Summer has come and gone and after the busy whirlwind, you finally have a moment to breathe, take stock, and play catch up. September typically see decreased foot traffic, so what better time to invest in your team?

Turnover is always a challenge within our industry. Seasonal and part-time employment can lead to a revolving door of staff at various skill levels. Utilize this downtime to get long-term staff- whether entry-level or managerial- all on the same page and create processes that can be implemented for the next wave of new team members coming through that door.

Onboarding and training are often seen as two sides of the same coin, but really should be looked at as two separate processes. Onboarding is for new hires, an introduction to the organization and culture, while training is role-specific and should be an ongoing investment. According to Ottawa University, 93% of employees will stay longer when a company invests in career development. This investment increases job satisfaction and morale improves productivity and increases profit while lowering absenteeism rates.

5 tips to improve training within your organization:

1. Create a System. Training should be worked into regular job requirements, with strong expectations and support. Let your employees know that their development is your priority, and show them defined expectations. Perhaps they are given a certain number of hours a month to dedicate to training. You could set up a job shadow program, allowing staff to learn from other departments on a quarterly basis. Send team members to customer service or other role-specific training workshops or enroll in an online course. Many partners within our industry offer these types of programs, like the BPAA. For redemption-specific training, check out our e-course.

2. Incentivize and Recognize Employees. This can be as simple as a shout-out in a team meeting or a Way To Go popped up on the employee bulletin board. You could go as far as offering paid time off or a bonus for completing certain pieces of training or hitting specific milestones. Nine out of ten employees who feel valued will channel that enthusiasm into productivity and work quality, while those that don’t are significantly more likely to seek employment elsewhere. So throw a pizza party, designate an Employee of the Month, or find another way to creatively recognize employees for their dedication and efforts to better themselves (and in turn, your organization).

3. Identify Training Experts. Most likely you have team members who are already experts in their area of the business, whether it’s redemption, game maintenance, or customer service. Recognize their expertise by allowing these team members to teach or mentor their peers. This further reinforces the subject matter in the Trainer’s mind and helps spread that knowledge throughout the organization.

93% of employees will stay longer when a company invests in career development.

4. Reinforce Learnings. So often, a process or system is shown to an employee one time and then never discussed again. That employee might not have an opportunity to use that process until it’s an on-the-fly situation, and they have forgotten the thing they saw once months ago. Allow employees to practice these processes and procedures, check back in, and offer continuous learning opportunities.

5. Listen to Your Team Members. They’re the ones on the front lines doing the work, and they’re the ones who will see gaps in a process. Take their input and allow them to contribute- they’ll feel more empowered and you’ll likely end up with a better, more business-specific process. For example, allowing your Redemption Manager to identify the needs and help develop the Redemption Checklist will ensure a smooth-running redemption program.

Check out our sample Redemption Checklist and challenge your team members to create one specific to your building.

Sample Redemption Checklist

ONCE A DAY stock redemption area from back stock (before opening or after close), more often if needed on weekends

BEFORE OPEN check display cases and push forward items

BEFORE OPEN walk each crane and merchandiser, refresh and stock if necessary

BEFORE YOUR SHIFT pull forward items on pegs- more often if needed on weekends

AFTER CLOSE wipe down all glass surfaces, including cranes and merchandisers

AFTER RECEIVING A NEW ORDER ensure all bins are ordered by ticket value, reorder if necessary

BEFORE WEEKENDS dust items on high shelves. Get a long-handled duster for this.

ONCE A MONTH complete a full physical inventory. Clean out bins, and wipe down shelves and cases while the product is displaced.

WHEN STOCKING CANDY including cranes, stir and rotate all candy so it’s not new on top of old

Want a copy of this? Simply go to our Operation Toolkit for this and other tools to help you run your redemption smoother.