Why and How to Measure Store Compliance

Compliance with standard operating procedures, merchandising programs, health and safety directives, and loss prevention protocols is essential to the success of a retail business.

Stores that stay on top of programs and brand standards run more efficiently and provide a better customer experience. But with so much going on, simply publishing standards does not guarantee they will be executed, at least not to the degree they should be.

Here are 5 reasons why and how to measure store compliance.

Let’s dive in.

Engage Front-line Employees

Measurement engages store employees as well as franchisees.  Only 5% of employees say they fully understand their company’s business strategies or what their company expects of them to help achieve company goals.

It’s important to train your frontline and customer facing staff on the business goals and expectations. From there, measurement reinforces organizational standards and best practices to ensure front-line workers continue to achieve company goals.

How to Measure

Get out of the office and into your stores! Conducting on-site compliance/retail audits offers the opportunity for members of head office to talk with store leadership and employees. Also, audits help you see what is really going on in your stores.

But remember, district/regional manager visits are not just about checking up on stores, but about checking in with stores. Ask questions, actively listen, and see where you can offer resources to help stores not only achieve their KPIs, but exceed them.

Set Priorities

Different stores and franchisees have different priorities based on their experiences. In some cases, this can lead to stores ignoring core operating standards. Implementing measurement practices ensures that all stores execute brand standards in full, on time, and across all locations.

HOW TO MEASURE

Ask stores to self-audit. Using a retail audit platform like Bindy allows you to request store inspections. Create customized checklists for operations, loss prevention, or merchandising programs with clear directives and best practice photos.

Next, use points and mark certain questions as critical to draw the store’s attention to key operational practices. Request the inspection with mandatory photos to verify execution.

Training is not enough

Training is essential. Moreover, offering continuous learning opportunities to employees is a great way to keep them engaged and ensure your operating procedures are up-to-date. But training isn’t enough. It is important to measure how employees apply what they have learned and follow through on training principles.

Auditing training in-store helps you know when training programs are successful and where you may need to adjust your coaching strategy.

HOW TO MEASURE

After you deploy a training program, use a checklist to audit stores and track results. Whether training relates to new health and safety protocols, loss prevention or merchandising programs, create a customized checklist to verify execution in all stores.

Once you know what is working and where you need to focus on improvement, you can assign tasks to provide additional training or complete new programs.

Level-Up the Customer Experience

When stores are running well, they attract customers. Using clear communication and task management software allows you to make sure stores are clean and running efficiently. A consistent customer experience is paramount for customer retention.  According to PWC’s consumer intelligence report, 32% of consumers will walk away from a brand they love after one bad experience.

Communicating clear and concise standards means a customer does not have to alter their expectations regardless of which location they go to. Make sure all employees (part-time, seasonal, full-time, and franchisees) understand and deliver on service standards.

HOW TO MEASURE

Use an app that allows you to manage content your teams see, share customer service news, training videos, files, and KPIs. Choose one that let’s you know when stores have engaged with materials. For example, Bindy’s content manager generates read-receipt when store users engage with an entire post. Unlike email, you never have to guess whether or not stores have reviewed all the content.

Audit your stores, and if something is not up to standard, assign trackable tasks or action plans with recommendations to make certain customer service issues are resolved.

Measurement Helps Shape Operations

When you do away with paper checklists and Excel for store audits, you can track trends with ease. This helps you see when and where stores are improving, declining, and identify problem areas. With accurate data you can reshape programs and standards to respond before there is damage to the business and your brand’s reputation.

Choose a solution with built-in reports so you can track trends instantly and easily from any device, anywhere.

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