The Descent

CHAIR’S MESSAGE

The Descent

HEE-SOOK NELSON

GELSON’S MARKETS

There’s only one thing left to do after you’ve summited: climb back down.

The pandemic has been a trying time for all. From the intensity of keeping food stocked to the strain of protecting customers and essential workers during the pandemic, our grocery community has been stretched in unprecedented ways. And with the pandemic’s end in sight, we now find society and our businesses preparing to unwind after more than a year of build-up. There will be difficult decisions along the way. How do we manage the vaccinated versus unvaccinated? What social distancing measures stay, and which ones go away? How do we reacclimate ourselves to a world that has grown used to physical disconnection? While some of these questions will be answered by policymakers, the grocery industry will also need to solve the challenges that stem from emerging from the pandemic. As someone who manages teams and policy, here are three areas of focus for me in the coming months.

Our Teams

In my last column, I wrote about the characteristic grit, which I believe, has been integral to sustaining ourselves and our teams during the pandemic. But we also know willpower is finite and that stress levels have been challenging. All of this begs the question of how we can be better leaders that empower our teams to recharge and re-engage as California reopens. Warren Bennis, a leadership guru, said six specific qualities make us great leaders and, to constantly engage our employees and cultivate a good culture, we should possess these qualities.1 • Integrity – Make sure that your teams know what your core values are and build trust. Model great behavior so people can learn and always be good for your word. • Dedication – Have the dedication to spend time with whomever and whatever needs your attention. If your teams know that you are dedicated to their success and the company, they will follow you. • Magnanimity – Give your team credit where credit is due. Be okay with defeat and let others retain their dignity if they at least tried. We can all learn from our mistakes.

• Humility – Foster humility and the ability to be vulnerable, which shows your team that you are human.

The importance of valuing everyone on your team shows that you are not narcissistic or arrogant, but human. • Openness – Be open to listening to ideas and truly listen without shutting a team member’s idea down. This will build trust and psychological safety for employees to feel they can approach you and who knows, you may get the next great idea through team member feedback. • Creativity – As Apple once advertised,

“Think Different.” Look where it got them. Find different ways to look at things and encourage people to think outside the box. As we descend, and navigate all the changes Covid-19 brought forth, it is more important than ever to be creative.

Our Customers

While the challenges of living through Covid-19 are unique to the individual, they are not unique in their existence within all of us in general terms. You can think of this period as one of “Peak Stress” for many. At various points during the pandemic, we’ve seen how this stress spills into grocery stores. Whether it is the political debates around policies like the mask mandate playing out in the store or panicked customers overbuying, the shoppers’ relationships to grocery stores have changed drastically.

“While some of these questions will be answered by policymakers, the grocery industry will also need to solve the challenges that stem from emerging from the pandemic.”

Coming out of the pandemic, I believe grocers have a role to play in helping our customers reconnect with each other – hopefully around food. According to Inmar Intelligence, recent data suggest our customers feel the impact of rising grocery prices beyond consumer psychology. This price sensitivity has led to seven in 10 Americans swapping grocers. In the next six months, we’ll have to focus on protecting market share and strengthening these customer relationships. The climb to the top of the mountain earlier in the pandemic and all of our hard work will be diminished if we do not strategize around these aspects. We need to find unique ways to keep our customers engaged and ensure that our companies’ value propositions are worth their while. Additionally, our industry’s ability to pivot and accommodate shopper needs, such as higher investments in technology, will come out ahead when they provide solutions for our customers. The online grocery segment will not revert to pre-pandemic levels and is here to stay.

Our Compliance Strategies While operating throughout the pandemic, grocers were asked to scale mountains of regulatory conditions alongside selfimposed measures to ensure the health and safety of employees and customers. From Covid-19 testing to aiding in vaccinations and spending millions on in-store health and safety solutions like PPEs and extra sanitation, in many ways, the industry built the playbook for continuing to do business after the pandemic. Now that we are reopening the economy, we must come down from that mountain top, choose when, and think about disassembling or keeping procedures and in-store safety features. Our newfound attention will surely spotlight the grocery community should anything go awry or should the state experience any pandemic-related setback. Grocers will have to be strategic. We know some customers may expect extended safety protocols while others hope to see life return to “normal” as soon as possible. We also know consumer expectations may not align with regulatory orders and conditions. The navigation of all the changes will be a challenge. However, it will not be as daunting compared to what we had to do at the pandemic’s peak. California’s grocery and food industry community has never climbed mountains that were higher than we did during the pandemic. I expect 2021 into 2022 will continue to test us all on our descent. But one thing we can all be proud of is, “Together we are better!” ■

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