Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) is an upscale department store chain in the United States, founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin. Initially a shoe retailer, the company today also sells clothing, accessories, handbags, jewelry, cosmetics, fragrances, and in some locations, home furnishings. The corporate headquarters and the flagship store are located in Downtown Seattle, Washington.
Joe Peterson lost a two-year battle against Nordstrom Inc. earlier this month when employees in the company's Seattle-area department stores voted overwhelmingly to oust his union after 60 years of representation.
But Mr. Peterson, a onetime Nordstrom shoe salesman who is now president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1001, doesn't sound ready to call it quits.
"Other organized labor is asking when we're going to negotiate a national boycott, and I think it's a distinct possibility," said the 41-year-old Mr. Peterson. "The labor movement is outraged at the aggressive union-bashing Nordstrom did."
The vote by the employees, however, was a decisive 1,022 to 407 against representation. "Our employees fought hard for the right to vote and these results seem a clear indication of their desires," said Joseph V. Demarte, vice president of personnel at Nordstrom. "Employees must consider this a real victory."
Nordstrom initiated the battle when it sought a contract in which union membership would be made optional. Mr. Peterson responded with a stream of negative publicity about the company at a time when it was starting a national expansion. The key charge: salespeople are not fully compensated for performing the extra services -- like writing thank-you notes and making personal deliveries on their own time -- for which the company is known.
Improve retention in the retail sector, save money, enhance customer service and reduce theft.
Competing for market share is a given for most successful businesses, but battling for what Aon Consulting's America @ Work 1999 study calls "workforce share" may be a new challenge for HR. Unfortunately, most companies' need for qualified employees co-exists with a shrinking labor pool and a workforce that feels little compunction about jumping ship for a better offer. The study indicates that roughly 25 percent of surveyed employees would change jobs for a 10 percent pay raise, while more than half would leave for a 20 percent pay raise.
And in the world of retail, turnover comes with the territory.
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Figures supplied by the Santa Clara, Calif.-based Saratoga Institute's Human Resource Financial Report show a dismal picture when retailers consider front-line workers--those who meet and establish relationships with their customers. Exempt turnover is 17.7 percent--in line with many other industries--but nonexempt turnover jumps to 78.8 percent. Due to this, many retailers resign themselves to accepting this kind of turnover rate as the cost of doing business.
Nordstrom has safeguards in place to protect your personal and health information, and limits its disclosure. The Company also limits access to your personal and health information and destroys records in accordance with our Records Retention policy posted on Nordnet.
A federal privacy regulation under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) exists to control the use and disclosure of protected health information and ensure your rights with respect to your health information. We want to take this opportunity to communicate how Nordstrom upholds our own privacy standards, as well as assure you of the Company’s compliance with this regulation.
The Nordstrom Health Plan’s Notice of Privacy Practices was created to further explain your rights as they relate to the protection of your health information. It lists Nordstrom’s responsibilities to you as well as who you should contact in the event you have a privacy concern. You can find a copy of the Notice in your Employee Benefits Summary Plan Description (SPD), available online at mynordstrom.com.
Just as Nordstrom is committed to respecting your privacy, it is equally important that we respect the privacy of our customers. As a Nordstrom employee, you are expected to protect the sensitive, private and confidential nature of all customer information.
In accordance with the Nordstrom Privacy Policy (posted on Nordnet and nordstrom.com), you have a responsibility to safeguard customer information such as name, address, phone number, Social Security number and credit card data. Also, if your position allows you access to employee personal information, you are responsible for maintaining the private nature of that information and may not unnecessarily disclose it. The Company’s Confidentiality and Nondisclosure Expectations further explain your responsibilities to ensure that sensitive information is not unnecessarily disclosed. Failure to comply with these expectations may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.
Most people wouldn't last a day as a customer-service representative. Yet retailers, airlines, banks and legions of other employers rely on these low-rung professionals to keep their businesses humming. Their performance on the phone, on the sales floor and online can make or break customer relationships.
If everyone practiced what's been preached about employee engagement, perhaps there would be no turnover. Obviously, that's not the case among the nation's 2.1 million customer-service representatives -- annual turnover rates of 70 percent or more among that segment of the workforce are common, according to experts.
Nevertheless, employers known for excellent customer service have gotten their CSRs to stick around. What's their secret? Southwest Airlines, Nordstrom Inc. and other companies that rank high in customer satisfaction trace their success, in part, to the care and feeding of customer-service workers.
