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Building a winning convenience store team
A successful convenience store starts with a team of engaged employees. There are some key traits managers should look for when hiring.
Successful sports teams require specific skills. Over the years, different teams have tried to create a winning formula by signing groups of superstars, and occasionally the approach works. But just as often, that approach fails because the team lacks the chemistry and key role players necessary for success.
Convenience store associates will never get the same level of acclaim (or compensation) as professional athletes, but assembling a winning group requires similar thinking. Companies need to consider the traits and strengths of people they are hiring to create winning combinations for the company and, of course, for their customers.
People Power for C-Stores, the most recent report from the NACS Coca‑Cola Retailing Research Council, examines the power and potential of employee engagement in convenience stores. The report recommends that companies hire people with personality characteristics that predispose them to become engaged employees. Not surprisingly these traits include: stability, openness, optimism and extroversion.
As the report shows, employee engagement can lead to improved sales, profits and customer loyalty along with a decline in staff turnover. The reality is that most convenience stores aren’t the Yankees and don’t have an easy selection of new staffers. Thankfully, store-level managers can take specific steps to connect with and motivate their staffers. The results from such attention can be powerful.