How to survive as a retail manager

As a retail manager, you are familiar with hectic days. You are easily overwhelmed by a continuous flow of duties that needs your attention. Take command of your workflow. Seizing control of your time will make you a more efficient retail manager for long-term profit.

1. Make your daily to-do list

Finish each workday by making a to-do list with your top three priorities for tomorrow. When you know what´s most important to accomplish each day, you´ll find the days pass with less stress.

2. Schedule important routine tasks

Book time in your calendar for doing your recurrent routine paperwork – and keep the appointment! By planning time for these tasks, they will be remembered and completed.

3. Delegate to your employees

Use your time for activities that require your specific skills or needs to be done by the retail manager, and delegate the rest to your staff. By letting your employees do new things, they will be empowered to grow.

4. Use prefab

Make templates of your frequently used document types: letters, contracts, reports, and quotes. Why start from scratch every time?

5. Train your staff

Prevent time-wasting routine questions from your staff like “How much is this?” Make it a weekly routine teaching your team new prices and products. And maintain a manual for basic questions for novices.

6. Take control of interruptions

Schedule a particular time each day to check and respond to emails. Do the same with your phone calls. Turn your cell phone off when you are busy. Just because someone can contact you any time does not mean that you have to respond to them immediately.

7. Smart investments can save time and prevent headaches

There is a variety of technical solutions that will help you get through the day much easier. Some equipment is just basic infrastructure in a modern store like digital scales and an up to date POS-system. But there are other solutions which can be worth checking out. With a retail cash management solution, for example, some of the most boring tasks disappear, counting cash and dealing with the problems if cash is missing. Those tasks were not what you dreamed about when you wanted to be a retail manager.

8. Learn to say no

If someone is asking you to a task that is neither urgent nor important, say no. Also, ask yourself if each new item needs immediate action, or if you or someone else can do it at a later time.

9. Utilize spare time

Read reports and journals at times you usually don´t do anything else; in the bus, while waiting for an appointment or when you are eating lunch.