Human resource executives can help ensure that success by hiring people with the talent to serve customers, training them -- and their managers -- effectively and driving motivation with worker-directed incentives. In other words, they have a better chance of engaging their customers in repeat business by having customer-service workers who are, themselves, engaged.
"Organizations need to establish the importance of having an engaged and empowered workforce first; then customer service will follow," says Mark Phelps, a senior consultant and engagement practice leader at Development Dimensions International Inc., a human resource consulting firm based in Bridgeville, Pa.
But it takes more than innate talent to provide great customer service. Also needed is "a cooperative culture where employees understand what behaviors are positive and what goals they're expected to achieve," says Karen Renk, executive director of the Incentive Marketing Association in Naperville, Ill., a trade association of suppliers of awards for incentive and recognition programs.
Words must be followed by deeds, she says. To say, "We value customers" without the policies and procedures necessary to support customer service undermines a company's image. That makes life hard for customer-service reps, but the best of the best can explain a policy in a way that soothes ruffled feathers instead of ruffling them even more.
In general, highly engaged employees know what's expected of them, feel that their job is important and have caring supervisors who encourage their development. These are among the 12 attributes of employee engagement identified by Gallup Consulting.
Even more importantly, engaged employees have lower turnover, feel better about their jobs and exert more effort, studies show. Salary and benefits are only part of retention. Other key drivers are advancement opportunities and the company's reputation as a good employer and an inspirational manager, according to a 2006 report by the Conference Board entitled Employee Engagement.
Clearly, having a supportive environment in the demanding world of call centers, stores and other customer-service settings means that effective manager training is crucial. Supervisors who've been properly trained are better able to serve as role models and provide feedback, coaching and a sense of one's place in the company, consultants say.
"You can't take it for granted that people know how to coach," says Pete Ambrozaitis, vice president of sales at Novations Group Inc., a Boston consulting firm. "Many [managers] are managing to the numbers. Without proper training, they won't have the right skills" to coach subordinates.
Rewards such as gift cards, electronics and trips are popular, but a few kind words from the boss can also go a long way. "It has to be sincere in order to be valued," Phelps says. Individual, specific praise is better than a general group "thank you." And appreciation should be regular -- at least once a week, Gallup recommends.
Joe Peterson lost a two-year battle against Nordstrom Inc. earlier this month when employees in the company's Seattle-area department stores voted overwhelmingly to oust his union after 60 years of representation.
But Mr. Peterson, a onetime Nordstrom shoe salesman who is now president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1001, doesn't sound ready to call it quits.
"Other organized labor is asking when we're going to negotiate a national boycott, and I think it's a distinct possibility," said the 41-year-old Mr. Peterson. "The labor movement is outraged at the aggressive union-bashing Nordstrom did."
The vote by the employees, however, was a decisive 1,022 to 407 against representation. "Our employees fought hard for the right to vote and these results seem a clear indication of their desires," said Joseph V. Demarte, vice president of personnel at Nordstrom. "Employees must consider this a real victory."
Nordstrom initiated the battle when it sought a contract in which union membership would be made optional. Mr. Peterson responded with a stream of negative publicity about the company at a time when it was starting a national expansion. The key charge: salespeople are not fully compensated for performing the extra services -- like writing thank-you notes and making personal deliveries on their own time -- for which the company is known.
Improve retention in the retail sector, save money, enhance customer service and reduce theft.
Competing for market share is a given for most successful businesses, but battling for what Aon Consulting's America @ Work 1999 study calls "workforce share" may be a new challenge for HR. Unfortunately, most companies' need for qualified employees co-exists with a shrinking labor pool and a workforce that feels little compunction about jumping ship for a better offer. The study indicates that roughly 25 percent of surveyed employees would change jobs for a 10 percent pay raise, while more than half would leave for a 20 percent pay raise.
And in the world of retail, turnover comes with the territory.
More
Articles of Interest
Analyzing firms, jobs, and turnover - 1998 conference on linked...
Job tenure statistics yield some surprises
Antecedents to temporary employee's turnover intention
Turnover, transfer, absenteeism: an interdependent perspective
Paying attention to retention: rather than accept staff shake-ups as an...
Figures supplied by the Santa Clara, Calif.-based Saratoga Institute's Human Resource Financial Report show a dismal picture when retailers consider front-line workers--those who meet and establish relationships with their customers. Exempt turnover is 17.7 percent--in line with many other industries--but nonexempt turnover jumps to 78.8 percent. Due to this, many retailers resign themselves to accepting this kind of turnover rate as the cost of doing business.
