This is an interview I did for Canadian Retailer Magazine about using coaching in a small business. The small business was Bummis (pronounced bumeez), a manufacturer, distributor, and retailer of reusable diapering products in Montreal. The business was focused on manufacturing locally and selling products that encouraged parents to imagine a more sustainable approach to baby care.
I hope this short interview will inspire business people to use coaching within their own organizations - it is so powerful!
Just to clarify what a coaching approach is, in short. As leaders/coaches, we:
practice self-awareness, showing up fully present, undistracted, and authentic
listen actively to understand, not respond
don't tell - instead we ask questions we don't know the answer to
most importantly we are in service to the growth and development of others - so that they develop the capacity to navigate challenges on their own.
INTERVIEW
Helen from Canadian Retailer:
Can you tell me about the coaching and mentoring that goes on for employees in your organization (not necessarily related only to sales or customer service...it could be any employee)?
Betsy:
Our organization is multi-levelled - we have 2 retail stores as well as a manufacturing and distribution business. We spend tons of resources on mentoring and coaching! There is a retail manager (overseeing 2 store managers and our e-commerce site), a production manager (overseeing shipping and quality control), a customer service manager, and a special projects manager. In addition there is my partner (director of operations) and myself (admin and sales).
Half of that team and most of our office staff were recruited from the retail stores (Boutique Bummis) into our manufacturing and distribution (Bummis). Because we have small stores, there is not a ton of room for advancement within those structures. So when we recognize someone with lots of potential and a passion for what we do, we like to move them into the office and integrate them into the larger business. This necessitates coaching and mentoring to develop their business aptitude, but it is incredibly rewarding. People do not always realize before they are in the middle of it the potential of a business like ours to incorporate their visions and passions.
Within the stores themselves we often hire employees with a passion for environmental issues and the concept of natural and sustainable parenting. They have usually never worked in retail before and need coaching to develop the ability to translate their passions into an ability to sell on the floor. Our retail manager devotes a tremendous amount of time to coaching and mentoring store employees – both formally in trainings and informally on a one to one basis every day.
Recently we have instituted formal bi-weekly meetings with our managers in order to build a stronger team and common vision. Learning to coach and mentor managers is a whole new thing for me, and quite sobering. It is very different in that often they come to us with a depth and breadth of knowledge in their fields, but need to be transitioned into thinking like a Bummis manager. So respecting their abilities and using their skills to expand our horizons while trying to guide them into doing it within the rubric of our mission and priorities can be challenging.
We often devote a portion of time during our manager meetings to developing our skills and abilities in human resources. And on a daily basis my office is a hot spot in the business for an ongoing conversation about how to develop employees to their full potentials.
Helen:
Have you ever quantified how much you spend on coaching and mentoring employees, and what returns you see on this investment?
Betsy:
That magical 1% of payroll dedicated to training is not realistic – I figure that about 25% of my time personally is devoted to coaching and mentoring. What returns do I see? Well, as a small business owner and operator – the strength of my business lies in our collective vision and the ability of everyone in the organization to transmit that vision to our consumer base. So having them understand our corporate mission and how we actually aim to achieve that mission on a daily basis has everything to do with whether or not we are a successful business!
Helen:
Does coaching and mentoring, in your opinion, provide a good return on investment? How so?
Betsy:
Big time! Adopting a coaching stance with employees enables leaders to understand better what people need to thrive in the workplace. It increases engagement and helps people develop skills they may not even have known they had! It also creates space for people to take initiative, and this is how we develop leadership in others.
As leaders, our tendency when others run into challenges while executing tasks might be to take on the tasks ourselves, or tell them how to do it. But instead, we can help people access their own sense of agency by taking a coaching approach.
Helen:
Do you see any interesting generational differences, say between yourself and younger/older employees? If yes, how do you exploit them to bring out the best in everyone?
Betsy:
Oh yes! I am a baby boomer and most of my employees are from Gen Y. I have had to learn how to deal with my own rigorous expectations, both from my view point as a baby boomer (generationally) and as an entrepreneur (with no personal limits in regard to work hours). Comparing myself as a young employee with my current employees is futile - we come from another world altogether! I cannot say truthfully that I understand or accommodate these differences completely, but I try on a daily basis to learn how to work with it and to curb my judgemental tendencies. What I absolutely love about working with this generation is their need for meaning in everything they do. It so corresponds to my own desires – and this is why I have built a business on natural parenting and cloth diapers! I love what I do and I am happy to have employees who love what they do as well. I also deeply appreciate their striving for balance in their lives between earning a living and the living.
Helen:In general, what are some barriers and challenges in coaching and mentoring?
Betsy:
As above – my generational differences from my employees.
In addition, the fact is that I am an entrepreneur with the passion and drive to create something from nothing using the power of my will and every ounce of mental and physical energy I possess. This can sometimes make us hard-headed and know-it-all. We can become used to being expected to have all the answers.
But when we respond to employees with a coaching stance, we have to be more self-aware, quiet down, and pay attention. We have to shut down the striving, pivot away from the busy-ness of coping with all sorts of problems and systems, and be fully present and in the service of others. We have to shift from having all the answers to paying attention to what is at the core of our businesses: people. I call it a practice because it is challenging and really important, and requires repetition in order for us to learn how to do it.
Helen:
Any good tips for other retailers out there who may be embarking on coaching, or haven't quite started yet?
Betsy:
I often have a really hard time when employees do not work out. I tend to feel responsible for having failed. But sometimes it is beyond our ability to fix the situation - so seek to understand and be balanced in your expectations. Learn when it is fruitless to continue trying to work with someone. Recently I heard a rule of thumb to use which I absolutely love! If you go home and speak with your spouse/partner about your frustrations with an employees 3 times, then you should probably let them go and move on.
Helen:
Could you fill me in on some stats for your business: such as workforce size, or any other pertinent info.
Betsy:
Altogether we have about 50 employees working for us (some as home sewers, but I consider them always as employees because they work exclusively for us). Our retail operations constitute about 25% of the company.
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