DMSRetail

DMSRetail Inc., announces the Home, Store or Office Study Course version of the very popular workshop –
The Retail Operations Management Workshop .

Retailers want to capitalize on the opportunities that are definitely going to be coming their way and they want all of their people ready to hit the ground running. So, this Retail Operations YourTime Study Course has been made available to them for a fraction of the cost involved with attending personally.  With the economy recovering and the retail sector expanding, retailers know it’s going to be difficult to compete; to get, and maintain, market share and grow that incredibly important loyal customer base, if they’re not at the top of their game.

Matt Parmaks, Sr. Consultant & EVP for DMSRetail Inc. said “We’re so often asked if we sell videos and transcripts of The Retail Operations Management Workshop , that we felt it was time to make our brand of professional retail management training available to retail people who simply don’t have the time or resources to attend personally – those who don’t want the added cost of travel and accommodation. So, we’ve introduced a great, affordable and very flexible option for those who want to get their retail organizations up to speed quickly; firing on all cylinders; poised and ready to meet the demands of the new consumer.”

DMSRetail Inc., is a North American company founded in 1991 to help retailers increase sales & profits and generally become more successful by providing a wide variety of Success Guides, Tools, Consulting Services and Training Opportunities. Together, with their partners, DMSRetail adds tremendous value to retailers everywhere.

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If you would like more information about the Retail Operations Management YourTime Study Course , you can see details here: http://www.dmsretail.com/retailoperationscourse.htm  or if you’d like to schedule an interview with Mr. Matt Parmaks, please call (312) 239 0919. Or send an email to Josephine Hill at jhill@dmsretail.com  to arrange it.

I was just thinking about the challenges retailers face, day in and day out, and it got me to thinking about our customers and subscribers. I want to ask “What kind of challenges are you facing?” And, “What plans have you got for dealing with them?”

Help is available…
There is plenty of help available to retailers who realize that they need to do things a little differently nowadays. Here’s an interesting article about hiring aces! http://www.dmsretail.com/retailhiring.htm

Staff or Performance Issues…
Do you have staff issues? Performance issues? If you do, can you elaborate? Can you put your finger on just what it is that’s bothering you ? That’s half the battle, you know. It’s significantly easier to correct a problem when you’ve identified it in detail. Here’s an article about what can happen when poor performance goes unchecked. It’s a doozy! You can use it as a perfect example of what not to do! http://www.dmsretail.com/retailperformancemanagement.htm

Unfortunately, some of us feel like something is not quite right but we never actually take the time to focus right in on what, exactly, is wrong. We get it that sales and profit targets are not being met…but we have a tough time drilling down because that takes quite a bit of time and energy; two things that are at a premium for retailers.

That’s not to say retailers aren’t very, very busy doing all kinds of things; taking steps to correct this and fix that. But, let’s face it, focus is really the most important part of ‘fixing’ anything.

In order to focus, we need to identify our issues, come up with contributing factors, look at the pro’s and cons of possible fixes and then choose the one with the best chances of producing a desirable outcome. Once that’s done, we have to manage, measure and manage some more.

Easier said than done, you say?

Absolutely! If it were easy, there would be no need for companies like DMSRetail Inc. Our existence depends on your needs. If you need help identifying why you’re not exceeding – or even meeting – your sales and profit targets…we offer one on one coaching and consulting. If you know you need help with selling skills, customer service, retail math, business analytics, leadership and other management challenges…we offer several workshops and study courses. We have Success Guides, Tools, Webinars and DVD’s to assist you with whatever your issues may be.

Lacking time or budget?

If you don’t have a lot of time to attend workshops, or if you don’t have enough money in the budget, we have various YourTime Study Courses that you can use at your leisure and they are quite affordable. If you don’t want to read, we have webinars and DVD’s. Whatever you need…is very likely available from DMSRetail Inc.

Let us know how we can help you.

All the Success!
Jack Henderson
Training Manager
DMSRetail Inc.

