How Retail Managers Can Lead By Example

 

Even your most seasoned employees can use a refresher now and then.

Keeping your store compliant is an ongoing challenge – from employee turnover to shifting state and federal law. As a retail manager, it’s your job to make sure your team knows what’s right, what’s wrong, what’s new and how to use all of this knowledge in their day-to-day dealings with customers. But you’re not alone: We Card is here to help you stay up to date on the latest compliance rules and training. 

 

Here are some quick tips.

 

Card Customer Under 30 Years Old (if your state has a higher age threshold, follow your state requirement.) Last September 30th, FDA finalized a rule that requires retailers to verify with a valid government issued photo ID the age of anyone under 30 years old who tries to purchase FDA-regulated products (such as tobacco, vaping and nicotine pouches products.) 

 

Quiz your employees on the Under 30 carding requirement. Do you know at what age you have to ask for ID?  If your store policy is to ask for ID for all customers, make sure your employees know it and your re-enforcement of it as their manager helps drive it home! 

 

Re-Training

You know your new hires need to be trained, but did you know that even the most veteran employees perform better when they get a little refresher? We Card recommends periodically re-training employees 1-2 times per year. And one of the best ways to get that re-training is through We Card’s Employee Refresher Training course. This course includes interactive exercises to help employees learn how to ask for ID, identify minors and how to use We Card’s age calculation tools, keeping them up to date on how to properly handle any situation. 

 

Written Company Policy

Telling an employee your expectations is often not enough. If something’s not written down, it can easily be forgotten, misunderstood or distorted. Giving your employees a copy of your company policies in writing ensures they’ll always have the right resources at arms’ length. Consider having every employee read-and-sign a Written Company Policy and keep a copy in their employee file.  Need help creating a policy? Try using We Card’s Written Company Policy template along with your management’s input to develop one if there’s not one already in place.

 

Demonstrating The AERO Technique

AERO is We Card’s recommended way to handle confrontations at the register. AERO stands for Apologize, Explain, Remove and Offer, and is useful to deescalate or avoid tension when someone underage or someone with an expired ID attempts to purchase an age-restricted product. You can give your employees the confidence to use this technique by demonstrating it yourself, either through role play exercises or by having them observe as you work the register yourself. Seeing how you would handle these situations helps to put your employees’ minds at ease and gives them the tools to more effectively perform their jobs. 

 

All of these are excellent ways of keeping your store compliant by providing a more personal touch. This helps build trust between you and your employees and helps get you better overall employee performance results.