Training and Development of Swatch Group Employees

Sheila Longchamp

GM591-Leadership and Organizational Behavior

Keller Graduate School of Management

December 11, 2011

Dr. Matasha Murrell-Jones

Email: longchamp212@yahoo.com

About Swatch Group

The Swatch Group Limited is a Swiss company and watch manufacturer. It was formed

in 1983 through the merging of the two Swiss watch manufacturers ASUAG and SSIH, and took

its present name in 1998 (formerly SMH Swiss Corporation for Microelectronics and Watch

Making Industries Ltd). The company is led by G. Nicolas (Nick) Hayek, Jr., son of the late co-

founder and chairman Nicolas Hayek.

The Swatch Group Ltd. is the number one manufacturer of finished watches in the world.

The Group is active in the manufacture of finished watches, jewelry, and watch movements and

components. It produces nearly all of the components necessary to manufacture the watches sold

under its 19 watch brands and the Multi-brand Tourbillon retail label, as well as the entire Swiss

watch making industry. In addition, it operates its own worldwide network of distribution

organizations. The Swatch Group is also a key player in the electronic systems sector.

Today, the Swatch Group offers watches in all price categories, and Swatch Group mono

brands and the multi-brand Tourbillon retail mark hold leadership positions in all market

segments:

Breguet Blancpain Omega Tiffany & Co. in the Prestige and Luxury range Longines Rado Tissot Calvin Klein Hamilton and Balmain in the middle range Swatch Flik Flak

http://www.swatchgroup.com/en/brands_and_companies/watches_and_jewelry Retrieved 11/27/2070

Problem Statement

Swatch Group objective is to expand in the next couple of years. Currently there are 44

locations in the United States and they want to bring back the Swatch name strong and large.

Today, wearing a watch is a lost art due the mega advances in technology. According to

company communications, in order to bring back the Swatch name strong, the company has to

look into their pricing, marketing and selling tactics.

Swatch Group has taken into consideration the state of the economy and has chosen to

price their watches and jewelry but the product needs to be properly presented in order to

increase sales per store. The company believes in bringing the best to every customer no matter

the states of the economy and they are also believers in helping employees go above and beyond

by helping to improve their skills

From the past couple of years, there has been a decrease in company morale. Customer

complain about the way sales associates approach them in the stores. In addtion to poor customer

service, company policy is completely unfair and managers are inconsistent with how the policy

is implied. Many programs have been implemented to change this current state but unfortunately

it has only worsened over time.

For the past two years, Swatch Group has been implementing the “Time to Sell” course

to all existing and future employees, created by the Friedman Group. Swatch Group objective is

to increase each store’s morale and customer service issues . Through these objectives, this will

increase store sales as well as increase customer communications and helping to develop great

careers for talented and upcoming sales associates and managers.

Data Analysis of Swatch Store- John F. Kennedy Airport Location

A needs assessment was conducted among one of the Swatch Store locations, Swatch 264

at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City. The organizational, task and person analysis

confirmed the need for additional training in the area of sales. Data was collected through the use

of interviews and observations. The data collected confirmed that training was needed to achieve

the company objective. This information will aid all management teams within the Swatch

Group family on how to assess the weaknesses in each of their stores. This information should

allow for each store to increase their Units per Transaction, Average sale and Customer

Satisfaction. The training applied to each store will be from Friedman Training. The training

began on October 1st and ended November 15th of 2011.

About The Friedman Group

The Friedman Group was founded in 1980 by Harry J. Friedman to provide retailers with

reality-based methodologies for developing high-performance stores that exceed expectations.

Today, as one of retail's most revered visionaries and authorities, Mr. Friedman has built The

Friedman Group into an international organization recognized the world over as the premiere

provider of sales and service focused consulting and training with a singular focus: deliver sales

increases.

Learning from and contributing to some of the freshest and most successful names in

retail has allowed The Friedman Group to develop and continuously improve the most inventive

and most widely used retail sales and management systems in use today. As a result of having

worked on more sales floors than any retailer could ever have the opportunity to even see, we are

able to provide a unique perspective on what it takes to create a shopping experience that

delivers more sales. And more importantly, we know how to transfer that ability to you and your

staff. (http://www.thefriedmangroup.com/training.htm, Retrieved 11/16/11)

Over the past 26 years, The Friedman Group's expert trainers, consultants and business

improvement specialists have delivered millions of dollars in sales improvements to retailers just

like you. Our retail training programs provide an affordable way to systematically train and

manage your people to develop highly productive sales floors and maintain superior customer

service standards that get the results you're looking for. (Time to Sell Checklist, Friedman, 2009)

Literature Review

Analysis: Training and Intervention

The Friedman training is a combination of Traditional training which include various

types of instructional methods, a video and role playing and a Hands-on method that require the

employee to be actively involved in the learning process.

(http://www.devryu.net/ec/crs/default.learn?

