#120 HIRING AND MANAGING OUR EMPLOYEES * (revised 6/1) "classifying and compensating"

For the purposes of various benefits offered by green garden gates, how are the employees classified?

We have four employee employment classifications;

Introductory

Occasional

Seasonal

Permanent

Voluntary

Introductory

These employees work from one hours to 240 hours/60 days

Each employee is initially hired in the introductory classification. At the completion of the term which is sixty days or 240 hours, whichever comes first, he or she is moved to the next status, which is Occasional.

Compensation

Base hourly wage; 10.00 per hour

Other Compensation: None

Returning employees the next season to the same ggg store, who have completed the hours or days requirement, are automatically classified as Occasional or Seasonal depending on their accumulation of hours worked for previous season. If an employee skips a season or skips several seasons and returns, the store manager can decide where he or she should be classified, depending experience and previous work hour history.

When an employee transfers to another ggg location, that store manager has the discretion of moving the employee into a classification depending on experience and previous work history at the former location.

We want to be sure that the employee is stable and reliable after the move. Sometimes the move is within the same city or area and there is not much disruption in his or her personal life. Sometimes, however, it may be a move across the country which may cause some work instability. We hesitate in giving benefits beyond base wages until we know the employee will be satisfied with the location and the new store.

There are additional benefits for our employees after the introductory classification.

The medical contributions, product discounts, personal time days, and the added benefits of the store manager are expenced. The cash bonus fund and the ggg trust retirement programs are drawn from the net profits of the store after expences.

The following is a formula for these amounts.

The net profit distributions of green garden gates, after all store expenses

50.49% is retained by green garden gates

49.51% is given in programs to the employees

Of 100.00 in net profit

100.00

15.00 15% goes into the employee trust program

________

85.00

85.00

10.20 12% of the remaining goes into the employee cash bonus program

________ 8% for the seasonal employees cash bonus program

74.80 4% for the occasional employees cash bonus program

74.80

7.48 10% of the remaining goes to the floor manager as a bonus

_________

67.32

67.32

16.83 25% of the balance goes to the store manager

_________

50.49 Retained by Green Garden Gates

Occasional

These people are employed each calendar year for more than 241 hours/sixty days to 1199 hours.

This part of the staff is hired for the spring and early summer gardening rush. They generally start to arrive in increments beginning from about mid March to mid April and begin to leave in increments starting in about mid June. Some of these employees may return during the fall planting season.

Compensation

Base hourly wage: 10.00 per hour

All employees in this category are at the same rate

The Bonus Fund

Up to 4 % of 49.51% of the net profits of green garden gates go into a bonus fund for all the employees classified in this seasonal employee category. The employee must work at a minimum of 270 hours or ninety days which ever comes first, (at any classification) to be eligible for this bonus fund. The distribution is made according to shares. First season employees earn one share, three seasons, two shares, six seasons, three shares.

Employees who move into another classification during the season stay with the benefits of the previous classification through the completion of that season. Employees who, for some reason, drop down a classification, are eligible for the benefits of that new classification

The payment of the bonus is in two installments, 60% of the amount is paid after the close of the season, usually in mid November. The remaining 40% is paid in July of the next season.

We hold out 40% of the bonus for a couple of reasons. First, if the employee decides not to return the next season, the medical premiums the company has paid during the months the store is closed, will be deducted from their final bonus check.

Second, employees are required to notify green garden gates if they are not returning the next season by January 31st following the season closure in November. If the employee does not notify ggg on or before that date, The employee forfeits all claims to the remaining bonus from the previous season. We have a firm date on notification because we need to recruit early for the upcoming season.

Under no circumstances will the employee be denied the remaining bonus dollars if they our not in our employment during the next season. The money belongs to them, they earned it for their work the previous season. We will deduct the medical premiums we have paid during the down time and award them the remaining bonus money regardless if they left our employment.