PS: Our most recent addition to our YourTime Study Course library is the Retail Operations Management YourTime Study Course. It’s being offered, exclusively to customers and subscribers at the pre-order price of $495…but only until August 2, 2011. You’ll find it here: http://www.dmsretail.com/RetailOperationsCourse.htm

PPS: We’re on Facebook. Check it out here and if you like us…please ‘Like’ us. Thanks! http://www.facebook.com/dmsretail

Here’s a story about taking your market for granted. You might find it interesting.

Being in a part of the world that only enjoys nice weather for a few months out of the year, many of us here get pretty excited when the ground thaws and the birds sing…and the flowers are ready for planting.

Talk about a hungry market…

So, every year, around the last weekend in May, I head out to the garden centres to see what lovely plants and flowers are available for me to buy. Talk about a hungry market!! While I am out shopping in the garden centres, so is everyone else. The places are packed with hopeful people, both serious gardeners and wanna be gardeners alike. And they don’t think twice about spending whatever it takes to have those lovely flowers and plants to grace their homes and gardens. We’re obsessed.

Customer’s are saying “Take my money!!”

It’s like, “I have money and I want to buy as many beautiful flowers as I can fit into my car.” Even more, “I’m prepared to come back again and again to make sure I get everything I want!!”
And this one… “Move aside so I can get to those flowers…don’t take all the best ones!”

You get the picture, don’t you? Where I live, garden centres make lots and lots of money in May and June….provided they are prepared for the onslaught of those gardeners and, of course, the wanna be gardeners.

That’s where my story starts.

In late June, one of our local garden centres, that has been in business for many years, announced a ‘going out of business sale’. I couldn’t help feel bad for them when I saw the sign out front.

It read “Going out of Business…Everything on Sale…30% off.”

Still, it was exciting…bargain time!

Yes, I have to admit, I got excited at the prospect of getting even more of those much sought after flowers and plants…maybe some beautiful new pots as well…and all for a great price.
I could always fit more of these beauties into my garden.
You can never have too many!

So, I pulled into the parking lot.

Now, as garden centres go, it wasn’t that attractive. The place was in need of some repair and some tidying up. Maybe they let it go downhill once they realized they were not going to be around for long. But it made me wonder…how had they been competing with the big name retailers who had huge, beautiful, clean and well organized garden centres? Was it price? Was it the fact that they had been established in the community for a long time?

Perhaps personal service…the kind that comes from being in the community and knowing everyone. Or, maybe they were really good at building relationships and keeping everyones hopes alive
– that they, too, would have the most incredible, the most gorgeous flower gardens in the city if they were to buy from them.

Not so fast…

Well, if my experience was any indicator, I would just say that they did not compete; could not compete; probably didn’t even care to compete.

Anyway, here’s what happened. I wandered around the garden centre noting many, many very attractive floral arrangements – the flowers were incredible and the pots were kind of unique.

And, armed with the knowledge that everything was 30% off, I got myself a large, flat cart and started filling it up. Oh, this was almost too good to be true. All of these magnificent treasures for my garden and all at 30% off.

I headed to the cash desk to make my purchase with the intention of hurrying straight home to get my new treasures firmly planted and arranged in the few areas, around my house, that weren’t already brimming with the hundreds of dollars worth of flowers that I had bought earlier. Excited? Yes…couldn’t wait.

For any of you who don’t share my passion for flowers, this must sound pretty lame but, please, humor me. My world is dark, cloudy and very cold for about 7 months out of 12.
In any case, this story could be about pretty much any type of retail outlet!

Anyway…

It was there, at the cash desk, that I heard the terrible news.
When the bill came to an amount that was clearly incorrect, I voiced my concern. I said “I think you forgot to take the 30% off.” The cashier (who I quickly found out is a member of the family who owns the garden centre) was disgusted. She acted like I was trying to rob her at gunpoint. She said “these are not 30% off.”

Unbelievable…

I explained that the sign outside said “Everything on Sale… 30% off.” And this was her reply.

“No, that doesn’t include these. Do you still want them? Or not?”
I expressed my disappointment and tried to make my point about the sign and being mislead but she would not budge. She said pots are 30% off and flowers are 30% off, but pots with flowers in them or flowers in pots were not on sale at all. Disappointed or not, like I mentioned above, her family owns the soon to be defunct garden centre so I really didn’t have any options.
There was no ‘supervisor’ to complain to. It was her way or the highway!

