Manager Change Communication Strategies: Tell & Sell
I, Molly, work for a corporation that has been steadily growing day by day, with new locations opening up in Wisconsin about every other month. It is a high-end and low-end beauty retailer called Ulta. It was invented by the former CEO of OSCO Drug and had a steady start into the retail business. It made lots of money right away, but was not as efficient as it could have been, resulting in issues for the company. In 2013, former CEO of U.S. Cellular, Mary Dillon was appointed the new CEO of Ulta beauty. She announced to the company and to its shareholders that she would be pulling back the reigns of its growth and would focus more on streamlining the efficiency by building new distribution centers and focusing on supply chain.
Dillon also realized that by having three teenage daughters, she should have known about the supposedly large retailer when she was first approached by them, but she did not. She knew that she needed to make Ulta more well-known. She upgraded the loyalty system. As a cashier I am expected to sign up a certain amount of people, measured in percentages, per hour. In order to do this, we are trained on the best ways to retain clients. The way I was trained, and the way that works the best is by not even giving the client an option to say no. When they answer that they are not a part of our loyalty system I respond with, "Okay, I'll grab you a card and we'll get you signed up". Although I wasn't a part of this company when these changes were made, I do have co-workers who have been around for over ten years.
One of my coworkers believes that the changes were difficult to get used to right away, especially being so diligent about signing people up for loyalty cards when it can be uncomfortable, but that the changes have been for the best. The way that Ulta apparently approached this change could be considered "Tell and Sell". She informed Ulta of the changes that were coming and the reasons behind them, and promised good results with those changes. Ulta's stock initially dropped, but then increased, and has continued to increase, making her a very successful CEO, and creating a better atmosphere with better benefits for Ulta employees. Though Ulta employees were initially hesitant, they began to see the positive affects of having Mary Dillon as the CEO.
What do you guys think? Have you recently taken a notice of Ulta and their business strategies, are they a company you have always known about or have you never heard of them until now?
Works cited:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-ulta-mary-dillon-0208-biz-20150206-story.html#page=1
Picture: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20110430/ISSUE02/110429837/women-to-watch-2011-part-1-of-6
One of my coworkers believes that the changes were difficult to get used to right away, especially being so diligent about signing people up for loyalty cards when it can be uncomfortable, but that the changes have been for the best. The way that Ulta apparently approached this change could be considered "Tell and Sell". She informed Ulta of the changes that were coming and the reasons behind them, and promised good results with those changes. Ulta's stock initially dropped, but then increased, and has continued to increase, making her a very successful CEO, and creating a better atmosphere with better benefits for Ulta employees. Though Ulta employees were initially hesitant, they began to see the positive affects of having Mary Dillon as the CEO.
What do you guys think? Have you recently taken a notice of Ulta and their business strategies, are they a company you have always known about or have you never heard of them until now?
Works cited:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-ulta-mary-dillon-0208-biz-20150206-story.html#page=1
Picture: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20110430/ISSUE02/110429837/women-to-watch-2011-part-1-of-6
Typical Problems With Organizational Change
When dealing with a change in an organization it can be difficult to follow through with. Sometimes there's a lack of management support, lack of meaningful participation, an unclear purpose and poor communication. When I, Molly, worked at Bath & Body Works, the large three-wick candles originally sold for $20 apiece. During my time there, the company raised the price from $20 to $22.50, claiming that the new process they used to make the candles was better in regard to how long the candle lasted for. As employees, we did not like this change. Even though we still got a discount on the candle, it was more expensive than it was before, and we also had to continuously justify the higher price to customers when we didn't believe in it. It's hard to sell something that you don't agree with.
Our managers thought that the price increase was ludicrous, showing a lack of manager support, but could do nothing about it, which spurred on our feeling of injustice. We knew as associates, that the managers had a better understanding of the company and how it ran, so when we saw them becoming angry over a change, it was hard not to do the same.
At Bath and Body Works, there were four managers in my store. Our top manager was consistent in keeping the new price, and enforcing the change, but our other managers would override the price of the candle back to $20 for the customers that became angry. These inconsistent actions did not bode well for the rest of the associates. We would tell the customers that we could make the price lower for them, but depending on the manager, it either happened or it didn't. Our responsibilities felt unclear, as we did not know which manager to follow.
After a few months, the customers became accustomed with the change and accepted the higher price, but our team morale hurt for a while because of the issues that can arise within an organization during a change. Our managers should have held a manager meeting to discuss how they would enforce this new price change and the correct protocol when dealing with an angry guest before telling the associates different information. Had that been done, the price change and the communication issues that arose with it would have been much more manageable.
What do you think are some ways that our store could have avoided these issues? Should we have focused on the idea that we need to always keep the customer happy? Or should we have embraced the new policy, not catered to the customer and welcomed the higher price? Either way, there were going to be difficult obstacles, but which one was the lesser of the two evils?
Works Cited:
Personal experience from author
Picture: http://blushcandyglam.com/bath-body-works-mini-candles/
Our managers thought that the price increase was ludicrous, showing a lack of manager support, but could do nothing about it, which spurred on our feeling of injustice. We knew as associates, that the managers had a better understanding of the company and how it ran, so when we saw them becoming angry over a change, it was hard not to do the same.
At Bath and Body Works, there were four managers in my store. Our top manager was consistent in keeping the new price, and enforcing the change, but our other managers would override the price of the candle back to $20 for the customers that became angry. These inconsistent actions did not bode well for the rest of the associates. We would tell the customers that we could make the price lower for them, but depending on the manager, it either happened or it didn't. Our responsibilities felt unclear, as we did not know which manager to follow.
After a few months, the customers became accustomed with the change and accepted the higher price, but our team morale hurt for a while because of the issues that can arise within an organization during a change. Our managers should have held a manager meeting to discuss how they would enforce this new price change and the correct protocol when dealing with an angry guest before telling the associates different information. Had that been done, the price change and the communication issues that arose with it would have been much more manageable.
What do you think are some ways that our store could have avoided these issues? Should we have focused on the idea that we need to always keep the customer happy? Or should we have embraced the new policy, not catered to the customer and welcomed the higher price? Either way, there were going to be difficult obstacles, but which one was the lesser of the two evils?
Works Cited:
Personal experience from author
Picture: http://blushcandyglam.com/bath-body-works-mini-candles/