There will be always an employee who will try to "game" the system. He or she will signal intentions to come back to work and not do this or the employee will work just a few weeks in the spring and then quit. If the employee does not return to work, the medical premiums paid by the company all during the down time will be deducted from the previous seasons bonus check. Employees are required to accumulate more than 240 hours the next season or 60 days of work , whichever comes first. (each day he or she punches the clock counts as a day, no matter how many hours the employee works that day). If the employee leaves after this requirement, no medical premium deduction will be taken out of the bonus check.

Product Discounts

The employees in this category receive 20% discount on the retail price of all products in the store, while they are employed with us. Refer to #75 for specifics on the product discount program.

Personal time Days.

Each employee is given 3 personal time days.

After December 31^st, the personal days are resigned. 50% of the unused days are awarded in bonus dollars to that employee. Refer to #75 for specifics of the personal time program.

Medical, Dental, Vision and Prescription Compensation

Seasonal employees are not eligible for the green garden gates insurance program. However, the store will contribute a maximum of 10% or a determined amount of money of the employee’s personal private insurance premium during the time he or she is employed with ggg.

Note on insurance compensation: This is another financial trap for owners of all businesses. The rising costs of health care makes it difficult to predict. It may happen that a company is not able to afford a fixed percentage of the premium. Give yourself some wiggle room here. DON'T OFFER JUST PERCENTAGES! Always leave the option of contributing a specific but variable dollar amount to health insurance.

Seasonal

This staff is employed each calendar year from 1201 hours to 2079 hours

These employees work for green garden gates most or all of the gardening season. Although the majority of them are section leaders and the floor manager, some employees are guides who return each year for all or nearly all the entire season.

Compensation:

Base hourly wage: 10.00 per hour

All employees in this category are at the same rate

Leadership Pay Upgrades

Employees in this category who are charged with leadership positions at green garden gates are awarded special pay upgrades for their responsibilities. Section leaders are awarded a 50% pay increase of their base, to 15.00 per hour. The Floor Manager is awarded a 100% pay increase over their base, to 20.00 per hour. These pay upgrades may increase depending on future responsibilities.

Personal time days

Each employee is given 5 personal time days.

The floor manager is given 8 personal time days

After December 31^st, the personal days are resigned. 50% of the unused days are awarded in bonus dollars to that employee. Refer to #75 for specifics of the personal time program.

Product Discounts

The employees in this category receive 40% discount on the retail price of all products in the store, while they are employed with us. Refer to #75 for specifics on the product discount program.

The Bonus Fund

Up to 8% of 49.51% of the net profits of green garden gates go into a bonus fund for all the employees classified in this seasonal employee category. The employee must work at a minimum of 270 hours or ninety days which ever comes first, (at any classification) to be eligible for this bonus fund.

The distribution is divided into shares based on the seasons worked at ggg. After the first full season in this classification, employees receive one share of that year’s fund. After three full season, two shares. After six full seasons, three shares. The bonuses are awarded at the close of the season, usually in November, with a portioned retained for continued health insurance premiums. The final payment is made on July 1^st of the next season.

Although classified as a seasonal employee, the floor manager has larger responsibilities than the section leaders and other long term seasonal employees. The floor manager is pulled out of this bonus fund for this classification. He or she receives up to 10% of 49.51% of the net profits of the store.

see explanation of the bonus payout times and restrictions in the discussion of Occasional employees

Medical, Dental, Vision and Prescription Compensation

All employees in this category must have these health insurance coverages. green garden gates has a comprehensive policy available for this purpose.

The company will compensate the employee to 40% or a determined amount of money of the monthly premiums of this policy.

Additional family members through this plan will be compensated by the company at 20% or a determined amount of money of the additional premium for other members of the family

We encourage our employees to retain this health insurance after they are discharged for the season if they have indicated that they will return to work the following season. A part of their earned bonus fund money, see #75, will be retained to pay for the company contribution to these premiums after they are discharged for the season. If an employee decides he or she will not work the following season that premium money is deducted from the final payment of their bonus funds. If the employee returns to work, those premium dollars are returned to their fund, with their final award for that previous year’s bonus money to be paid on July 1^st of that year.

If the employee carries private insurance other than the ggg policy, That contributed money will be awarded in their wages to help pay for this insurance. Employees must provide documentation that they have an active private policy similar to the ggg policy.

