Tag: using mystery shopping reports

Does your current mystery shopping strategy take into account associates from different generations? Consider this fact: By 2014, millennials will comprise 36% of the workforce. You need to meet the unique needs of your different employee segments to manage effectively, and this millennial group demands attention.

Whether you want to see how well associates greet customers, upsell or resolve a problem, complaint or return; mystery shopping provides unique insights into employee behaviors. How you use this data ultimately determines how valuable the shops are, and reports and insightshelp you nail down key management areas. Here are five tips on using mystery shops to more effectively manage associates:

1. In person, one on one:  One of the best ways to gain impact from mystery shops is to meet with employees one-on-one to discuss results.  If an employee does not score well on a shop, managers need to coach the employee privately. They can discuss ways to improve the customer interaction and also the employee’s concerns with any of the mystery shop expectations.
    
2. Email:  Companies send summary emails about regional and company performance within each mystery shopping area to keep everyone on the right track.  Highlighting the high-scoring areas compliments employees, while detailing often-missed sections lets employees know where to place more effort.
    
3. Staff meetings:  Whether at the unit, regional, or district level, staff meetings provide good opportunities to discuss mystery shop outcomes and improvement strategies for the more difficult areas of the mystery shop. For example, if many associates struggle with a closing question, use a staff meeting to brainstorm ideas about asking for the business. If some employees hesitate to refer customers to other departments, dig deeper into the reasons to develop process improvements.