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You Must be the Owner?

Guest post by: Sheryl Nicholson

Article Overview: "You must be the owner"? That question has been asked of every employee at the store...except of our teens. WOW what does THAT say about our hiring, training, and keeping of our team? It means we looked for something extra in our potential team members...attitude. And that is something that doesn't show up on a resume under education or past jobs. To start, we did it by asking interesting questions in the interview and also using a personality assessment valuing each team members "natural" gifts. To keep them growing and glowing about our place, we've stayed actively involved in learning, communicating, experimenting, and adventuring! We've used advertisements but tweaked the words

You Must be the Owner?

"You must be the owner"? That question has been asked of every employee at the store...except of our teens. WOW what does THAT say about our hiring, training, and keeping of our team? It means we looked for something extra in our potential team members...attitude. And that is something that doesn't show up on a resume under education or past jobs. To start, we did it by asking interesting questions in the interview and also using a personality assessment valuing each team members "natural" gifts. To keep them growing and glowing about our place, we've stayed actively involved in learning, communicating, experimenting, and adventuring! We've used advertisements but tweaked the words to pull in the right "personality type" over a generic ad for sales staff. Every one of us looks for team players when we are out of our store shopping other places. We've pulled in waitresses and teachers who love to serve but were not recognized for that gift. We know who is best in our stock room, versus out in front on the sales floor. We also know every team member is valuable. There's no petty gossip or borderline jokes told, no clicks created to separate us. The level of respect is there and real. We know each other's talent, work and communication style. Instead of losing the customer, we tag-team them over to the right communicator. It's been incredible!

Every 2 months we do inside training sessions after a full day of work and even those who aren't scheduled come in to learn about each other's strengths and challenges. We know who our high maintenance customers are and we create scripts and tag teams so we know who can handle who.

In the 20 year history of this company, we've broken records as the "newest kid on the block". We were told we'd have high staff turnover due to our low wages, and that hasn't happened either. Why? People WANT to come to work. They enjoy their work environment.

We've become an extended family...and that's far beyond a typical birthday card and cookie cake presentation.

And each team member is respected. They are given the freedom to add creative ideas to our marketing strategies. And we LISTEN! We are doing things no other store has dreamed of and now other franchises are calling us and asking how to put those into practice at their store.

As a People Productivity Keynoter, it's been a rare opportunity to work daily and hands-on in developing this team locally. Other store owner's whining about what can't be done will now fall on deaf ears. We continue to break records with just normal people who want an abnormal opportunity to shine!

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Article Tags: education, hiring training, interesting questions, jobs, natural gifts, personality assessment, team members



Related Forum Posts
Job titles - [quote:3shpwvxj]In fact, I've had friends tell me that "Founder" is better than "Owner" since it's less possessive.[/quote:3shpwvxj] For myself, I don't care for the term "Founder" [i:3shpwvxj]because [/i:3shpwvxj]it's not possessive. You can be the founder of a company and have sold it - so it no longer belongs to you. However, if you call yourself "Owner" - people know the company is still in your hands. But I don't like Owner, either. I'd prefer President or Director, because one can be an absentee owner, whereas if one is a President or Director, people assume you're involved in the day to day activities. Manager, on the other hand, wouldn't work if its your business, because (to me, anyway) that implies that you "manage" for someone else - like at a restaurant.
Seeking advice on working procedure of Convenience Store Fra - I have some queries about the working of the franchises. How does the relationship between the Store Owner, Suppliers and Corporate works exactly? How does the store owners get reimbursed when they sell commodities like coke in fewer prices than others?
Re: Job title depends on job type - [quote="Aquanaut":38jr3gvf]I'd say calling yourself CEO would give your clients illusions of grandeur about your business, if it's not a large one. President or Director would work.[/quote:38jr3gvf] Well that's exactly why I wanted to pose my question. I don't want to give my clients illusions of grandeur or come off sounding too pretentious when I'm just a new startup. In fact, I've had friends tell me that "Founder" is better than "Owner" since it's less possessive.
Hello Everyone - I would like to introduce myself to the forum. My name is Kyle Lowe and I am the Owner of H&L Motorcars in Fort Worth Texas. We are a small independent dealer that specializes in luxury and specialty cars. In short we offer our clients the ability to purchase, sell and customize almost any type of Automobile. We pride ourselves on being a one stop shop for our clients, and giving them the necessary information and assistance to handle their automotive needs. I look forward to meeting and discussing various topics with the members on this forum, and possibly exploring new ideas for business. Thank you, Kyle Lowe President H&L Motorcars
Greetings From Greg Plant - I'm an International Business Owner born in London, then moved to Somerset as a child where I still live. I'm in a loving relationship with my wife to be Jo Litster. I live life to the absolute maximum, taking part in all sorts of sports and activities, as I think it’s important to stay fit and well in all areas of life. We live in a fast changing world, and I’m the type of person who likes to control my attitude towards life’s changes, that enable me to master change, rather than allowing change to master me. Meeting and networking with like minded people is a passion of mine, and work with business owners who incorporate the internet for an income. I look forward to growing a great friendship and exchanging ideas! Feel free to contact me any time so we can keep up-dated with each others’ developments! Have a great day! Greg


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