Though retail management training is less formally studied in Malaysia compared to other countries, developing an effective retail management team is no less essential.
Luckily, many trainers in Malaysia have a wealth of expertise, and MISHU is lucky to work Monsieur Brendan William Sta Maria, who prefers to be called CoachBren.
Brendan’s knowledge of management theories and over 20 years of hands-on experience means he has a pretty good idea of what works (and what won’t).
We asked for his thoughts on the eight most frequently asked questions on retail management training in Malaysia, and here are his replies.
Let’s begin.
Table of Contents
- 1. What does a retail manager really do?
- 2. What skills does a retail manager need?
- 3. Is retail management a separate skill?
- 4. What defines a good retail manager?
- 5. What challenges do retail managers face?
- 6. Can someone new to retail be a good retail manager?
- 7. What training should a retail manager receive?
- 8. How do you train retail managers?
- Let MISHU help with your retail management training
1. What does a retail manager really do?
Generally speaking, retail managers are responsible for:
- overseeing store operations
- managing staff
- ensuring customer satisfaction, and most importantly
- driving sales!
That’s a heavy burden, and here’s the funny part: many retail managers have no retail background!
For example, many optical chain stores are run by optometrists or opticians who must manage the branch on top of being the in-house optometrist by profession. How do they learn to manage a successful, profitable business?
That is why organisations must develop their competencies and skills as retail managers with training.
2. What skills does a retail manager need?
Over the years of training retail managers to run successful businesses, we’ve (unsurprisingly) found that specific skills for individual retail managers vary depending on business nature.
However, five core competencies / skills remained vital across industries:
- Leadership
- Customer care
- Business and financial acumen
- People management, and
- Operational management
3. Is retail management a separate skill?
Yes and no! Retail management is a combination of the five skill areas listed in my previous answer.
A retail manager needs to be competent in all of the five skill areas to be successful.
- Leadership ensures a manager knows the strategies to lead a team and provide direction and coaching.
- Customer care ensures a manager keeps their team customer-centric.
- Business and financial acumen ensures a manager knows how a business runs effectively, efficiently, and profitably.
- People management ensures a manager knows how to handle employees fairly, firmly and frankly.
- Operational management ensures a manager can put business plans and strategies into action, making sure the business runs effectively and efficiently, and working towards the desired results.
4. What defines a good retail manager?
A good retail manager is someone who can plan, communicate, lead, manage the team and resources towards a specific goal which includes customer satisfaction, excellent operations, and profitability.
5. What challenges do retail managers face?
In no particular order, retail managers face the following issues:
- staff conflicts
- inventory management
- customer complaints, and
- meeting sales targets
6. Can someone new to retail be a good retail manager?
Yes, someone with no retail experience can be a good retail manager if given adequate training,
We recommend that new retail managers be placed on a structured development program to teach them the necessary competencies in the five skill areas for them to succeed.
7. What training should a retail manager receive?
New retail managers should be trained on the basic level for the five skill areas within the first six to nine months in their position.
Thereafter they should be given supplementary training every year to further develop their competencies and improve their personal and business performance.
8. How do you train retail managers?
Ok, I shamelessly admit to answering this question with a sales pitch but my answer is my Retail Commerciality course!
It’s a two-day (16 hour?) programme that consists of four sections:
- Section 1: Learning to forecast commercial performance with proven formulas.
- Section 2: Using SWOT Analysis to find and leverage organisational strengths.
- Section 3: Using SWOT Analyses to identify external threats to the business.
- Section 4: Exploring how to go from ‘just another retail outlet’ into an establishment that can scale commercially.
It’s designed to equip employees with essential skills and knowledge to excel as a retail manager, and I’m more than comfortable customising the training for a class as small as 5 or as big as 30, or for physical or online delivery.
Thanks, Coach Bren!
Let MISHU help with your retail management training
With multiple HRD Corp Certified courses, MISHU’s trainers and coaches are here to equip retail managers with essential competencies to succeeed, regardless of industry or business size.