The ggg trust/retirement fund.

The store will contribute up to 15% of the employee’s weekly wages to a trust fund for retirement or other uses by the employee. The employee must work three seasons, at a normal rate of work hours, before he or she can draw from this account. The maximum draw is 50% of this fund after three seasons and 100% after six seasons with green garden gates.

Off Season Employment

The seasonal employees are not obligated to the company after they have been discharged that year in order to receive any earned compensation from the previous year.

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Other incentives

Cash “spiffs” or selling bonuses

During the course of the season, green garden gates and our suppliers provide cash incentives for the sale of certain products. We may want to move out an item or category that has been in our inventory too long. Suppliers want to introduce their new product by offering an incentive to sell the item. These bonuses are reflected on their paychecks with the necessary government withholding process.

Online work payments

Our employees are required to do considerable work on our website; training programs, researching and getting timely information about the workplace. For all probationary, occasional and seasonal employees we add to their wages the amount of twenty-five dollars per month for this online work. We believe that this requirement done outside the workplace needs to be recognized by extra dollars.

Awards for innovations

Employees are on the front lines of our stores . They see the problem in a procedure or an operation and often have a better solution that can save us wasted time, unneccesary effort and cost. Each season, we may give up to three one hundred dollar and two five hundred dollar awards to employees who innovate, who bring solutions to us that has moved our stores forward.

Gratuities

From time to time, employees are rewarded by customers with a gratuity for their outstanding performance. We condone this practice with conditions that are outlined in our employee manual.

Customer Service Awards


During the season, employees perform services to their customers that are well beyond "going the extra mile" in the sales of our plants and plant care products. We provide an award for this great effort each season by allocating three one hundred dollar awards for our employees. We are hopeful that we can give any or all of these three awards each season.

Training Upgrades

Our training program is broad and extensive. It requires that the employee put in extra time, both on the job and at home with these training courses. When employees complete a module, they are awarded a block financial upgrade payment each pay period. Their base pay stays the same but the upgrade payment is added to their paycheck. The stipend will continue as long as the employee continues with completing that training module as it is expanded and refined.

Permanent

They are employed each calendar year for 2080 hours or more.

These employees are compensated in wages each week year round.

The store manager is the only employee classified in this category.

Compensation for this position is specified in entry #75

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“I have a clear understanding of all the positions in the seasonal category except the floor manager. It seems that he or she has a big job assisting the store managers and is basically running the place much of the time. Why doesn’t he or she get classified as a permanent employee and what about extra benefits?

Les Schwab, The Tire King, in his book, “Pride in Performance” said it best to all his Managers about their assistant managers (we call them floor managers)

“If a bright young ambitious man joins our company and wants to make our company his career, does he do it because he just likes you guys? Do you managers think that some little fairy sent you this man just to help you build your bonus? Do you think this man is going to work for low pay, year after year, just so that you can build your profit sharing contract into a nice fat nest egg?? No, I don’t think so. He wants to see results, just like you when you started up the ladder.

There is no question that the floor manager is so important to the operation of the store. His or her job description Entry #118 tells it all.

First, we are reluctant to obligate the store financially with another permanent employee during the off season when there is no money generated from sales. However, the floor manager is the last seasonal employee to leave at season end and the first employee to start as the season begins. I addition, the floor manager's yearly bonus is substantially more than the other seasonal employees. We also anticipate that the floor manager will be working over 40 hours per week during the busy season. Those extra hours are classified as compensatory hours and will be awarded to him or her with the bonus disbursement at the close of the season.Personal time is increased over the classification, and since he or she works longer, the medical share is paid longer in the year. We estimate that the floor manager can receive nearly 50,000.00 or more per year in compensation.

#119 HIRING AND MANAGING OUR EMPLOYEES * (revised 6/1) "getting trapped"

Getting trapped.




There is a big trap out there ready to gobble you up.
It’s called all forms of employee compensation.

When designing all the benefits for employees, it is so important to anticipate and plan carefully about all of them. Once you have committed to the plan and put it out there, it is too late to take it back.

