industry focus
Not my role
What you can tell about a store’s shrink rate from the state of the staff washroom.
When you are trying to assess the state of a store’s shrink figures, look not at the stockroom or count, or even shelf availability, but take a closer look at the staff toilet!
This is the scientific KPI of Profit Protection Manager at The Body Shop, Steve Middleton, who told the audience at the annual Retail Fraud Conference that they should specifically check whether the toilet roll holder is empty or full to calculate the level of engagement from store manager down.
In essence, the cardboard tube is a barometer of performance – whether stock is secure or, indeed, down the pan!
The rationale of his analysis was that if the holder was continuously empty with no one replacing it, there was a general endemic culture of ‘not my job or not my role (or roll) to change it’ argued Middleton.
And this was common in poor performing stores where what Middleton described as the ‘warm and walking’ dwell – those staff who are not engaged with the brand and see their role as just a job, a means to an end with clear demarcations and an ethos of not going the extra mile.
“Recruitment of the 'warm and walking’ where there is no emotional contract with your brand results in disillusioned members of staff and is part of a general culture of ‘that is not my job,’ he told delegates at the Novotel, Hammersmith last week.
“Where there is an empty toilet roll holder, you will know that there are other issues in that store,” he said.
He told the audience that the culture of dishonesty can easily build within this environment whether it is external influences such as family, friends or addictions that drive them to steal, or internal forces such as being witness to someone else doing it ‘so why can't I?,” he said.
He said collusion and inclusion were also big drivers of the issue.
“When one person is stealing, at least two others know about it but don't say anything,”
He used the analogy of 15 per cent of staff will never steal from you, while another 15 per cent will always do so.
“That leaves 70 per cent who will steal from you if they get the chance and, depressingly that means that 85 per cent of those working for you could be stealing at any given time. We should therefore concentrate on influencing the 70 per cent,” he said
Tips to successful teams include the store manager being one stage removed from the team as well as making sure that LP processes and compliance are both accessible – easy to do – and updateable so that when things go wrong, there is an opportunity to re-evaluate.
“There is a direct correlation between low audit scores and high shrink, and vice versa,” he said.
“Airtime or golden hour with the finance director is also crucial to make sure they are updated and engaged with the process, but above all, keep an eye on the toilet rolls.”
