Training Merchandisers for Success "Passionate people enhancing retail shopping experiences by executing high impact product presentations."
Your Training Resources Along with this PowerPoint for your reference, you also have Training Agendas and Teaching Tips and Advice The Training Agendas are abbreviated action lists for you to use during the first critical hours of training a Merchandiser You, as the trainer, will use your expertise to fill in the necessary details of what it takes to become an excellent Gardenvision Merchandiser
Welcome Your New Merchandiser Once all of the hiring paperwork is complete, it s time to train! Provide your new team member with: A Vendor vest A name tag A log in number A copy of the Gardenvision Employee Manual A copy of the Excellence in Merchandising PowerPoint, in order to give them an introduction to their training A copy of the two-page Gardenvision Merchandiser Daily Routine word document, for them to reference as you are training them A copy of the Plant-o-gram Explanation sheet, for them to reference as you are training them Access to the Costa Portal - Confirm that Payroll has given their information to IT in order to grant them necessary access
Make Sure They Are Prepared Make it clear that they must have the following Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to work with Gardenvision: Glasses plastic lenses only Gloves garden gloves that cover entire hand Boots or high tops must cover protruding ankle bone and be constructed of material thicker than canvas Also, let them know to bring a small notebook and a pen to keep with them at all times for noting item numbers and taking rack counts
Essential Policy Training Critical Policies to teach on the first day: Safety Standards Uniform and Grooming Standards Anti-Harassment Policy Standards of Conduct Time Keeping
The Gardenvision Binder Introduce your trainee to the Gardenvision binder Go over all tabs, policies and reference materials following the structure outlined on your Training Agenda for Day 1 Be sure to encourage questions and be careful to notice if your Trainee is glazing over and not retaining what you are teaching them Remember, you are conveying extremely critical information They must understand that the binder is their main source of documentation and communication with fellow Gardenvision employees
Introduce Them to Their Store Here is an excellent opportunity to instill that critical sense of ownership and teamwork that is present in our best Merchandisers Introduce them to the store personnel that they will be working closely with: LNS Live Nursery Specialist Garden Center Department Manager Outside Lawn and Garden Assistant Manager For Outside Lawn and Garden and Inside Lawn and Garden Store Manager Over entire Lowe s store Show them where they will be getting their daily Vendor Code
Lay of the Land You will want to have the following resources while giving the Merchandiser a tour of their store, and the breakdown of their routine: Your Training Agendas Copies of the POG s for you to physically show them and give them a direct visual reference for each area of the store A copy of a Weekly Audit for you to outline your expectations and how you will be conveying the state of their store every week The Gardenvision binder for reference The Trainee will want to have the following resources during the tour: Their Gardenvision Merchandiser Daily Routine so they can begin to familiarize themselves with their priorities The POG Explanation Sheet for their reference while you are training them on the POG s for each area
Area Merchandising Make sure they know to start their shift by consolidating the clearance racks in order to make room for more clearance product As you walk them through their routine, thoroughly explain the importance of following a structured and organized routine using the Area Merchandising concept: 1. Store front includes main store entrance 2. House and Patio inside white racks and all plants within the entire main store 3. Main Garden Center all plants within the main structure of the Garden Center external greenhouse They must keep track of their progress for each shift on the Daily Report in the GV binder
P.A.S.S. Train them on the simple yet reliable acronym P.A.S.S. They must make each table P.A.S.S. before moving on to the next table P PULL clearance product off the table A ADD fresh product to the table S SIGN the table S SWEEP up any messes around the table P.A.S.S. training will include the core merchandising concepts of Consolidating, Striping, Waterfalling, Fronting and Facing
Teaching Items of Critical Importance Gardenvision Employees MUST: Always wear their PPE while working Always adhere to all safety standards and regulations Take a 30 minute break off the clock, for any shift longer than six hours Let the store (LNS, Department Manager or GV team member) know when you are going on break or to lunch Always wear their Vendor vest and name tag while on the clock Work the exact hours they are given on the schedule Keep track of their time by writing their exact time for the day, hours and minutes, on their schedule in the binder Fill out the Daily Report in the binder at the close of every shift
Teaching Items of Critical Importance Gardenvision Employees NEVER: Leave the store while on the clock this is grounds for immediate termination Water plants this is a responsibility for Lowe s employees Spend time on customer service we kindly point out or call a Lowe s employee to help them Load customer s cars we quickly help them locate a Lowe s employee to accommodate them Price clearance product we pull it, Lowe s prices it Tell Lowe s personnel what plants to accept or reject Enter a truck or go near a lift gate
Physical Training Now that most of the critical informational training has been done, take them to Table #1 on the Store Front and get started! Work closely with your Merchandiser to ensure that they fully understand the physical details of their work, including: Area Merchandising and P.A.S.S. Core merchandising concepts Consolidating Striping Waterfalling Fronting/Facing pots Pricing They must be confident in producing signage independently Setting and maintaining Plant-o-grams to current standards Rack Counts Emphasize the importance of reporting timely and accurate rack counts
Pep Talk! Ok, at this point you have given your Merchandiser a lot of tedious information and explicit instructions, all wrapped up in a package of physically hard work It s time to give them a positive future outlook for their job: Gardenvision Employees benefit by working hard and making daily efforts to become better and faster merchandisers As they get more familiar with the duties and their muscles tone up, they will notice that they accomplish more and more each shift Using the Area Merchandising routine during their shift, they will find that they begin to prioritize and complete job tasks with greater and greater ease They can take ownership of their store by calling you with solutions to problems, not just problems
As Their Supervisor The Merchandiser must know that: You are there to answer their questions and help in every way possible to get them acclimated to their store and new responsibilities You will visit their store every week and conduct a Store Audit to assess how the merchandising standards are being maintained You will check the schedule and Daily Reports to get an idea of how their store is doing that week, so they need to be sure to note all important communications on their Daily Report at the end of every shift
Job Satisfaction Upon finishing your training, let them know that: We are quickly becoming better employers with our CARE program in place and through personal communications using Facebook and Twitter Encourage your new team member to sign up and follow us on Facebook and Twitter so that they can enjoy getting to know Gardenvision and their fellow dedicated employees Gardenvision is proud to employ people who work hard and delight in seeing a beautifully merchandised store at the end of each shift Make sure they know that it is a wonderful thing to see the fruits of their labor every time they work and that we look forward to hearing from another Gardenvision Merchandiser that loves what they do!