We often hear people say, “There seems to be a gap between the stores and head office.”
There is often a perception that head office gives the instructions, while the stores are responsible for carrying them out.
This in itself is not necessarily wrong. However, unnecessary gaps can arise when there is a lack of mutual understanding—for example,
when head office gives instructions without fully understanding the situation at the stores,
or when the reasons behind head office's decisions and the difficulties involved in coordinating within head office are not properly communicated to store teams.
However, stores and head office are ultimately part of the same organization and team, working toward the same goals.
Therefore, it is important to create opportunities and systems that help everyone feel more connected as one organization.
Here are 10 approaches that have proven effective in practice.
1) Explain the Reasons Behind Head Office Instructions
When head office gives instructions, it is important to explain why the action is necessary, why a particular numerical target has been set, and what benefits or value will be created if the target is achieved.
The more clearly the reasons are communicated, the easier it is for store teams to understand the purpose and put the instructions into practice.
2) Assign People with Store Experience to Head Office
Having people at head office who understand how stores actually operate and what challenges they face can help identify and avoid potential bottlenecks, leading to smoother implementation of company initiatives.
Only people with actual store experience can fully understand things such as how store operations work and whether a store is realistically ready to implement a particular initiative.
3) Create Opportunities to Experience Both Store and Head Office Work
Providing opportunities for head office staff to experience actual work at a store, and for store staff to experience the work done at head office, can be very effective in promoting mutual understanding.
In many companies, there are far more store employees than head office employees, and stores may also be located across the country. Therefore, it may not be possible for everyone to participate.
However, it would be beneficial to establish a system for sharing the experiences and feedback of participants throughout the company.
4) Create Opportunities to Put Stores in the Spotlight
Stores are the part of the business that directly generates revenue, while head office also contributes indirectly.
Therefore, it can be a good idea to create opportunities for store employees to present their successful initiatives to the entire company.
Another approach is to invite store employees to head office meetings and give them opportunities to share their firsthand perspectives directly with top management.
5) Involve Store Staff in Planning Promotions and Other Initiatives
Store employees are the people who interact with customers and hear their feedback every day.
Therefore, it is valuable for head office and store employees to work together when planning promotions and other sales initiatives, incorporating insights from customers.
Store employees should not simply provide ideas. By making responsible proposals from the perspective of how to make something sell and how much it is likely to sell, they can develop a stronger sense of partnership with head office staff.
6) Have Head Office and Store Staff Attend the Same Training
Typically, many training programs—such as store manager training and customer service training—are provided only to store employees.
However, it is also beneficial to offer training programs that both head office and store employees can attend together, such as third-year employee training or communication training.
Even having head office staff sit in on training sessions for store employees as observers can create opportunities for the two groups to interact and talk with each other.
7) Recognize and Highlight Employees Who Make a Difference
It is important to show that the company values employees who make significant contributions, whether at head office or in the stores.
For example, you can interview employees who are making a difference and share their stories throughout the company, or feature them in an internal company newsletter.
Companies often recognize stores that achieve their annual sales targets.
Why not also recognize the support provided by head office—for example, with an “Outstanding Head Office Support Award”?
8) Make Employees' Career Paths Clear
One option is to incorporate planned job rotations between head office and stores, as well as transfers between the two when appropriate, into the company's human resources system.
It is important for the company to clearly demonstrate its commitment to supporting employees' growth and development.
It is also important because it helps employees understand what career options are available to them within the company.
9) Have Top Management Visit Stores and Listen to Frontline Employees
It is extremely important for top management to visit stores and speak directly with store employees.
Top management can communicate its policies and thinking directly to store employees, while store employees can communicate the actual situation at the store and their perspectives directly to top management.
This can be a very effective way to create an organization where communication flows openly in both directions.
10) Create Opportunities to Share Both the Head Office and Store Perspectives
Head office tends to look at the business from a broader, company-wide perspective, while stores tend to focus more closely on the immediate realities of day-to-day operations.
Clearly, however, a company needs both perspectives.
Therefore, creating opportunities for people to share these different perspectives and provide feedback to one another can be extremely valuable.
Do you feel there is a gap between your stores and head office?
