Canadian Retailer - Store 2014 - 61

2014 ERA AWARDS TALENT DEVELOPMENT
AWARD WINNER

EMPLOYEES CHAMPIONING BEER

Engaging and empowering employees to enhance the in-store
customer experience
THE Beer Store, an Ontario retailer, is entering its 87th year

with notable successes-they managed to keep employees for
an average of 24 years and they have been ranked by Randstad as one of Canada's top employers two years in a row. Even
with these successes, the retailer faces heady challenges from
various corners: the store has a large number of retirees on the
horizon; they have more competition than ever before; they face
renewed threats from lobbyists who want to move alcohol sales
out of sanctuaries like The Beer Store and into corner stores.

Success resting on the backs of knowledgeable employees.

The retailer set out to renew itself by focusing on its frontline employees-and set out on this renewal with a special
mindfulness to the expectations the new generation entering
the workforce places on its employer. They want knowledge,
they are eager for a career start, and they want to have fun and
find satisfaction along the way. The Beer Store's solution was
"Creating Champions of Beer Love Everyday" a talent development strategy that trains employees in all ways of beer appreciation. They become beer experts, beer connoisseurs, beer advisors and beer lovers who know about beer and food pairings,
the different styles of beer and how beer is made.
As the company shifts to this new way of retailing beer, its
recruiting and hiring practices will change too. The retailer will
hire not based on skill alone but on the candidate's personality
traits, desire to work with people and enthusiasm about beer.

The company has set a significant target for
itself: to claw back at least 10 per cent market
share from competitors-the equivalent to $200
million in sales in 10 years-and to maintain an
enthusiastic, long-serving group of employees.
Significant Results

Suzanne Makins, Manager of Training and
Development at The Beer Store, says the training program, which was delivered over a sixweek period to 980 employees, has been a winwin with customers and employees.
"Absolutely we have seen an increase in our
employee morale which has cascaded to the
service that is now being provided to the customers," she says. "Customers are noticing the
engagement level has increased in the retail
environment and overall the atmosphere is
very conducive to an inviting atmosphere."
The Beer Store has measured the training
program in various ways. One way has been
through mystery shopping that has tested
employees before and after the training. The
mystery shopping reported that employees
were more confident in their work and more
enthusiastic about how they engaged customers. Exit interviews with employees noted a
stronger sense of pride in the company. And
on the key metric-market share-The Beer
Store's market share increased 3.6 per cent,
which resulted in a 4.01 per cent volume increase, far surpassing expectations.
Makins says the high level of engagement
of employees gratifies her. "The comments we
have received have been positive, which energizes the training team to continue to move
forward and communicate this program to
other arms of the business."
For other retailers looking to undertake a similar initiative, Makins reminds them to remember
the power of person-to-person training.
"Sometimes we underestimate the value of
face-to-face training, as we know the trend is
technology, but there still is value in conducting
interactive facilitated sessions," she says.

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