Successful teaching tool: the daily walk

By Tom Roblnson Robinson & Associates Candler. N.C.

A YOUNG worker in a lumberA yard/home center often begins his new job filled with excitement, but his enthusiasm can diminish when he discovers there is no training program.

Instead of receiving an organized and informative introduction to his duties, he is assigned to watch another employee and learn the job on his own. By the end of the first day, this worker can be concerned with the poor quality of his training and the lack of potential advancement in the company.

Many employees leave our industry because advancement is not available. The employee with the drive to excel looks for opportunities to advance. lf they are lacking, he willgo to another industry. All businesses need to commit to training and provide incentives to progress.

The daily walk, long a successful training tool for industry giants, can be an answer to the training problem. Covering all areas of the store and yard, it enables a manager, his assistant managers, department managers and employees to plan the workday.

Each four foot section and endcap should be analyzed for needed work and improvement. In addition to helping a manager and staff to develop better communication, this technique gives the employee an opportunity to learn from his superior as well as to develop his own ideas.

I still recall with pleasure an experience with my regional manager about l8 years ago. As we approached the hardware section on the store walk, he asked, "What's your opinion of this area?" I remember thinking, "What would he want me to say?" and deciding to say what I thought should be done. To my surprise, he said my ideas were good and advised me on how to dissect each aisle in order to perfect my plan.

I could hardly wait for him to leave so I could discuss "my plan" with the assistant managers. I used the same approach he had used with me in talking with them. As a young manager, I wasn't as e{ficient at it as he was, but I achieved good results and continued to use this method to develop employee enthusiasm which soon set our store apart from the others.

Story at a Glane

Gukb b manqBment Uaining nslng a dally walk thrcugh the slorc. case hlstory ol how the tecfinQue worked ior llndell's in Knoxvllle, Tn.

Everyone in the store took part in the daily walk. After I walked with my assistants, they walked with their employees, planning what each would do that day. Everyone learned that they must follow up on each day's plan. Employees developed self confidence, showed more excitement about their departments and established friendly rivalry.

The daily walk allows management to evaluate each employee based on daily performance. In addition, with the daily opportuniity to assume responsibility, employees acquire better attitudes about the management and company. Knowing what is expected of them each day gives a sense of accomplishment. They not only discipline themselves to do the assigned tasks, they make sure that others accomplish theirs as well.

A manager must follow up on the progress of the employee striving to achieve his daily plan. Nothing upsets an employee more than having a manager point out mistakes in a project that is almost complete. Pro-

Texas Distribution Meeting

Building product manufacturers and distributors will meet in Dallas, Tx., Oct. 27-29 for the annual meeting and exhibits of the National Building Material Distributors Association.

JeffBlackman, Blackman & Associates, will address the general session on methods of adapting to change. Educational offerings will include a discussion of the NBMDA 1991 Profit Planning Survey by Dr. Albert D. Bates, Profit Planning Group; leadership tools for the '90s, Gene Hannum, Armstrong World jects should be checked frequently during the day with ongoing projects being evaluated on the daily walk. Follow-up is vital.

Although the daily walk has been an accepted training tool for large chains, independents have seldom seen it as workable. Recently, I had an opportunity to prove that it can be effective for both.

Carl Tindell, president of Tindell's, Knoxville, Tn., asked me to train his store managers. After Richard Tindell, a vice president, and I toured the stores, we decided that two of the three needed to be remerchandised before training could begin. Working with managers, I observed an eagerness and commitment to learn how to better merchandise a store plus a willingness to make the sacrifices needed to reach a goal.

After two months of reworking the aisles, we started to train using the daily walk. Two of the three managers had no management training, but their progress at the end of five months was remarkable. Each acquired confidence through the walk with his employees. A better management/employee relationship developed and employees began to have pride in the appearance of the store as well as more confidence and better skills.

My 1970s experience was repeated in the '90s with the same success. The daily walk worked. Better communication, fairer evaluation, pride, self-confidence and employee growth developed.

You, too, can ensure a healthy future for your store by beginning each day with a walk.