Every store has a “Norma Rae”, who makes it his or her mission to watch carefully for unequal treatment among employees. Norma Rae is not afraid to spread it around the store. That is not bad. Every employee needs to be compensated with fairness and equality for the tasks that they perform. It is the fault of the owner when an employee is forced to jump up on the table. It starts as a low rumble but soon everyone is grumbling and unhappy about everything.

These are the traps in the garden path you need to avoid





"Why does Frank get paid more than me? I work as hard as he does. It must be because I am a woman!"

It is a classic situation that occurs in the workplace. It will leave your female employees bitter and very angry. However, nearly as bad are inequities in pay and other compensations between men and men and women and women. It starts when the owner just gives away extra perks off the top of the head, with no standard or planning. This stuff still goes on and it is deadly.

“She got a raise because she cried that she could not make it on the pay”
“He is the man of the house and he has to feed his family”
“The boss has a little thing with her”

Set firm pay scales and do not veer away from them.


We have a set pay scale and period of increases in pay that are specified times of the season and standard to all. We do not make exceptions






"How come Susan got overtime and I didn’t?"


Same thing, lack of sticking to a standard plan. It says that Susan is more important to the store.


“Susan needs to complete a project and we need her expertise”
“Susan is going to be away with her mother and she needs extra money”
“I like what Susan has been doing out there”

Make a written statement about overtime hours.
Allocate those hours to the sections
Closely monitor who is getting those hours and for what reasons



Except in very rare instances, as in extreme emergencies, we do not allow overtime at our stores. Some owners of garden stores hold that carrot of overtime out to their employees or they find that it is cheaper to pay experienced employees overtime rather than using another employee who is not able to sell as much or work as productive. We have found that overtime just wears employees out. By insisting that they rest from the workday, they are significantly more valuable to our store.

"Mike takes an hour lunch every day and all I get is thirty minutes?"



“He works hard so we give him a little extra time”
“He is older and he needs to get off his feet for an hour”
“I don’t care as long as he does his job”


Set a standard for lunch time and other breaks and stick with it for everyone

At green garden gates, we believe that a thirty minute lunch break is just too short a time for our employees. We have settled on forty-five minutes for lunch. Everyone takes forty-five minutes away from the store (in a personal vehicle in our parking lot is acceptable) Further, we insist that they take all of this time. We believe that our employees need some down time away from the activity of the store. There are no exceptions to this.

"Mindy is on the schedule every day until five o’clock and she leaves at three all the time. I want to leave early and I can’t"



“Mindy has to pick up her kid from daycare”
“Mindy has a sick mother to take care of”
“Mindy works hard every day”



Keep Mindy off the schedule during those times. Don’t just keep ignoring this.


Everyone needs to get out of the store early or come in later once in a while. We understand that. It is the job of the section leader to make the schedule firm, but painfully equitable.







"I should get paid more for doing this stuff."


“Sorry, but I need you to do this work”
“Do what I tell you to do!”
“We all have to do the dirty stuff once in a while”


Have a job description that requires everyone to do nasty jobs occasionally If the tasks have changed for a long period of time, change the pay to reflect the job and the tasks that demand more compensation.

We closely monitor employee tasks. If the employee has been placed in a position of a supervisor, he or she is compensated for that new position immediately. We don’t wait. We act right away.

“I have been here longer than she has. I have more seniority and should get paid more”


“You are right; I will raise your pay and give you a better shift”

Always a big deal if the owner allows it to happen. It is just not a good idea to go down that road. Reflect their seniority in other ways. Keep the wage scales clean and democratic. Experience and length of service to green garden gates is important to us. However, we reflect our appreciation for this service in our bonus program. We do not gauge wages based on seniority and experience. Also, shifts are decided based on ability to perform certain jobs and the hours available to work by the employees.

And the biggest trap of them all........


