A Rarity in Retail: Trainees

SALON DIALOGUE A RARITY IN RETAIL: TRAINEES

Is vocational training in the fashion retail trade suffering from an image problem? Digitisation has made the sales profession more exciting and versatile than ever. Nevertheless, the number of young people attracted to the industry is decreasing. We sat down with Frank Troch and Christian Greiner, both of whom run training businesses in Munich, to discuss the demands, expectations, and qualities of young talent. Interview: Stephan Huber. Text: Isabel Faiss. Photos: Yorick Carroux

Let’s start with a provocative question. Should one still encourage a young person to pursue a career in fashion retailing?

Christian Greiner: Absolutely, because the job is extremely multifaceted. It combines so many different aspects. It’s not merely about fashion, but also about people, about service. One has to be a psychologist of sorts, and be able to improvise. It’s a very demanding job that requires physical effort. One has to have a certain passion for service. In my opinion, one of the central problems is that we often fish in the wrong ponds when selecting people for the job. Frank Troch: The service aspect must be the main focus, absolutely. The digitisation and mechanisation of our world has created the need of a counterweight: communication and interpersonal relationships. That’s what people are looking for. That’s why they visit city centres. They want to feel and experience quality. Thus, the retail salesperson profession will become increasingly important over time. And there are many additional factors that make this job more attractive than in the past: a mix of technology and new media, for instance. CG: Digitisation has raised every consumer’s level of expectation. I can sense that in myself too. The tolerance for bad service is dwindling. If a service provider welcomes me in a warm and friendly manner, I have no problem whatsoever forgiving the odd technical mistake. But if some nerd who claims to know everything comes across as arrogant, I leave at once.

Why is the public image of a salesperson so disagreeable? And what can be done to improve it?

FT: Unfortunately, the public often doesn’t even perceive the high-quality work of well-trained employees, because so many rely on less trained, cheaper personnel. Quality is, however, in high demand at the moment and will continue to become increasingly important in the future.

“When people apply for a job simply because they have an interest in fashion and enjoy shopping, I don’t know what to do with them. Nobody applies for a hotel job because they love sleeping in hotels. It’s all about a passion for service!” Christian Greiner of Beck, Wöhrl, and Wormland

CG: My brother, who is in the hotel business, is the best example. He always has extremely friendly and attentive young employees. This always makes me think, because the hotel industry certainly doesn’t offer better working conditions than the retail trade. The working hours are even less attractive, for example. Either the vocational schools are better, or they are better at selecting the right candidates.

I have noticed this phenomenon in Tyrol. Many local retailers focus primarily on the hotel industry when recruiting employees. But surely this means that the profession does have a massive image problem. How can one convey the qualities this job has to offer to young people?

FT: We have to utilise the people who work in the industry, above all managers and their role model function. When hiring a new employee, be it a trainee or lateral entrant, I firmly believe that a personal conversation should always be the focal point of the process. Detached from the CV and qualifications, it’s all about whether the candidate in question convinces me as a potential customer. This aspect has lost importance, especially in the younger generation against the background of assessment centres and other application mechanisms. And that’s a mistake. That’s not the way you find the right people for the job.

Let’s take a step back. How can one reach young people earlier? How does one create initial interest?

CG: We involve our trainees in communication. Social media is, of course, a brilliant tool for something like this. At Wöhrl, we interview trainees about their respective jobs and ask them why they chose to pursue this particular career. We then distribute the interviews via social media channels as short, witty posts. FT: That’s how we recruit almost all our trainees now. Young people are capable of convincing other young people. It has to be informal and authentic. CG: I saw that Musikhaus Thomann, a retailer of musical instruments, shares its corporate Christmas party on social media. It’s a bombastic fancy dress party featuring a live band. It offers everything employees could wish for. They edit the footage and post a short film with the message: Would you like to be part of this? It’s such a brilliant idea, so we decided to do the same. FT: We also produced a film portraying a day in the life of a Hirmer trainee. Our apprentices were afforded an opportunity to explain their respective duties and express their enthusiasm authentically. This triggered an amazing amount of positive feedback. As a company, we are definitely not in a position to alter public opinion; that opinion is the result of many factors, including press reports. But when you look at it from the perspective of a strong brand like Hirmer or Beck, then the perception of the retail salesperson profession isn’t that negative. We, for one, certainly can’t complain about a lack of applications.

I’d like to follow up on this: Has the quality of applications changed over the last decade?

