Create Effective Tools Your Teams Will Actually Use

Equip your associates with functional tools.

I was out shopping for a new recliner with my Mom. She was looking for a specialized chair that would be comfortable as well as make it easier for her to get into and out of the chair. We ventured into a well-known store that sells recliners and found one that she liked. The service was very professional as well as helpful. It was an overall good experience.

During the sales period the salesperson utilized a mobile device to capture information from my Mom as she talked about what she was looking for. It even allowed the sales person to show additional colors and models to my mom which was beneficial. It captured the rough room dimensions that we had brought along and was able to provide some idea of what the new chair would look like in the room. Again, very helpful for us during the sales process.

What I noticed was the salesperson’s struggle to use the device. Your first thought may be that she was using a handheld device like a phone or tablet. However, this was a small laptop-like device. The screen didn’t quite fold all the way over, so it forced the salesperson to almost always use two hands when utilizing the device. I am sure she appreciated the full keyboard when it came time to enter customer data and notes, but the rest of the time she struggled with it.

I asked about it as we were beginning to wrap up the discussion and the purchase had been secured. I asked whether she found that device to be helpful when selling to customers. She smiled and admitted that while it was useful to capture data and be able to show different options, it was not ideal to try to enter information while showing a customer different things around the store. It was heavy and the keyboard ended up getting in the way more than it helped. I asked why they didn’t use a tablet instead. You may be able to guess her response. “This is what corporate sent us and they expect us to use it. In fact, they track how often it is utilized for customer data capture.” All I could do was nod and smile at that point.

To add to my confusion as to the usefulness of this resource, when it came time to pay for the chair, that portion of the transaction could not be completed from the device. We had to go over to a desk area where additional address and delivery information was captured along with the payment type.

The point I want to make with this story is this: ensure you build tools for your associates that will enhance their experience as well as the customer’s. While nothing was inherently bad about this experience from my perspective as the customer, it would have been better to have it all happen on a single device and where our transaction was occurring. It would have felt seamless. From the salesperson’s perspective, that should be a tool that they want to use with each transaction. Something that enhances the engagement they can have with any customer. A tool or resource that keeps the attention on the sales process and not the technology that was clearly getting in the way.

As AI works its way into more of the transactional element of retail sales floors, this only becomes more important. There is plenty of ‘neat’ technology that is not functionally useful. If your role is to support front line team members or you are responsible for the technology they use, my advice would be to ask some simple questions about what they want and how it could best benefit them in everyday use. Even better, spend a few days in their role and experience it firsthand for yourself.

Have you ever had a tool that wasn’t as useful as it should be?

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