“Why can’t I be a permanent full time employee like Fred? I have been here a long time and there is plenty of work for me to do”

This is a huge problem for owners. A permanent full time employees is a firm financial commitment to that person, that a job will be there for that employee, thick or thin, either on a year round basis or nearly year round. There is not much room to maneuver for a store owner. The request and granting of permanent status can creep up silently. First thing you know it; the business has to support some full time employees when they are not needed at all. And then the fireworks will start; who to keep and who will leave and all of this is very unpleasant for all concerned.

Give permanent status to very very few employees Scale down the permanent status employees through natural attrition.

Green garden gates grants permanent status to only one person in each of stores; the store manager. All other employees are classified as “seasonal” or “occasional”

#118 HIRING AND MANAGING OUR EMPLOYEES * (revised 6/1) "who we want..what we want"

Looking for clues to a good employee



Working in a garden store retail setting is, most often, difficult physical and mental work. It requires that employees have skills to meet these demands of the job. We look for these answers in candidates for green garden gates. They are in this order of importance to us;

1. Does the candidate have retail experience?

Working on a retail floor setting is the most important qualifications for a candidate. The ability to deal with and keep positive with the hundreds of customers in the garden store setting is a skill only gained by experience. We don’t care as much about what kind of retail floor setting. We are looking for coping skills in this retail activity.


2. Does the candidate have the physical stamina for the job?

We can have the most sincere, enthusiastic, and motivated person as an employee, but if he or she is physically unable to handle the rigors of the workday hours, it will all break down and that struggle to just keep standing up will take over. So, we are interested in a candidates who are physically toned and fit as well as medically sound, who take care of themselves physically, and who have a work or free time history of outdoor activities. There is just no use in doing a “let’s give it a try” with a candidate who has a chronic history of back problems or severe arthritis for these normal hourly positions. It just will not work. However, we can work around these issues sometimes, by providing a very short hourly schedule for a candidate who has such superior skills that a custom work plan is advantageous.


3. Does the candidate have the knowledge and experience with gardening?

The basic skills and knowledge of gardening is, understandably, very important to us in our positions on the retail floor. It may be working at other garden stores or greenhouses, their home garden, work on a farm or belonging to a gardening club or group. We look first as to whether the work has been done in the local area or region and then, work done in another area of the country. Hours of hours of instruction and training can be eliminated with a candidate with these basic experience, knowledge and gardening skills


4. Is the job at green garden gates going to be too mundane or boring for the candidate?

We hate the term “overqualified” but there is real truth in it. Work in a garden store can be hours of pure joy followed by hours of watching cement set. The candidate may just be unable to dial down their advanced skills and be satisfied with just consolidating marigolds in the flat. Sure, it will work for a while. Sooner or later, their heads will explode; they will become unsatisfied and leave us. It is not anyone’s fault. The job just cannot fit their experience needs.

There are a few employees in a garden store who are way beyond the job description of their work; highly educated, executive work experience, financially secure. For a number of reasons, all they want to do is pick petunias and wait on customers. Perhaps they are just getting their feet wet entering the job market again, they are sick of all the big job pressure or maybe they just want to work in the outdoors and get in physical shape! Maybe they are just looking for “shelter from the storm” for a brief period of time.

They can be outstanding employees. But understand that there is going to be a short attention span for them. The secret is to tailor their job with their needs. Use them for the busy weeks only, allowing them to return year after year during those weeks, Use them on special projects that begin and end. Take advantage of this great skill and motivation but remember that they may not be comfortable with us each hour of each day of each year.



“After ten years owning and operating my own garden store, I decided to sell the place and work for another guy. It was the most frustrating job in my life. I remember my friends just smiling when I told them that I was going to work for someone else. Now I know what they mean.

You see, I knew how to do the jobs the right way, to save time and money. I had been there before and I had figured it out and it worked. But, working for the man (or lady), I just had to shut my mouth and do it the way the boss told me to do it. Gosh, it was tough. They say that hiring an employee who has his or her own business can be very very difficult. I believe it now.”

Paula Mathews
Former garden store owner
Utah



6. Does the candidate have a history of working with a group of other employees?

Some of the best employees just do not get along working as a “team”. They can perform so well on projects all alone, but they cannot be with others for the majority of the working day. There can be a place for these candidates. However, the employment in a garden store is mostly a group effort with fellow employees. Their work history can tell a lot. Were they assigned to keep the stockroom in order? Did they work in a garden store potting trees in the back lot?



