Have you ever wondered why you bother to try to implement and enforce new rules that you want to become standards in your stores? Your staff gets accustomed to doing things a certain way and tends to resist impending changes. Coming up with a new idea or a new rule to improve your store's operations or productivity is one thing, but as you probably know, trying to successfully implement it is another.

Many store owners and managers fail to realize is that they already have existing standards successfully in place in their stores. And they enforce these standards. Think about it. You already have procedures in your stores that require your staff to do things a certain way. For example, if an employee continually ignored closing procedures like placing the cash register fund in the safe at night, or failed to make the required bank deposit, you probably wouldn't tolerate their behavior for very long. So, in effect, you have already been able to establish standards that require non-negotiable behaviors.

You can introduce and enforce standards in your stores. It just requires a commitment on your part to see that the changes are not boycotted. We have developed some measures in the course of working with retailers to facilitate the implementation of new standards. In one large retail electronics chain we worked with, the managers were organized into groups by districts. Their objective was to come up with a list of five to ten standards that they wanted to initiate. Surprisingly, each group came up with similar concerns. The standards they wanted to implement ranged from eliminating "Can I help you?" from their staff's vocabulary, to always offering the customer a battery club card. Others included always wearing a name tag, attempting to add on to every sale and putting every purchase in a bag for the customer.

An effective method we have used to introduce new standards is using a standards checklist form. Research has shown that salespeople often do not understand the importance or reasoning behind new standards or do not have the knowledge to comply. The standards checklist form ensures that the manager explains each new standard to every salesperson. Each standard is then role-played, and then the salespeople show the manager in three separate situations that they know how to comply with the new standard.

When each step is completed for all of the standards there is a statement at the bottom of the page to be read, signed and dated by both the manager and the salesperson. This form provides a positive method for ensuring that your staff understands the new standards and is capable of complying with them. As a reminder of their agreement, the manager places the forms in the personnel files. Also, should any disciplinary actions become necessary, you already have a from which to start foundation. Use a new form for each new standard. There are also some positive, fun ways to help salespeople comply with new standards. Set up a gotcha or task jar. A gotcha jar is a large jar with the standards that are to be complied with listed on the outside. Everyone agrees to a penalty amount for non-compliance, say 25¢. It For example, your new standard is that the salespeople can no longer open a conversation by saying "can I help you?" When someone violates that standard, he or she must put 25¢ in the jar.

The task jar works similarly. It's a big jar with the standards listed on the outside, only this time the jar is filled with little slips of paper. Each piece of paper has a store task written on it, such as sweeping the front tile, mopping the back room and remerchandising the back wall. While we don't advocate using these as disciplinary measures, they are great ways to provide employees with an incentive to keep an eye on each other.

The benefit of setting up gotcha or task jars is two-fold. It saves you from doing all the work, and it becomes a game for the salespeople. Not only that, but it gets them involved in the entire process.

Store standards are necessary to provide guidelines and accountability in our stores. Although people will always resist some, we can make the implementation of such standards a more enjoyable process. In addition, by using the standards checklist form, we ensure that our people understand the new rules and are capable of compliance.

These ideas make the introduction of new store standards more of a game than a penalty. Go ahead, give it a try. Take a standard you've wanted to implement but haven't, and try these methods. The results may surprise you.

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POSSIBLE SIDE BAR TO THE STANDARDS ARTICLE

Here are just a few examples of some companies you may be familiar with that have been very successful in implementing certain standards.

Nordstrom's employees have one basic standard that they are expected to follow: satisfy the customer. If any employee, regardless of who they are or how long they've been there, fails to follow through on a customer service issue, they are terminated. No warnings, no second chances.

Ritz Carlton employees receive a Credo Card that lists 20 basic points they are expected to follow. Using language that portrays a more refined image is one of them. Employees don't say "yes"; they say "certainly." They don't say "hi"; they say "good morning/afternoon/evening." InterTan, part of the Radio Shack family of stores has a list of standards that are included in every employee's job description. Have you ever walked into a Radio Shack store and been asked for your name and address when buying a two dollar battery? They are expected to get this information from at least 85% of their customers.