Nordstrom has safeguards in place to protect your personal and health information, and limits its disclosure. The Company also limits access to your personal and health information and destroys records in accordance with our Records Retention policy posted on Nordnet.
A federal privacy regulation under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) exists to control the use and disclosure of protected health information and ensure your rights with respect to your health information. We want to take this opportunity to communicate how Nordstrom upholds our own privacy standards, as well as assure you of the Company’s compliance with this regulation.
The Nordstrom Health Plan’s Notice of Privacy Practices was created to further explain your rights as they relate to the protection of your health information. It lists Nordstrom’s responsibilities to you as well as who you should contact in the event you have a privacy concern. You can find a copy of the Notice in your Employee Benefits Summary Plan Description (SPD), available online at mynordstrom.com.
Just as Nordstrom is committed to respecting your privacy, it is equally important that we respect the privacy of our customers. As a Nordstrom employee, you are expected to protect the sensitive, private and confidential nature of all customer information.
In accordance with the Nordstrom Privacy Policy (posted on Nordnet and nordstrom.com), you have a responsibility to safeguard customer information such as name, address, phone number, Social Security number and credit card data. Also, if your position allows you access to employee personal information, you are responsible for maintaining the private nature of that information and may not unnecessarily disclose it. The Company’s Confidentiality and Nondisclosure Expectations further explain your responsibilities to ensure that sensitive information is not unnecessarily disclosed. Failure to comply with these expectations may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.
Most people wouldn't last a day as a customer-service representative. Yet retailers, airlines, banks and legions of other employers rely on these low-rung professionals to keep their businesses humming. Their performance on the phone, on the sales floor and online can make or break customer relationships.
If everyone practiced what's been preached about employee engagement, perhaps there would be no turnover. Obviously, that's not the case among the nation's 2.1 million customer-service representatives -- annual turnover rates of 70 percent or more among that segment of the workforce are common, according to experts.
Nevertheless, employers known for excellent customer service have gotten their CSRs to stick around. What's their secret? Southwest Airlines, Nordstrom Inc. and other companies that rank high in customer satisfaction trace their success, in part, to the care and feeding of customer-service workers.
Human resource executives can help ensure that success by hiring people with the talent to serve customers, training them -- and their managers -- effectively and driving motivation with worker-directed incentives. In other words, they have a better chance of engaging their customers in repeat business by having customer-service workers who are, themselves, engaged.
"Organizations need to establish the importance of having an engaged and empowered workforce first; then customer service will follow," says Mark Phelps, a senior consultant and engagement practice leader at Development Dimensions International Inc., a human resource consulting firm based in Bridgeville, Pa.
But it takes more than innate talent to provide great customer service. Also needed is "a cooperative culture where employees understand what behaviors are positive and what goals they're expected to achieve," says Karen Renk, executive director of the Incentive Marketing Association in Naperville, Ill., a trade association of suppliers of awards for incentive and recognition programs.
Words must be followed by deeds, she says. To say, "We value customers" without the policies and procedures necessary to support customer service undermines a company's image. That makes life hard for customer-service reps, but the best of the best can explain a policy in a way that soothes ruffled feathers instead of ruffling them even more.
In general, highly engaged employees know what's expected of them, feel that their job is important and have caring supervisors who encourage their development. These are among the 12 attributes of employee engagement identified by Gallup Consulting.
Even more importantly, engaged employees have lower turnover, feel better about their jobs and exert more effort, studies show. Salary and benefits are only part of retention. Other key drivers are advancement opportunities and the company's reputation as a good employer and an inspirational manager, according to a 2006 report by the Conference Board entitled Employee Engagement.
Clearly, having a supportive environment in the demanding world of call centers, stores and other customer-service settings means that effective manager training is crucial. Supervisors who've been properly trained are better able to serve as role models and provide feedback, coaching and a sense of one's place in the company, consultants say.
"You can't take it for granted that people know how to coach," says Pete Ambrozaitis, vice president of sales at Novations Group Inc., a Boston consulting firm. "Many [managers] are managing to the numbers. Without proper training, they won't have the right skills" to coach subordinates.
Rewards such as gift cards, electronics and trips are popular, but a few kind words from the boss can also go a long way. "It has to be sincere in order to be valued," Phelps says. Individual, specific praise is better than a general group "thank you." And appreciation should be regular -- at least once a week, Gallup recommends.