FT: Yes, of course.

I assume it hasn’t changed for the better…

FT: It’s different now. What we have noticed over the last two decades is that it takes longer to find the 15 apprentices we train here in Munich. In the past, we could choose from 200 to 300 applicants. Today, we choose from 80 to 100.

Are there some who are keen on entering the training programme after graduating from high school among those 80?

CG: Yes. The majority even… FT: Many of them have dropped out of university and joined the

HEUTE ORDERN MORGEN VERKAUFEN!

It is essential to find the right candidates, preferably as soon as the initial address. The search begins with a positive portrayal of the retail salesperson profession.

industry as lateral entrants.

At the end of the day, selling is a talent. Given this premise, I have always been certain that it can be a really great job to have.

FT: The commitment and conviction to remain in the job is extremely high. Young people are particularly motivated. They want to be in the thick of things and get involved. Once they have made their choice and been hired, they are fully committed to the cause. After all, the beauty of the job is that you can shoulder responsibility right from the start. Customer contact allows you to make your own decisions. As in any other job, the appreciation of performance by managers also plays a vital part. Only those who receive positive feedback will remain motivated in the long term. CG: We organised a Parent-Trainee Day to get to know the parents too. I sometimes wonder if every member of our society is being pushed towards becoming an Instagram superstar, YouTuber, or blogger. Maybe that’s everyone’s ultimate goal. And if you don’t have a high school diploma or haven’t studied, then you’re told you’re as thick as a plank anyway.

That’s exactly the underlying problem…

CG: At the same time, the demands of the younger generation - and their parents in particular - have become so extreme that one has the feeling the applicants no longer apply to the company, but that it’s the other way around. Applicants no longer ask themselves what they can contribute to the business, but what the company can offer them. FT: Employer appeal has become extremely important. CG: This includes sabbaticals, part-time employment, life-work balance… Maybe I’m what is called “old school”, because I believe that you need to prove what you can do before making demands. That’s why I prefer to rely on people who are grateful for an opportunity offered to them and want to seize it rather than focusing on their personal profit right from the start. FT: I feel exactly the same. This “old school” approach is exactly what we need today. After all, young people are not necessarily opposed to traditions and values like reliability. They are, however, categorically opposed to being managed with Prussian discipline and control. In reality, boundaries and values, as well as their stringent communication by the employer, are something they really appreciate. In this context, allow me to return to the question whether the quality has deteriorated. Perhaps not, but we have noticed that many self-evident virtues one used to learn at home, such as attentiveness and respect for others, are no longer self-evident today. We, as a company, have to tackle this issue head on and communicate such values. CG: Many apply to us because they have an interest in fashion. They enjoy shopping and think it could be a good fit for them. That is, however, a completely wrong motivation. Nobody applies for a hotel job because they love sleeping in hotels, but because they are attracted by the kind of service that entails ensuring a guest has a pleasant stay. That is the right motivation. Not that you yourself like to shop.

When questioning how to make the profession more attractive, wouldn’t it be an ingenious model if companies would join forces on equal terms in order to afford each other’s trainees the opportunity to temporarily experience the hotel business, for example? Would that be a good idea?

The number of applicants for trainee and apprentice positions at large companies remains high. Our interviewees, however, believe that the selection process should focus less on qualities that are evaluated in assessment centres and more on actual sales talent.

CG: We have already implemented such a model at Wöhrl, Wormland, and Beck. The question is whether such a concept is financially feasible. Therefore the question arises at what education level one offers such an option. Galleries Lafayette, for example, trains its entire workforce in advance to a very high level, thus ensuring that they have a completely different understanding of the products and customer demands. I wonder if that actually makes a difference? FT: Within Hirmer Group, we offer that too at Eckerle and Hirmer Grosse Grössen. We have the possibility to send our trainees to a different branch for a few weeks. Many take advantage of this option. However, the trainees themselves have to find an exchange partner and show initiative. The most recent addition to our group is a hotel business, so we will certainly consider further exchange opportunities in the future. This is an effect that we hope to extract from the fact that we can establish a highly effective business transfer between both sectors. Fundamentally, I agree that even an apprentice exchange involving partners within the same industry could be highly advantageous. One simply has to be careful not to overtax the people involved. CG: Everything requires a sense of proportion. A vocational training should never promise opportunities that overextend expectations. Not every salesperson will be promoted to buyer. FT: One perspective that we always disclose is that we are not training workers for the market, but for ourselves. In principle, the chance of being hired by us when the training period ends is very high. Our training provides a broad foundation for a successful career. We tell people that all options within our structure are open to them, but the basis is always working with customers in sales. We back the development of everyone who qualifies beyond that. Many employees in managerial positions - across all hierarchy levels - are home-grown.