Bottom line…

At this garden centre… that was going out of business don’t
forget: Pots were 30% off and flowers were 30% off, but any flowers in pots, or any pots holding flowers, were not 30% off. They weren’t even on sale.

And, to make matters worse, the staff member was surly…both miserable and rude. If I misunderstood, I’m sure many other gardeners extaordinaire before me had also. I left empty handed.
It was no longer the price that concerned me…it was a matter of principle.

Enter the competition…

I wonder how long this establishment has been misleading their customers and then abusing them when they got to the counter. I wonder if the arrival of the brand new Lowe’s store, just up the street, gave the flower crazy community the option that they had been waiting for all along. I suspect it did.

The moral of this story: Don’t ever take your hungry market for granted. Someone else may come along and serve up exactly what they’re looking for…and they may be prepared to do it better than you do. In fact, someone is probably planning it right now.

All the Success!
Josephine Hill
DMSRetail Inc.

P.S. If you want to make sure your employees don’t make your customers feel taken for granted, check out the Retail Selling Skills & Customer Service Fundamentals YourTime Study Course:

http://dmsretail.info/click.html?x=a62b&lc=xhI2&mc=Be&s=zSsff&y=e&

P.P.S. And don’t forget, until August 2, 2011, the Retail Operations Management YourTime Study Course is available for pre-order, exclusively for you, at the introductory price of $495. Added bonus – we pay for the shipping and handling on all orders received by August 2, 2011. Order now:

http://dmsretail.info/click.html?x=a62b&lc=xhIZ&mc=Be&s=zSsff&y=o&

It is interesting to note that although hiring quality staff was mentioned as the second biggest challenge, a few people want more coverage on it. Food for thought.

Also, as usual, the sales performance is rated as the biggest challenge; we need to remember that ALL of our activities in retail and I mean everything we do, has a final and ultimate result, whether we make the sale or not. Please make your comments and let your thoughts be known.

All the best!

Store Management doesn’t have to be all that difficult. But it does require the use of some well thought out processes and action strategies. Gone are the days when you could open up a store, put a sign on the front, welcome customers as they came in to browse and then go off to the bank with the receipts of the day….and expect to stay in business. 

No, it’s much more complicated today; you need to think things out a lot more clearly.

Today, we want to operate top notch retail stores, in every respect. We want to be capable of gaining customer loyalty and profits through employee engagement. We want to be well known and respected in the retail industry. We want to attract and retain top talent who will make it all possible.

We want it all…and why not?

But all of this requires a strong commitment and dedication to rock solid business practices.

You need a Store Management Process to follow; to keep things on track.

DMSRetail has developed the Store Management Process – It’s a blueprint showing the steps and actions necessary to operate a successful retail store.

The DMSRetail Store Management Process is now fully explained on DVD and it’s available as part of the DVD collection included with the Super Retail Success Bundle.

Have a look, here, if you’re interested: http://www.dmsretail.com/superbundle.htm

The Store Management Process DVD was recorded with the sole purpose of putting store management into an understandable framework that’s logical; a framework that makes sense to every Store Manager and retail business owner who struggles with any aspect of their store’s operation. Like we said earlier, it doesn’t have to be all that difficult. Fully explained on DVD…

The Store Management Process is a practical map that will walk retail managers all the way from A through Z.

All the Success!!

DMSRetail Inc.

+1(312)239-0919

Training@dmsretail.com

PS: Check out our Facebook page and …if you like us please ‘Like’ us. http://www.facebook.com/dmsretail

PPS: The Store Management Process on DVD is available here: http://www.dmsretail.com/superbundle.htm

What do you think? Is it ok for a store associate to chew gum while working on the sales floor? Or drink soda? Or maybe have a burger stashed under the counter to nibble on?

Surprisingly, there are people who think it is ok, and you may be one of them. Fair enough. And there are others who will be thinking…

what a silly question, of course you can’t allow gum chewing or eating on the sales floor!

Let’s look at this issue from the point of view of the customer. First of all, many people do not chew gum nicely and that, alone, can put a customer off. With all the cracking and popping and extra saliva produced, it can really be quite disturbing. And then there is the inevitable – gum stuck on the floor and, possibly even, gum stuck on the counters, fixtures and merchandise! As for the soda and burgers, you can imagine how nice it would be to be served by someone who is eating and drinking while they’re talking to you! Oh, and the mess when something gets knocked over.

