LongTerm

Business Challenge: A Long Time Employee Refuses to Change

The Scenario

Recently a colleague came to me and told me this scenario and asked me for my advice:

Recently changes were made in a large department store on how cosmetic counter employees needed to sell their products. In this store the cosmetic counter employees were company employees, not employees of the cosmetic companies. The new work rule was that if a customer approached them and they didn’t have a product in stock, like a lipstick shade, they were to refer them to another brand with a similar product. Prior they would just let the customer walk away after asking them to check back another time. This encouraged the customer to potentially still make a purchase in the store.

This long time employee flatly refused to follow the new policy. They continued with the previous policy and when it was discovered stated clearly they were never going to change. This was causing problems with the other employees who had made the change and there had been some rumblings that they too would stop referring customers.

My Advice

The first and most important step is to understand the employee and what their motivations are. They may not be convinced that the new policy is a good one, and having been in the store for many years might feel like they know better. It will be important to understand their motivation and act accordingly. They may need to understand better the benefit for them (referrals) and the benefit for the store (sales). Or they may need to understand more about the reasoning behind the change – why it was made, what other options were considered, what kind of measurements were put in place to ensure it was successful.

If they understand the benefit and simply state that they still won’t do it, try to ascertain what they think they will be losing by referring to another counter. Flat refusal to change is usually motivated by a sense (real or perceived) of loss. Whatever they think they are losing see if there is a way to help them understand that they will not be losing in the long run. Even though that person didn’t buy that specific product from them, referring them to another colleague and showing them that their needs as a customer come first can result in increased customer loyalty – to them and their products.

If this individual still refuses to make the change, then it is time to help them understand that the change is a job requirement. Even though they have been a loyal and productive employee for many years, it is critical that they continue to meet the job requirements as stated. If they can’t, or won’t, meet the job requirements then they will need to find a job where they can do what is expected of them – either in that store or another. That is their choice and although you don’t want to lose them as an employee, you will support whatever decision they make.

Conclusion

Understanding the source of the resistance and making efforts to work with the employee to resolve their issues will show that you appreciate their long and productive service. But you are in the business to make money and if this employee chooses to continue to allow customers to walk out of the store without making a purchase, simply because they will not follow the new policy, then it is time to help them find another place to add value.

A word about Unions: In a Union shop, no changes to work guidelines should be made without some input from the Union. It is critical to involve the Union with any issues that arise from implementing new work guidelines – like the scenario above.