Benefits achieved
- Improved efficiency of shop managers and their teams within the shops, with better time management and organisation of duties and tasks
- Increased productivity due to shop managers using their time more effectively
- By investing in the development of the charity’s shop managers, it helped get managers through the challenges of the Covid pandemic, utilising their people management and organisational skills
- Greater teamwork within and across the shops, with shop managers communicating more effectively and providing greater support for each other
- Better management of shops has helped shop managers to exceed business objectives, in both sales and budget
- As the number of shops has expanded from two to five in recent years, new managers have been able to join the development programme and benefit from the investment in them
- Assisted in succession planning, enabling one shop manager to become Retail Support Manager for all five shops, and an assistant manager to be promoted to shop manager
- Reinforcement of key messages from the Head of Retail, supporting him in his objective of developing his team.
How we did it
The Head of Retail identified a skills gap within his shop managers. Having previously attended training delivered by Neville from CFA Training and having had a positive experience from his training, he contacted Neville to run similar management training for his shop managers.
To ensure the solution met the shop managers development needs CFA Training followed four key steps:
1.Research
Before we do anything, we get to know the organisation we’re working with, its service and product offering, vision and values, job role functions, customer demographics, and culture. As CFA Training had previously been running training for the charity’s Operations Managers, much of this research had already been carried out.
We met with the Head of Retail to discuss the skills gap and development programme for his managers. During this meeting we were able to gain insight into the shop managers role requirements, his expectations of them, and the skills gap for each of the managers. This information was vital in designing the development programme.
2.Design a development solution based on the findings in the research phase
With input from the Head of Retail, we designed a suite of development modules covering a range of people management skills. These included:
- Leadership and Teamwork
- Managing Yourself and Your Time
- Effective Delegation Skills
- Managing Performance and Conduct
- Communication Skills
- Retail Customer Service
- Coaching Skills
3.Delivered the management development programme
We delivered this training programme with approximately one month between each module, enabling managers to put in to practice new skills learned. On return to the next module each manager gave an update on how they’d got on in their shop, drawing out key learning points.
The programme was successfully run face to face pre-pandemic and online via Zoom during the pandemic. Modules have been run as full day courses and as half day refresher courses to ensure shop managers stay refreshed and focused on best practice.
4. Review and evaluate the development programme
An equally important step was to review and evaluate the development programme to ensure we’d hit the objectives. Regular meetings with the Head of Retail enabled us to review the training and obtain feedback on managers’ change in performance within the shops. This led into the design of the next module, enabling us to pick up on key development areas which needed highlighting or addressing.
Testimonial
‘I’d been on other training courses and expected the same none engaging experience from attending Neville’s training, however I was pleasantly surprised to find Neville was well prepared, engaging, energetic and kept people focused, keeping energy levels up throughout the training to keep everyone alert.
The third sector seems to be behind other sectors in many aspects. Having attended Neville’s
training and observing his training style and delivery method, I felt there was an opportunity for him to help develop my shop managers.
Managing a charity shop requires managers who can work in a fast-paced environment, with constant movement in customers, donors, furniture, stock, and volunteers. Neville listened to what I needed delivered, what the skills gap was in the shop managers, and he designed and delivered a programme which has helped improve all the shops’ performances through better management of volunteers and staff, and improved organisation and efficiency.
Neville always touches base with me before each module as well as afterwards to feedback on how the training has gone.
Since working with Neville our charity has increased the number of shops from two to five and has plans to expand further; we have also moved from four to eighteen retail staff. Through the development of our shop managers, I feel I am able to do my job better because they’re doing their job better.’
Head Of Retail,
A Midlands based charity