Is there an upside, or a benefit, to the customer by allowing associates to chew gum, eat and drink on the sales floor?

No, there isn’t. Some may say the associates will be happier because they are allowed to do these things while they’re working; that they would like not having so many rules to abide by. Really? Is chewing gum such a big part of life that it can’t be stopped for a few hours? Couldn’t we eat lunch before we got to work?

Anyway, none of this should be of concern to your customer.

At this point, we need to say a word about staffing levels and wage cost reduction measures. There are many retail store associates out there who are not able to leave the sales floor for a break; not even for a lunch or dinner break. And the reason is that the employer is not adequately staffing the store – clearly, not the fault of the associates. These are entirely different circumstances. In these cases, the retailer is not showing care or concern for the employees, or the customers, and the retail organization will probably not be in existance for a long time.  

Getting back to the point, chewing gum, eating and drinking on the sales floor is like many other things – like coming to work with your work clothes crumpled up in the bottom of your backpack. Or, forgetting to brush your teeth and comb your hair and, basically, looking like you’ve been dragged through a hedge backwards!

Standards need to be met. If not for you, as the Manager, at least ensure they are met for the sake of your customers.

There are different styles of management and many different ways of doing just about everything. But, in the interest of your customer (and your sales) perhaps having some hard and fast rules or standards would be a very good thing. If there are good business reasons for having a rule in place, then it should be in place.

While we’re on the subject of standards and rules, let’s think about our sales performance standards as well.

If you relax standards in one area of your business, perhaps you will send the message that standards don’t really have to be that high in any area. Once you lose the principles and the disciplines, it’s difficult to recover.

In a perfect world, everyone we hire would have the highest standards, morals, principles and ethics and we would not ever need to put a single rule or standard in place. They would all just naturally do the right things and would behave impeccably.

But, we are not there yet.

We’re aware that some new wisdom says that what we’re suggesting is old school and no longer appropriate for a new generation. Certainly, we must always look ahead; change and update as we go forward; stay current and on top of trends and manage accordingly. But we should never lose sight of what is important and which standards help us to improve our business; which standards absolutely must be in place to ensure our customers get the respect and courtesy they deserve.

Relaxing standards and expectations for the sake of not being old school just doesn’t make good business sense.  

All the Success!

DMSRetail Inc.

PS: If you still want to approach your business with your customers in mind, there is a great deal of information to help you do that, and much, much more, in the Super Retail Success Bundle, which you can check out here: http://www.dmsretail.com/superbundle.htm

PPS: Check us out on Facebook and ‘Like’ us if you do: http://www.facebook.com/dmsretail

This story ends with the police handcuffing and removing a part time sales associate from the store.

We decided to tell this true story to illustrate just how horribly things can go wrong when you’re not really on top of…

Performance Management

In the very early years of her career, Jane (not her real name) got her first store management job. She inherited a team that left quite a bit to be desired, but she tried her best to work with them. Some of them came along very well; even thrived under Jane’s leadership. However, one employee, who we’ll call Cindy, did not do well at all.

She was constantly late for her shifts, her sales were not very good and she was usually half asleep while on the sales floor.

Obviously, this employee needed guidance in the form of performance management. Jane had several conversations with Cindy to get to know her a little better and find out why her behavior was not up to standard. Cindy, it turns out, had just lost her mother at a young age and Cindy found herself caring for younger siblings. She said that was the reason she was late so often – due to child care responsibilities. She said she was tired all of the time – again, due to child care responsibilities.

She said her sales were not good because she was depressed and upset most of the time.

Well, what does a new, fairly inexperienced Manager do? She fell for it ….hook, line and sinker. Now, to be fair, the story was true. Cindy had just lost her mother. And some new responsibilities were thrust upon her with regard to her younger siblings. However, Jane did not do her part as the Manager. Jane allowed Cindy to behave poorly. She did not take any disciplinary action for tardiness and she allowed her to underperform in all aspects of her job.

