Improving job skills - Retailing - Cover Story

Nation's Business, Dec, 1994

Every year, about three-fourths of high-school graduates choose to enter the work force rather than go to college, according to estimates prepared by the U.S. Department of Labor.

"Most of these kids have been prepared for nothing," says Kathy Mannes, project coordinator for the Labor Department's Retail Job Skill Standards Project. "Many of them go into retailing as their first job, stay a couple of months, and leave because they have not been trained."

Retailers have felt the effects of high turnover for years. The human-resources department at Filene's, the Boston-based department-store company, reports a 130 percent annual turnover in salespeople.

"That sends a very clear message," says Marjorie Steinberg, executive director of the Retail Center at the University of Hartford. "People walk in the door because they think retail is a cinch," she says, "and they don't succeed because either they don't have the basic skills going in or they get frustrated with the whole area of retail sales."

The Retail Job Skill Standards Project is a pilot program aimed at identifying the tasks, skills, and knowledge necessary to perform well as a retail salesperson. The research has spanned two years and involves a dozen large and medium-sized retailers, a wide spectrum of salespersons, and the National Retail Federation, a trade group in Washington, D.C.

Salespeople--and their skills in customer service--have direct impact on a retailer's profit line. "That's why we are focused on this job sector," says Mannes. Skills such as applied math, listening abilities, and problem-solving are among the areas covered in the study.

"A big piece of the Skill Standards Project is to send a message to educators on how they can help develop people in the basic skills desired by retail employers," says Mannes.

The University of Hartford's Steinberg is one educator who is acting on the message. The school's Retail Center conducts two eight-week courses designed to train people with little or no retail sales experience. "We give them basic background and training to go into a [retail] sales job and hit the ground running," says Steinberg.

Last year 28 students completed the courses; 22 are in retail sales positions in the Hartford area. Michael Tiggett was in the graduating class last spring and now works as a sales associate for Sears in West Hartford. "I personally believe in building long-term customer loyalty," says Tiggett, who sells appliances on a commission basis. "I got a lot out of the program, and I know they looked at my application more seriously because I had the training coming in."

"I was quite impressed with him," says Alice Pikora, the personnel specialist for Sears who interviewed Tiggett for the job. "The training certificate, his attitude, and willingness to try a commission sales job made him a good candidate for hire."

Pikora, who has been in the retail personnel field for 15 years, says she has seen a steady decline in the quality of sales applicants over the past years. "I see people who don't even know how to write their name or fill out an application," she says, "It is unbelievable."

Reversing--or at least slowing--the decline of acceptable candidates for retail sales jobs is at the root of the Labor Department's efforts with the Job Skill Standards Project. Retailers will be introduced to the project in early 1995. Implementation of the standards will be on a voluntary, company-by-company basis, says Mannes.

"This project is exploratory," Mannes explains, "but it is a way to focus in on the needs of developing a world-class work force."