The role of the board and the role of management are different but complementary. It is not the role of a board member to delve deeply into the daily detail of management. And it is certainly the not done thing to bring minutiae to the board table. A much-cited example of such behaviour is the director of a supermarket chain who complains in a board meeting that the oranges were poorly displayed at his local.
But it is the role of the director to understand how changes to the economy are impacting on daily life, consumer buying decisions, and what competitors are doing. It is the role of the director to understand how the company he or she represents interacts with its customers. And it is the role of the director to take a “deep dive” - to use the jargon - into the everyday life of the stakeholders of the company.
As the world faces more economic downturns, there is no better way to see the impact at a grassroots level than by taking a walk around your local shopping strip. I took such a tour on the weekend and learned – at least anecdotally – that retailers are much better prepared now than in 2008/2009 as we face the real possibility of a second GFC.
The popular hairdresser had placed a sandwich board on the street with the words – “Appointments available today”. Whether it was a slow day, whether certain days are slower than others, or whether it is just a way of driving people physically into the shop it didn’t matter. The sign showed a degree of inventiveness to gain custom.
In the café , I overheard a discussion about the shop next door which had closed. “She just wasn’t prepared to sign another three-year lease,” said the café’s proprietor. Replied her waitress: “Why would she when everyone sells on eBay these days?”.
Right in
front of me was a lesson for commercial property owners and agents – is it
better to offer shorter leases in the current climate than risk no income from
an empty shop? And for retailers, is a bricks-and-mortar presence the right way
to run a fashion boutique anymore?After decades of new management practices urging boards, CEOs and business owners to shave costs by reducing service; to sell services that were once part of the price - the tide has turned. Boards and the executive teams they work with would do well to think about the simpler points-of-difference to ensure the success of their companies in these difficult times.
Take the “bikkie” or “cookie” test – what is your company doing to make your customers smile? As a company director why not be a customer – walk into your store, visit your company’s sites, pick up the phone and wait in a “queue” listening to bad music to have your question dealt with by a “customer service representative” from your company’s call centre.
The cost of making small changes to show appreciation to your customers is worthwhile expenditure even when times are tough. And the ROI is probably greater than you’d realise because showing genuine appreciation is sadly rare in today’s market.
A new café opened recently in a major shopping centre near my office. It features a simple sign – “Please be seated for table service”. It made me wonder, when had we blithely accepted that it was normal to “pay and order at the counter” when we visit a café? Yet the pleasure I felt was strangely palpable when I realised that I could sit down, relax, and have time to converse with the friendly and helpful waiter who served me.
Is this a sign that companies – no matter how small – are returning to old-fashioned service in order to combat the forces of global economic downturns, e-commerce and information-overload?
I won’t mention any of these examples at my next board meeting but I will be asking if the CEO could prepare a briefing about staff morale, productivity and turnover, whether customer complaints are decreasing and why sales are up – because I have a gut feel about changes to buying patterns and it’s my job as a director to ensure our organisation is prepared.
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