 Jane found it difficult to manage Cindy’s performance because there were too many emotions involved.

You’re probably wondering what happened as a result of this situation being allowed to fester. Well, other employees were shaking their heads in disbelief. They knew that Cindy was taking advantage of Jane’s sympathetic nature. And morale plummeted whenever Cindy was working in the store because everyone knew that she was not pulling her weight…not even close!

Then, one evening, Cindy arrived for her shift and asked to speak with Jane in the backroom. 

Cindy asked for a raise. Yes, the poorest performer in the store wanted a raise because, she said, she just wasn’t making enough money to look after her siblings.

Jane, having been a pushover up until now, finally realized she was being taken advantage of. There was no way Cindy was going to get a raise and, in fact, was lucky to still have a job. So, Jane told Cindy that she was not going to get a raise in pay. She also told her that if she improved her sales she would start earning commission and the problem could be solved that way. Cindy was very upset and just kept repeating that she was not going to leave without getting a raise.

 This is where the situation got ugly.

 Jane told Cindy to go and calm down and come back when she had regained her composure. Cindy refused and followed Jane out onto the sales floor. Jane immediately turned back and, again, instructed Cindy to leave the store or sit in the back room until she had calmed down. By now, though, Cindy was yelling “I want a raise” at the top of her lungs. Thankfully, there were no customers around to hear her – but how long would that last?

Jane tried her best to convince Cindy to leave the store but with no success. Finally, as the yelling continued, Jane called security and they came to the store – with the police. The doors to the store were temporarily closed while the police tried to convince Cindy to go with them. She refused repeatedly. Finally, she threw herself on the floor in her attempt to resist being handcuffed. Fixtures were flying across the sales floor. Merchandise was all over the place. Cindy was banging into the fixtures and didn’t seem to care about being physically hurt.

Another staff member stood, mortified, in a corner waiting for it all to end. Jane was shaking with horror at what was transpiring. She wondered how she ever let this situation get so out of hand and vowed never to let it happen again.

In the end, Cindy was removed from the premises and, of course, no longer had her job. Jane learned some very valuable lessons through that entire experience, and here they are:

• Going easy on one associate for a prolonged period of time is unfair to the other employees and to the organization
• Never accept substandard performance regardless of the reasons
• Have regular discussions about performance so it does not get completely out of hand
• Discuss specific issues to get each one sorted out
• Create action plans for, and with, the underperforming employee and hold them accountable
• Realize that you cannot solve your employees personal problems by being ‘nice’ to them – they have to seek help for themselves

Fortunately, this Store Manager learned these hard lessons through experience. What would be really unfortunate would be if she continued to manage performance the way she had done with Cindy – which was, basically, not managing it at all and being too ‘nice’. Jane went on to become a highly successful retail manager who was promoted to higher and higher levels.

All the Success!

DMSRetail Inc.

PS: Check us out on Facebook and if you like us…please ‘Like’ us: http://www.facebook.com/dmsretail

The Store Manager’s Organizer/Planner is in great demand! Just in case you missed this earlier in the week, we are sending you the information again. Below you will find information explaining exactly what each section is used for, and how it is used.

You know what they say…. Plan your work and work your plan!

As a specialist, that’s not always easy because no ordinary organizer or planner will do for you. But there is help.

The DMSRetailer is an Organizer/Planner designed specifically for Store Managers. It is a remarkable tool to assist you in operating your retail store(s).

The instant electronic download version of the exclusive Store Manager’s Organizer/Planner is on sale, for just a few more days, for only US$24.95. And, if you order now, you’ll receive a free Bonus Success Guide – Super Tactics of Time Management Experts.   http://www.dmsretail.com/dmsretailer.htm

Here is just one of the many benefits of using the DMSRetailer Store Manager’s Organizer/Planner…you only buy the electronic download once and you can use it every year…forever!

Here is the detailed information about this truly outstanding product… please read on.

Heading:  Store Data

This section is used to identify your store by location or number. The square footage is relevant as you will need this information for calculating certain KPI’s. Gross square footage is the total store. Net square footage is just selling space – or space that is used for selling to customers. If you do not know the gross and net square footage you should be able to get the exact numbers from your Head Office. Those numbers would be included in the lease agreement and/or construction documents.

