Management and communication in a time of organisational change

A national retailer “Mahoneys” with branches throughout the country has recently purchased “Page and Perkins” a family retail business in Nelson. Page and Perkins has had a name change and the whole clothing store has had an extensive refit so that it now has a much more contemporary image with colours of grey, teal, and red. The staff have been retained and sent to training courses on the Mahoney way of customer service.

However, Mark Wilson, the new manager of Page and Perkins who has been transferred from Auckland, is having great difficulty in getting the Page and Perkins staff to behave in a way that conforms to the Mahoney image. He complains that the staff seem as if they are sleepwalking. They continue to do everything so slowly.

The staff have all been put on performance-based contracts so that a proportion of their wages is on commission, but this change has not made them any more eager to sell to customers. They still waste time chatting to each other, chatting to customers and take extended tea breaks. He does not feel that they are at all antagonistic towards him. They are just so entrenched in their patterns of behaviour that they seem unable to understand what he requires of them. Mark wants his staff to be knowledgeable, energetic, and committed. He wants them to show their enthusiasm in the way they deal with customers. Most of all he wants to see some improvement in the sales figures. He has pointed out to staff that every person who comes through the doors has come to buy – it is up to them to help each person find something to buy. The staff know their stock but they prefer to wait for customers to approach them and ask for help rather than go out to them.

.You are a communications consultant writing a report advising Mark on the best way to solve his problem in communication terms.

. Write your report highlighting the most important issues and how to address them.