5 Staffing Strategies That Make a Great Impact on Your Business

 (Part 3 of the District Manager Responsibilities series) 

Although the district manager role is the most difficult one in the retail and franchise industry, it is also the least formally trained. Yet, training is necessary so that these leaders can develop certain skills and abilities to solve the various challenges, situations, and problems they face in their day-to-day operations.

As we have reviewed in the past weeks as part of our district managers series, this position has seven key responsibilities they need to fulfill so that they can be successful, reach their district goals, and, in turn, help your business thrive. In this blog post, we’ll dig into the third responsibility: staff.  

Don’t miss the whole District Manager’s video series to learn what are the 7 core responsibilities these leaders must fulfill and how we can help them. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to view our live sessions!

First, I have to clarify that the district manager does not do the hiring process, but it is their responsibility to make sure it is being done correctly. And since they do get involved in the attraction and recruitment of future leaders of the organization, they need to be able to detect the diamonds in the raw to inspire them and get them on board.

Additionally, the district managers have to master these staffing strategies to do their job the best possible way. 

1. Understand the Employee Life Cycle

The majority of the employees won’t be in the organization forever. Therefore, the district manager has to be able to identify the different stages of the employee lifecycle and what happens in each of them so that they can manage the crew members better. 

This understanding also impacts the business and the operations, so it is vital they can handle every part of the process, from recruiting to separation.

Discover the 8 phases of the employee life cycle and tips to manage them on this video.

2. Manage Staffing Levels

Although the district managers are not the ones that interview and hire the unit’s staff, they do have to oversee the process and how it’s being executed by the unit leaders so that they can assure the stores have the optimal staffing levels to perform correctly.

They also ought to understand the specific situation of each location, where it needs to be from a multi-unit business point of view, and how it’s going to get there. A key task for this: develop the future leaders of the unit and help them acquire the skills and abilities they require to make that plan happen.

3. Bench Planning

The number three staffing strategy that will make a great impact on your business is bench planning. It is known that there’s a much better chance of success when you promote from within for a leadership position than when you hire someone externally. 

For that reason, having the ability to create a good bench planning process within your organization and your units will be critical. If your district manager possesses this skill, you’ll be able to have the leaders ready to go when you need to fill in a leadership position for a new unit.  

This strategy is critical, especially if your franchise is in growth mode. 

Learn how to develop your leadership bench on this video.

4. Team Building

Anybody can oversee businesses, but not everybody can build a team behind them. It is a fact that employees join organizations because of the benefits and the opportunities, but they stay for the culture they experience once they begin to work for the company.  

Team spirit and culture start with the district manager. That’s why having one with the ability, processes, and procedures to build a team within the organization is crucial, not only for the performance, enthusiasm, and environment in which the employees work but also for lowering turnover and increasing retention.

5. Retention

Retaining people for as long as possible is the game of the game nowadays, especially with the staffing crisis in our industry. In the past, we could start a hiring process whenever we needed employees for our business. But now, hiring has become very challenging, which makes the retention of current employees more important.

Having a district manager that has the skills, the processes, and the procedures to retain people is going to be strategic for the well-being of the business, the employees' experience, and the financial success of the organization. 

As I have listed in the prior blog posts, there are seven critical responsibilities of district managers; staffing is the third one. Applying these five strategies will help them be successful in their job and have an impact on your organization.

If you would like to learn more about how The American Franchise Academy can help your district managers develop those skills, join us at our Multi-Unit Leadership Certification Program. In our upcoming information session, we’ll share what the program is, how we deliver it, and the outcome you can expect at the end of this 10-week program. 

Register to the free information session at DistrictManagerTraining.com 

And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and subscribe to our YouTube Channel to view the rest of the District Manager’s video series.

Reflections:

• How skilled are your district managers in terms of staffing abilities?
• Have they developed a bench planning you can rely on?
• Are they able to build a team and promote a good and healthy culture within the organization?
• What strategies are they implementing to retain your workers?

WATCH THIS VBLOG on YouTube HERE.