Planned creation of departments within the company built a happy team

Mehul Khurana, Managing Partner, Sunder Emporium, Chandigarh, joined the business after completing graduation in 2018. Aware of the lacuna in the work flow due to lack of role clarity and work segmentation, he soon worked out a new organizational structure.

Change can be brought around only after identifying the problem, finding its solution and executing the same. During my initial days, I noticed mismanagement in the day-to-day store operations. There was a lack of accountability amongst the store employees. For example, after collecting the customer’s order, one salesperson used to direct the karigars accordingly and finally deliver the order. However, in his absence, we struggled to trace the order and its status, because the other salesperson handled backend operations. The store was running traditionally and departmentalization was vital to streamline the existing work process. 

Implementation

I started creating multiple departments in the organization, consisting of 5-6 people in each department. For example, an ordering department was created to collect order details from the salespersons and get the product done from the karigars. They were responsible to keep track of the orders and get in touch with the customer to inform them about their order status. The customers then used to collect it from the order department. Then there was a customer relationship department that informs customers about latest offers and solve their queries. There is a sales department that only handles the sales. There is a tagging department whose only job is to tag and maintain the inventory. 

We hired new employees and brought everyone under the ambit of regular training modules. In case of employees way senior to me, I sought my father’s help to pass instructions. In team meetings, I delineated everyone’s role and responsibilities clearly to discuss important changes to be executed in the company. We have also deputed happiness officers whose role is to greet the customer nicely, ask them about their requirements and guide them to respective sales counters. 

Result

Since creation of the departments, we have added 20% new customers after successfully retaining old ones. As from the customer’s point of view, the delays in orders are completely gone. The customers do not have to reach out to the owners with a complaint. There is no blame game in the showroom as everyone’s roles and responsibilities are clearly defined. As the customers started liking the professional setup, the word-of-mouth promotion resulted into a growth of at least 40% in our overall jewellery sales last year. The staff is also happy as they get to specialise in specific roles. Gradually, we have been able to build a happy team.

Courtesy: Retail Jeweller India News