Profit improvement opportunities f or retailers

By Francis C. "Frank" Grau

(a) How much work should be produced in a predetermined period?

(b) How much work is actually being produced in each predetermined period? Studies of each activity should be made to establish fair and reslistic stsndards of performance.

EETAILERS' costs for nonselling activities ultiJlmately contribute to the cost of each merchandise item. You should analyze these activities, which are frequently classified as part of overhead, to determine their cost-reduction and profit-improvement potential.

The approach taken in this questionnaire is to review the store's actual procedures for carrying out nonselling activities and to give suggestions for identifying areas where savings can be achieved.

Questionnaire and Work Guide

Supervisor's Responsibilities

(1) Is each supervisor aware of:

Yes No

(2) Are the related staffing requirements preplanned (on an hourly, weekly or daily basis) to achieve maximum employee use? Whenever possible, work should be assigned to employees in controlled units to be completed within relatively short intervals. A correlotion should exist between known work load and available employee hours. Normql shift hours and overtime hours should be token into considerution.

(3) Is a control schedule used for receiving and assigning work and for following up on work completed?

A control schedule is a basic tool for establishing control over the work input to a department or section, ossigning work to designated employees and planning follow-up. Such a schedule also provides basic dota that will be useful in planning future staffing requirements.

Story at a Glance

Sales personnel training . scheduling, supervision, positioning lor maximum effectiveness. reduced costs...

i m proved productivity.

Employee Performance

(1) Are individual employee hourly (or daily) work requirements well-defined in each department or section?

(2) Depending on peak or slack requirements, do production records (or observation) show a wide variation in the hourly or daily productivity of the same employee (or among departmental employees performing similar duties)?

Variations in productivity on an hourly or daily bosis can be expected if there is a conesponding fluctuation in the work load. Peak performonce by employees in response to peak requirements is frequently a good indication of the potential productivity of these employees.

(3) Is timely follow-up made on substandard performance?

Scheduling Assignments

(1) Do employees have "fixed" work assignments rather than assignments based on volume fluctuation?

(2) Is there provision for transferring personnel to other areas on an hourly, daily or weekly basis to deal with peak activity?

(3) Are departmental training programs designed to achieve employee flexibility?

Use of a deportmental manual of procedures facilitata the training of new employees and the crosslraining of existing employees.

(4) Can employee use be improved by:

(a) Early shifts?

(b) Late shifts?

(c) Staggered lunch hours?

(d) Temporary help?

(e) Part+ime help?

These personnel planning techniques can help avoid delays in processing paperwork, maximize equipment use and prepare for the regu lar, ful l- t ime stoff