Retrieved 9/26/2024 from: https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=1980s+grocery+store&form=HDRSC3&first=1
My first real job was in a grocery store. To say it was a traumatic experience is an understatement, to this day I cannot enter a grocery store without some degree of anxiety. While I credit the experience with developing a strong work-ethic, I question: did it have to be so extremely harsh? In addition to the “learn it the hard way” approach, the position was a pretty coveted job in the small town of Gig Harbor, and my mom worked in the corporate office. This was a high-stakes game of maintaining my first job!
The only available grocery store position for a 16 year old with no previous paid experience, was a courtesy clerk. We were responsible for bagging groceries, taking groceries to customers cars, bringing carts back into the store, returning items to shelves, getting forgotten customer items, re-stocking bags (it’s a good thing I could throw bales of hay), and general cleaning (breakrooms, bathrooms, etc.).
There were several preferred methods of motivation, the three store managers really loved to call us out over the intercom - for the entire store to hear, remove you from the schedule, or conduct the dreaded write up – and not in private. It seemed as though there was a vast network of spies who were constantly on the look out for your misgivings. Basically, every aspect of the work was about being shamed, very publicly.
Its ironic in some ways that through this experience, I ended up in the field of adult and organizational learning. The entire experience was an epic failure of store management. Here are some lessons from hindsight and experience.
Failure to set any expectations. Other than show up on time and clock in, nothing about how to do the job – not even how to properly bag groceries, was shared. While formal training or education is not necessarily crucial in bagging groceries, there were quite a few cultural norms that were never explained. These included: no walking unless you were with a customer, or in a show of some benevolence, if you had more than three carts. The unstated expectation is that you ran everywhere. I was removed from the schedule early into my tenure because I sat on the floor while re-stocking bags. Unbeknownst to me, sitting even while stocking bags was quite the egregious event!
Failure to understand human motivation. Sadly, many managers still use fear or coercion as a form of motivation. While some people do respond to fear-based motivation, it is usually not in anyone’s best interest. The fear-based motivation creates an amygdala hi-jack. In the developing brain of 16-year-olds, it can become a long-term, highly charged emotional response.
Failure to provide any training or mentoring. The only real advice I got was “put the bread on top.” Fortunately, we were still using paper bags and I was quick to figure out how to use boxed items to create structure, but there was no real training that occurred. Any learning came through the school of hard knocks.
Mentoring as an effective approach
Perhaps it was because we were just a few kids, and there were many others who would have liked out jobs. Perhaps it was because the store managers truly believed that they were somehow grooming us to be great employees. Perhaps they just didn’t know any better, but did it have to be such a rough inculturation? Admittedly, today’s grocery stores add to my anxiety because so many of the team members have such an “I don’t give a damn” attitude.
Regardless of the reason, everyone needs some degree of time and space to learn a role and the cultural expectations, and mentoring is the perfect opportunity. This is especially the case when the organization does not have a formal training program. Here are some benefits of mentoring:
Its an opportunity to make meaningful connections and relationships which enhance trust,
Considering that most new hires stumble in the area of culture, mentoring can be key to ensure new hires maintain engagement and are perceived as a good hire,
Knowledge sharing from the mentor to mentee facilitates greater organizational knowledge,
Increases employee engagement,
Reduces turnover, apathy, and neglect,
Boosts performance as employees learn the right way more quickly,
Creates a consistent employee experience,
Fosters career growth,
There’s no shaming in the mentor/mentee relationship, and much more.
Fortunately, I made it almost two years in the role, ensuring my mom’s corporate honor. Right before my 18th birthday I transferred to the bakery. Pink boxes tied up with string and all that…at least they showed me how to bag the left-over French rolls.
We’re thrilled to announce our updated mentoring learning module! We’ve updated our module to include:
temperament styles which promotes improved communication and learning,
some case studies of mentoring with timeframes and meaningful activities, and
a toolkit with multiple, printable resources.
In celebration of our updated mentoring program, use coupon code mentor to receive 20% off!
But, we’re not finished! We’ll be working on the next evolution of mentoring in the fourth quarter 2024.
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