US Customer Service and Human Resources
Introduction
Customer service and human resources are central to the division’s success and are a key constraint on the rate of growth achieved. A major priority of the division is continually to improve the quality of customer experiences in its existing stores while providing sufficient staff that are well trained and with suitable experience to run the new stores being opened.
2007/08
During 2007/08 the implementation of an enhanced training system for store staff, to develop customer service skills and product knowledge further, was completed. Training to implement a new store communications system was also carried out; the system has increased productivity by improving in-store execution, compliance monitoring, store feedback and has enhanced the ability to identify store and divisional level opportunities to improve execution further. Training and systems enhancements to improve the repair service, an important driver of footfall and customer trust, were also implemented.
Customer satisfaction
A customer satisfaction index covering 12 criteria was introduced to all stores during 2006/07. Based on customer feedback, each store is benchmarked against others in its district, region and across the division. The scores are reported on a monthly basis, highlighting areas of good performance and those for improvement, and are one of the key performance indicators used to manage each store.
Training
Providing knowledgeable and responsive customer service is a priority, and is regarded by management as a key point of differentiation. It is believed that highly trained sales associates, with the necessary product knowledge to communicate the quality, attributes and competitive value of merchandise, are critical to the success of the business. Store staff also receive training on supply chain issues such as conflict diamonds and the environmental impact of gold mining.
Retail sales personnel are encouraged to become certified
diamontologists by graduating from a comprehensive correspondence course provided by the Diamond Council of America. Over 50% of the division’s full time sales staff who have completed their probationary period are certified diamontologists or are training to become certified.
All store managers are required to be so qualified. The number of certified diamontologists employed by the US division increased by 16% in 2007/08 to some 5,300. Employees often continue their professional development through completion of further courses on gemstones and timepieces.
The US division’s substantial training and incentive programmes, for all levels of store staff, are designed to play an important role in recruiting, educating and retaining qualified store staff. The preferred practice is to promote managers at all levels from within the business in order to maintain continuity and familiarity with the division’s procedures.
Goals and incentives
All store employees are set daily performance standards and commit to goals. Sales commission based on individual and store performance is paid. Sales contests and incentive programmes also reward the achievement of specific targets with travel or additional cash awards. Apart from sales-based incentives, bonuses are paid to store managers depending on store contribution and to district managers for the achievement of key performance objectives. In 2007/08 approximately 19% (2006/07: 23%) of store personnel remuneration
was commission and incentive-based.
US head office bonuses are based on the performance of the division against predetermined annual profit targets. Promotion and salary decisions for principally non-management head office personnel are based on performance against service level and productivity goals; for
managers they are based on annual objectives and performance against individual job requirements.
Store managers
Each store is led by a store manager who is responsible for various store level operations including overall sales and branch level variable costs; certain personnel matters such as recruitment and training; and customer service. Administrative matters, including purchasing, merchandising, payroll, preparation of training materials, credit operations and divisional operating procedures are consolidated at divisional level. This allows the store manager to focus on those tasks that can be best executed at a store level, while enabling the business to benefit from economies of scale in administration and to help ensure consistency of execution across all the stores.
Recruitment, retention and promotion
Although staff recruitment is primarily the responsibility of store and district managers, field recruiters are supplied by a central recruitment function. Methods such as internet recruitment are used to provide stores with a larger number of better-qualified candidates from which to select new staff.
Management believes that the recruitment and retention of highly-qualified and well-trained staff in the US head office is essential to supporting the stores. A comprehensive in-house curriculum, including leadership development, supplements specific job training and emphasises the importance of the working partnership between stores and the head office.
A key motivator for all staff, and in particular for store based employees, is the division’s practice of internal promotion. It is a requirement that District Managers and Vice Presidents of Regional Operations have been a store manager within the division.