5. Is the candidate reasonably financially stable?

Everything is just fine until that day the employee receives the first paycheck. Often, things change fast. He or she opens the envelope and lots of questions pop into the head; the cost of gas and wear on the car to get there, the baby sitting charges and the time away from the chores at home. Right then, there is an instant calculation and a decision will be made whether to continue or look for other work. There are clues about this financial stability in our interviews. Is their vehicle reliable or does it look like it will never make it out of the parking lot? Does their physical appearance and clothing give an indication that they are sacrificing to eat and keep a roof over their head? Do they talk in the interview about moving frequently or their stormy relationships with family, partner or friends? Do they bring small children to the interview because there is no place for the kids to go? Is our paycheck to them the only source of income? (If this is the case, it will not work)

Of course, these questions cannot be asked in an interview, but by simple observation and allowing the candidate to talk about themselves, a pattern can be seen in this financial picture of the person.


6. Does that candidate have a secure home life?


Losing a trained and motivated employee in the middle of the busy spring is difficult for a garden store. Often, it is because of problems at home. There are clues to these problems also. Does he or she have a husband, wife or partner that has moved from job to job, city to city, to find meaningful work? Does someone in the family have a physical or mental condition that requires care? Do the parents of the candidate need extra care? Are the grand kids calling grandma or grandpa to be closer to them?

Many of these questions can be answered just by listening in the interviews. When a choice has to be made to alleviate these home life issues, the work at the garden store will be far down the list.

Many of the attributes for a great manager are also very important for an effective and valuable employee. Those attributes are contained in the posts #73 and #74

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Expectations and Job Descriptions for our employees

Each of our employees, no matter what position they have with our company, is presented with a list of general expectations we have for them at green garden gates.



They sign the document at the beginning of their work at our stores and those expectations are reviewed seasonally.




Now we turn to the actual job descriptions for our employees in their respective positions. Before they are hired with us, they review in detail the job tasks and sign the documents so there is no question about their work with our company. We begin with the positions in the order of the most responsibility

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The Store Manager

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The Floor Manager





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The section leaders


















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The Employee "Guides"





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Section Employee's Checklists

We use checklists for each area of employee position at green garden gates. They are developed by careful observation of even the smallest tasks that need attention in these sections. We are flexible as to how each section leader uses the checklists. Some require a daily check-off of the tasks. Others simple ask the employees to refer to the checklists to keep a pattern of consistency. New hires are asked to watch the checklists closely until their work routine is established.

The following is a typical checklist for the carryout/support section of our store.

Geography of the Section

Each section is in essence, a little company, a little store, standing by itself. It has its own expenses and income and its own supervisory people who manage that section. The sections have geographical boundaries that are specifically spelled out and are the primary responsibility of the employees working in that area.

We are clear that all areas of the store are each and everyone’s job, regardless of the area assigned but particular attention is to be for his or her assigned area. Here is the description of one section of a garden center in Eastern Kentucky. It can be as simple as this. These geographical descriptions go a long way in assuring that nothing gets missed in the care and maintenance of the facility and inventory

The Bedding Plant Section Geographical Area

The two covered houses

The tables outside in the bedding plant display area

The walkways

The outside area between the walkways and the building walls

The dogleg area

The center bed

The west half of the Spirea bed

The temporary tables

The section leader is responsible for the care, maintenance and sales of all plants and products as well as displays, display upkeep, and overall appearance of these areas.

#117 HIRING AND MANAGING OUR EMPLOYEES * (revised 6/1) part one

We come to our most important asset; our employees. They are the people who are ready to serve our customers. It is they who leave their homes each morning for the cold rainy days or the extreme heat of the spring gardening season. It is they who must ready themselves to keep that magic of green garden gates with every customer. They are our lifeblood.

We talked about the qualities of our manager in entries #67 through #72. These qualities hold true for all of our employees. As we discuss these employees in the next entries we will talk further about the characteristics that make them so important to us.