Let’s talk about money. Is the earning potential in the retail trade, in comparison, really that poor as it is invariably portrayed?

CG: That depends on the comparison. More problematic is selling products that are so expensive that they are out of proportion to salaries. It also depends on the city. Munich is always a bad example in this respect. It’s equally decisive to what extent one works with commission models. We have such models at Wöhrl exclusively, at Wormland partially, and at Beck currently not at all. In essence, I believe that this is a topic that promotes the truly gifted salespeople. FT: The variability of income - in a form that isn’t excessive - is already an essential factor in many industries, including the automotive industry. Our commission models for trainees kick in from the second year of apprenticeship. They first need to learn the basics. CG: We allow our trainees to work with customers right from the start. FT: So do we, but not commission-based. CG: I don’t think much of team bonuses, maybe on a selective basis. Individual bonuses achieve the greatest impact. FT: This is, of course, very popular with the employees. However, we are very careful to ensure that the bonus percentage of the overall income doesn’t exceed 20 to 25 percent. Bonuses are important, but one shouldn’t overrate them either. We want to

“When I, as an employee, identify with a company, I live by its values and am part of a bigger picture.” Frank Troch of Hirmer

build customer loyalty, not tempt our salespeople to seek quick success at all costs.

Excellent salespeople understand that they can only profit from commissions in the long term as long as the customer is truly satisfied.

FT: During my apprenticeship it was still common practice for every salesperson to have their own regular customers, whom they even called in person when, for example, new items arrived at the store. This approach seems to have disappeared. We therefore try to convey to our young employees that we, as a company, are not the only ones responsible for establishing customer loyalty. They are also called upon to build and maintain these customer relationships, as long as the respective customer actually wants them to. We are tasked to teach trainees that each individual is responsible for himself/herself and the company, not just vice versa. This is what complicates training. One trainee understands, but another may not.

This is an exciting cue. I was following yet another discussion on digitisation and its effects earlier today. One of the biggest effects on humans is that digitisation lowers attention levels, i.e. the ability to perceive an environment. In this respect, it is consistent to describe a service employee taking care of a customer attentively as an experience worth mentioning.

CG: Yes, because you have to act intrinsically on your own accord. Digitisation takes care of virtually everything for you. It suggests and decides for you. You don’t even have to think anymore. FT: And it prevents empathy, which is a basic requirement for sales jobs. That’s why it’s our philosophy to implement everything with a sense of proportion.

One aspect that is often neglected when discussing personnel issues is the integration of older employees into a new, digitised working environment. Digitisation has brought about massive changes in shopping patterns and customer behaviour. What can a company do to retain such long-term employees with a high level of qualification and experience in this field?

CG: These employees are extremely valuable assets. One doesn’t have to confront them with the latest developments of digitisation; there is still a large field of analogue topics that are equally important. At Beck, for example, we have an employee who is now in partial retirement. On Saturdays, she occasionally supports our team on the ground floor. She greets customers, tells them what’s happening in the store, and raises their spirits. She has this beautiful smile on her face when she greets them, which has an incredible effect. No digital tool can do that.

I have always shared the point of view that an employee’s age doesn’t matter as long as he/she has this gift for interpersonal communication.

FT: The employee structure reflects the customers. It’s always a mix, never only old or only young. We always strive to retain long-serving employees as long as possible, because we lose competence - especially communication competence - with every person who leaves the company for retirement. An older employee knows how to communicate properly, while a younger one understands the corresponding technological tools. Everything has its merit. In an ideal world, younger employees teach their older colleagues their skills, and vice versa. This particular model is beginning to blossom and we are promoting it proactively. There are older employees who are interested in digital tools, enjoy using them, and know how to handle them. Our task is to lower precisely this inhibition threshold.

WWW.SEEKEXHIBITIONS.COM

1

INSPIRING PEOPLE PEOPLE Communicating fashion is a profession with so many facets that it requires rough diamonds. Finding such employees INSPIRING resembles looking for a needle in a haystack. Raw talent is scarce, while the prospects and creativity of many careers in fashion often remain unacknowledged.