CourseID=4530826&CPURL=www.devryu.net&Survey=1&47=5473421&ClientNodeID=9063

59&coursenav=0&bhcp=1, Lecture Notes, week 4, retrieved 12/1/11)

The training analysis is needed to determine areas of job performance in which an employee

needs training. The survey assessment pinpoints the skills that the employees on the sales floor

needs in order to increase their sales. It helps the company and each individual store increase the

skill level of all its workers and the customers leave with a smile and a feeling that they have

been well taken care of. Below is an assessment taken from each employee to see whether or not

the Store Manager is evaluating each employee according to company standards. From this

assessment, we are able to see whether the issues are due to lack of managerial involvement or

they are employee based issues.

QUESTIONS YES NOMy supervisor communicates with me on a regular basis XMy supervisor gives me information that is important to me. XMy organization treats all employees well XMy supervisor allows me to communicate my thoughts without fear of reprisal XI am rewarded for good performance XThe feedback that I receive is directly related to my job performance XMy organization treats all employees fairly* XI am encouraged to make decisions that affect my job XI receive frequent feedback on my performance XThe feedback that I receive is constructive in nature X

*For this question, it depended on the position; both Assistant Managers and Supervisor answered NO and the 2 PT key holders and 1 Sales Associate answered YES

The company requires that the 5 non-negotiables are used on the sales floor at all times. The

five non-negotiables is a quick run down on f the features and benefits of the Swatch products.

The following should be applied to every sales made on the selling floor.

1) The Greeting

2) The two year international warranty brought with each watch or year international

warranty with each piece of jewelry

3) Adding on (increases the store units per transaction and the average sale)

4) The Swatch Loyalty Program (clientele)

5) Tell the customer to have a great day and to come back again

The John F. Kennedy Swatch location consist of one Store manager, two full time

Assistant Manager, one full-time Key holder, 2 part-time Key holders and one Sales

Associate. Based on both interviews and observation, the store needs to work on applying the

five non- negotiables on the sales floor as well as breaking down the customers’ resistance

and adding on to each transaction. The following were the results of the store observational

survey administered on the John F. Kennedy location on 11/19/2011 during the store sell off.

This day was chosen because each member of the team was at the store.

Customer ServiceYES NO

Were customers greeted in a friendly manner using a conversation starter? XWas the customer greeted in a timely manner, within 60 seconds? X

Discovering customer needsDid the employee initiate conversation/build rapport? XWas the customer asked questions to clarify your needs? XDid the employee invite the customer to try on a product? X

Product KnowledgeDid the employee begin a discussion about the product? XDid the employee offer features and benefits? X

Active SellingWas the customer asked open ended questions? XDid the employee offer any additional merchandise to add to their purchase? XDid the employee attempt to close the sale? XWas the customer thanked and given a friendly goodbye? XINTERNAL INFORMATION: Swatch Survey 3 Survey Retrieved 11/19/2011

Solutions

The Friedman “Time to Sell” course takes stores to the next level of professionalism by

providing a highly effective; skill building tools that enhance the shopping experience and help

develop the kind of long term personal relationships that create customers for life. (Time to Sell

Checklist, Friedman, 2009) The Time to sell course is flexible and based on a self paced study

program.

Reflections: Training Evaluation

At the end of each training session, the Swatch Group employees will be asked to

complete an evaluation form. Giving the employee the evaluation immediately after the training

is over is great for immediate feedback.

The evaluation form will request direct feedback from participants to determine if the

Time to sell course was beneficial to their sales and another to determine whether or not the

Store Manager was effective in role playing and correcting error. In addition, will share if their,

units per transaction and average sales have increased

The feedback forms will be summarized and provided to the Swatch Group Corporate

offices, located in Weehawken, NJ and then relayed back to the Friedman Group.

After a review of this summary, a decision will be made based on the responses. If

participants gave high marks and took valuable information from the training that they can use at

their current positions, no changes will need to be made. If however, feedback states that some

areas were not addressed that participants have questions or struggle with certain topics, the

issues will be taken into consideration for one on one training with the Store Manager. If the

issue is the person administering the training, then the manager will have to be retrained by their

District Managers in a separate training session.

Conclusion

As one of the Assistant Managers at the John F. Kennedy Locations and having to

training the Friedman Time to Sell course I have noticed that the store sale per hour, units per

transactions and average sales have increased. The numbers are above the company standards for

our store. It is also safe to say that all the employees have been trained in accordance to the

company standards and also all issues that concern the staff can be dealt with because they have

all answered the questionnaire and company policies have been updated and addressed to

everyone. The training program helped to remove all issues that were of major concern to the

company and of concern to the employees.

References

1) http://www.swatchgroup.com/en/brands_and_companies/watches_and_jewelry Retrieved

11/27/2011

2) http://www.thefriedmangroup.com/training.htm, Retrieved 12/1/11

3) http://www.devryu.net/ec/crs/default.learn?

CourseID=4530826&CPURL=www.devryu.net&Survey=1&47=5473421&ClientNodeID

=906359&coursenav=0&bhcp=1, Lecture Notes, week 4, retrieved 12/1/11

4) Time to Sell Checklist, The Friedman Group/Swatch Group, 2009

5) Noe, Raymond A., Employee Training and Development 5th Edition, 2010 McGraw-Hill

Irwin