Heading: Last Year Actual

This is where you will record important details from the prior year:  Sales $ – the actual sales dollars from last year. % of Prior Year Ach. – the % of last year’s sales budget/target achieved. W/C% – this is the wage cost % for last year.  $/sq. ft – this is last year’s sales dollars divided by your store’s square footage. Gross Margin $ – this is the total gross margin dollars for last year. % – this is the gross margin percent achieved last year.

Heading: Current Year Budgets/Targets

Enter the month, the date your company has determined as the fiscal month end date and the budget/target sales dollars.

Heading: Employee Roster – F/T

Enter the name, position, hire date, rate code* and review date of each full time employee. *a rate code is something you develop so that actual pay rates cannot be seen. For example: If employee X is earning 10.00 per hour, you may use code A.0 – A is for the number 1 and 0 is for 0. Another example – employee Y is earning 9.80 per hour, you may use code I.H – I is for the number 9 (9^th letter in the alphabet is I) and H is for 8 (H is the 8^th letter in the alphabet). The point is to develop a code that is understandable only to you so you don’t have to worry about recording sensitive information in your organizer.

Heading: Employee Roster – P/T

Same as above, but for Part Time employees.

Heading: Sales & Appointments

This page is used to record the week ending date, the week #, daily weather conditions, the daily sales budget or target, last year’s actual sales for the same day, the actual sales achieved for the day this year, the % of the daily budget or target achieved, the % of business done on each day relative to the whole week. This number is calculated at the end of the week when the total sales for the week is known. The total weeks’ sales number is 100%. All calculations require simple retail math. If you require help with retail math, check DMSRetail’s Success Guide titled Retail Math – Made Simple. You can find it here: http://www.dmsretail.com/retailmathbook.htm

The balance of the page is used for recording appointments and personal notes.

Heading: Key Performance Indicators

Record all KPI’s for the week – target, last year actual, this year actual, variance to target and variance to last year actual. Again, if you are unsure of KPI calculations and require help with retail math, all of this information can be found in DMSRetail’s Success Guide called Retail Math – Made Simple. Here is the link again:  http://www.dmsretail.com/retailmathbook.htm

Heading: Performance Concerns to be Addressed

Record the name(s) of the employee who is not performing up to expectations, the date the information was taken from, the KPI’s that are not up to expectations and any other concerns you need to discuss with the same employee(s) (example: tardiness, behavior, dress code, etc.)

Heading: Merchandise Issues/Concerns

Make notes regarding merchandise issues so that you can quickly recall them when speaking with the appropriate person at your Head Office or when called upon to provide feedback on merchandise. This is an excellent section to record the details you will need when doing merchandise reviews/reports because it’s so easy to forget due to the number of styles/sku’s you deal with. 

Heading: Cumulative Sales

This is where you keep your cumulative sales and budget achievement up to date so you can see them at a glance. Each new week you update these numbers by adding the prior week’s sales actual and sales budget and sales for the same week last year. MTD $, QTD$, YTD$ – these are actual sales numbers for month to date, quarter to date and year to date. MTD % Budget, QTD % Budget, YTD % Budget – these are the % achieved compared to budget numbers for month to date, quarter to date and year to date. MTD % LY, QTD % LY, YTD % LY – these are the % achieved compared to last year’s actual sales numbers.

Note: Some companies break monthly budgets/targets into weeks. This organizer has allotted space for monthly budget numbers (page 1). If you do have weekly budgets, you should list them and keep them with your organizer so you can use them when updating and calculating Cumulative Sales. If you do not have weekly budgets, then you can estimate your weekly budget by taking your monthly budget and determining if there are any special events, or new merchandise receipts, etc. coming in certain weeks of the month. Then you take your monthly budget and break it down by %. For example, if a special event will occur in week 2 of the month then allocate 40% of the monthly budget to week 2. Then your weekly budget breakdown will be as follows: For example only – Week 1 = 20%    Week 2 = 40%   Week 3 = 20%   Week 4 = 20%

There is a 3 Year Sales History, by week, toward the back of your organizer. We recommend that you fill in these numbers as soon as possible.

