What’s the difference between a dream and a goal? It comes down to the acronym SMART. Dreams are fluid, but goals are:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Realistic
- Timely
In the field of employee training, SMART goals lead to outcomes that go beyond simply filling a skills gap. The impacts of achieving employee training goals touch every aspect of your business. Here are the top five:
Address Staffing Challenges
Staffing has long been a challenge for convenience store managers, and today’s labor market is amplifying the issue. When employees are cross trained, managers can fill holes in a schedule more effectively and seasoned employees can bring newbies up to speed more quickly.
Engage Employees
Not every employee will show up for their c-store shift motivated to make a difference to your bottom line. You can’t always count on employees to be self-motivated, so you must foster motivation through your training. Effective training programs for convenience stores allow you to create career progression paths that engage employees in advancement opportunities.
Protect Your Company
Convenience stores are one of the most regulated type of retail establishment. Your employees need to be trained on topics critical to safety at the pump, regulations governing a variety of age-restricted sales, health-code mandated food safety, and anti-harassment practices – just to name a few! When you meet your compliance training goals, you’re protecting your customers, your employees, and yourself.
Maximize Productivity
Before employees can do something efficiently, they have to know how to do it effectively. Your training goals must incrementally build an employee’s skill level on any given task. Follow the Chinese proverb that says, “I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand.”
Improve Customer Service
The most important of all training goals is to enhance the experience of the most important person in your store, your customer. Customer service training not only provides employees with the skills and knowledge they need to deliver exceptional service, it also sends the message that the company is willing to invest in meeting its customer loyalty objectives.
Get Started on Your Training Goals Today
Check out our full library of online convenience store training covering topics in human resources, compliance, safety, customer service, store care, and much more.
