there’s limited personal impact or empathy. Know your internal user, know your end customer. For many of us, the things we build should impact both in really positive ways. Standing in the front line’s shoes and being expected to perform in their role with the tools and circumstances they use and see every day is one of the most impactful ways you can truly understand and then fix the big problems that exist internally that create poor client experiences that need fixing. I’m really stoked to see this and I’d be thrilled to see more tech and corporate businesses adopting this philosophy. It’ll get massive pushback, for sure. Why? Because it will force many people who are used to being quite comfortable to be uncomfortable for a second and will give them the opportunity to see a different side of the real world. That is the actual point. If you’ve made it this far, here’s the summary: ✅ Home Depot is now requiring an 8 hour shift from corporate staff in their physical stores every quarter! 🙏🏼 I deeply hope folks show up ready to legit work and don’t expect to stand by while someone who makes a fraction of their pay babysits them. That adds more labor to a workforce that’s already overextended. 🤓 This is a killer user research opportunity. I encourage HD home office folks to embrace it. Seek to understand a world you don’t fully get by living it 4 short days per year. Be open hearted. 💀 Learn from the folks who pull doubles in these roles. Who opt into 12 hour shifts. Who work late nights and every weekend. Many of them have to, they don’t “get to.” This is not a punishment. It’s a privilege. Act accordingly.

I have worked on so many transformation projects where a boardroom full of C-Suites are trying to make decisions without really knowing the deep needs of their customers. They don’t know because those insights live at the boots on the ground level. It is brilliant that The Home Depot is implementing this. It will give executives SO many insights into customers and allow them to be intuitively human-centered. It’s so #strategic and so #smart. #nodownside https://lnkd.in/evJ-sseR