First, what do we call our employees? In the old days, they were just “employees”, nothing more, nothing less. Then they were called “salespeople”, which in our view had the connotation that we viewed them important on if they would “sell” the customer something. Now, a new buzzword has appeared; “sales associate". I guess now they are not only standing there to sell you something, they are some sort of “partner” in the operation. We think that is a phony term, pretentious and contrived. In most garden stores, they are certainly not partners in anything to do with the store.

We, at green garden gates, are going to go way out in a new direction with an identifier for our employees. We believe that our stores are an adventure in gardening. It is a unique place to not only enjoy plants, but also an opportunity to place those plants in the personal private space of the home. We want our customers to first enjoy our surroundings and we hope that will translate into our plants in their life.

Our employees will be called garden guides or “guides”. They are charged with introducing, educating and directing our customers to our plants and plant care products. They don’t "sell" as their only mission. They guide the gardener and sell the plants only if the gardener feels that those plants will add value to their lives.

We know that we are splitting hairs. We know that they must sell for our business to survive. But we believe that if the approach is right from the very start, from the first glance at an employee’s name badge, the sales will happen and happen at an even faster pace with this concept.

How are the employees organized by responsibility in the company?

In order to decide the numbers and qualifications of each employee we need for our store, we must set out a framework of organization. We will talk later about specific responsibilities of each category of employee.

1. The Store Manager

He or she is responsible for the overall operation of the store. The store manager reports directly to the four principal owners as the board of directors, of green garden gates. The floor manager reports to the store manager

2. The Floor Manager

He or she is responsible for all the operations on the retail floor. The floor manager is the assistant to the store manager and reports to he or she. The section leaders report to the floor manager.

3. Section Leaders

There are seven departments or “sections” in our stores;

Cashier Section

Carryout/Support Section

Garden Buildings Section

Bedding Plants Section

Nursery/Perennials Section

Receiving and Processing Section

Bulk Products Section

They each have defined geographic boundaries, supervise assigned employees, and manage particular plants and products inventory. They are in essence separate little businesses within our larger store. The section leaders report to the floor manager. The employees of that section report to the section leader.

4. Garden Guides

The guides report to the section leader of their assigned primary work area.

Now this all sounds pretty rigid and militaristic. In reality, it is far from that. We do this for common procedural protocol to solve and expedite regular operational questions of our staff. For example, if an employee needs time off, he or she knows who to approach with the problem in order to get the answer quickly.

We are absolutely committed to a complete open door transparency up and down the responsibility chain. No person is turned away or chastised for seeking advice, offering comments or making a request of any other person in the company no matter what the conversation may be or another employee's position in our company. This structure just gives us some order in the routine needs of employees during the season.

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Which group of employees do we need to listen to, need to empower, the most?

"What sets Nordstrom apart is that, from department manager to chairman, all tiers of the inverted pyramid work to support the sales staff, not the other way around. “The only thing we have going for us is the way we take care of our customers and the people who take care of our customers are on the floor”.

Explaining the Inverted Pyramid of the Nordstrom Company

“The Nordstrom Way”

By Robert Spector

“The guy who started on the job yesterday has just as much authority as a ten year veteran to walk up to a customer and say “We are not happy with the car wash. We want to give you a re-wash. Would you mind going through again?”

The President of Mikes’Car Wash

“The Nordstrom Way”

By Robert Spector

“We were having trouble with the cash registers all that busy May week. On Saturday, they started to go nuts again and the lines were forming. The person responsible has flown off for three days to play golf with the owner. She left us hanging with no backup and no one to call for help. If I was the owner and I knew that she had chosen golf over my store, I would have fired her right on the spot”

Garden store checkout employee

Indiana

We are believers in Nordstrom’s Inverted Pyramid of Empowerment. Our employees, our garden guides are the group we need to pay the most attention; listen to what they are observing, react to their needs and execute our plans with them in mind. Our customers are, of course, the most empowered people in our business. The top of the pyramid are the garden guides. It is the job of the rest of the people in our organization to help our garden guides in every way possible. If our guides are not successful the company will fail.