Heading: Payroll

This is where you record your wage dollars paid, hours used and wage cost % for the week. There are sections for the Budgeted numbers for the week, the Actual numbers for the week and the Variance between Budget and Actual for the week.

Heading: Top Producers Last Week

This is where you record the name and SPH (Sales per Hour) Achievement of your top 5 producers. This section will be used to assist you in scheduling productively. Your top producing people should benefit from being given more working hours.

Heading: To Do List W1

This section is self explanatory. Plenty of room is provided, for each day of the week, for you to make notes.

Heading: Time Off Requests & Scheduling Notes

This section should be used, by the Manager or other person in charge of scheduling, to record special requests from staff regarding working hours/days. You can also record things that will be important for you to recall when making a schedule. For example: “Inventory count – schedule 8 extra hours on Tuesday” or “new person starting on Friday – add training hours”.

Note: It is not advisable to leave a calendar out for staff to write which days/shifts they do and do not want to work. This is an invitation for scheduling issues to occur. Any staff member who wishes to make special arrangements regarding their schedule should be required to speak directly to the Manager or other person in charge of scheduling. Once you agree to a special request, make the note in this section of your organizer so you will not forget what you have agreed to.

Heading: To Do List W2

As above in To Do List W1.

Heading: Supplies Required

This is where you should note any supplies that will be required or reminders to check supply levels.

Heading: Maintenance Required

This is where you should note any maintenance required now or reminders to check that everything is functioning properly. You can also note any contact you have made with maintenance people regarding equipment, etc.

 Heading: Shipments This Week

You can use this section for various different purposes. 1) to record the dates your shipments are expected 2) to record shortages or overages by shipment 3) to record damaged merchandise received  4) to record packing slip numbers 5) reminder to call the shipping company 6) to assign personnel to the task of shipping/receiving. Basically, anything you need to note regarding your shipments.

Heading: Sales Performance Q1

Here you will record the week number, the actual sales $, the budgeted sales $ and the % achieved for the Week, Month to date, Quarter to date and Year to date. This page gives you only achievement compared to budget but presents a bigger picture to review than the small Cumulative Sales record found in each weekly section.  The small Cumulative Sales record also gives you comparisons to LY.

You will also find Sales Performance for Q2, Q3 and Q 4 placed in the appropriate places throughout your organizer.

Heading: Recruiting Q1

This is where you record details of any recruiting and interviewing activity that takes place. Note a Potential Candidate’s name, the Source (or where you found them) Contact Info. of the Potential Candidate, the Interview Date – either planned or actual, the Outcome (will you hire them or not?) and the names & phone numbers of References provided by the Potential Candidate.

You will also find Recruiting for Q2, Q3 and Q4 placed in the appropriate places throughout your organizer.

Heading: Marketing/Promotions Record 1^st Half

This is where you will record details of any promotions, special events, etc. There is room for 26 promotions but, you won’t necessarily have that many promotions in 6 months so you can use more than one line per promotion.

As an example only: Month – February, Promotion Name – Valentine’s Day, Run Dates – February 5-14^th, Details of Offer – 20% off and free gift wrapping, Signage Used – New Red/White Valentine’s Day Promo signage, Actual Results $ – $20,250, Post Promo Comments – 30% over budget, ran out of free gift wrap.

You will also find Marketing/Promotions Record 2^nd Half placed appropriately in your organizer.

Heading: 3 Year Sales History

This is where you record actual sales dollars for each week of the year, for three consecutive years prior to the year you are in. Actual (LY) is for last year, Actual (PY2) is for the year before last year or 2 years ago and Actual (PY3) is for 3 years ago. So if you are currently working in year 2010, then LY is 2009, PY2 is 2008 and PY3 is 2007.

Heading: Contacts

Self explanatory.

Heading: Staff Contact Information

Self explanatory.

Calendars for Current Year, Prior Year and Next Year are included for easy reference.

There are 4 full pages dedicated to each week – and we’ve given you plenty of room for all of your notes and anything else you like to record in your organizer!

We hope you decide to get organized for 2011 and take advantage of the savings and the bonus. Inquire at jhill@dmsretail.com for volume discounts.

All the Success!

DMSRetail Inc.