Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
The first few weeks after hiring a new employee are critical. How well you onboard them will have a big impact on retention and job performance. But if you’re like most retailers, developing a thorough onboarding program is just one of the many responsibilities you have, and finding the time to do it may be difficult.
The North American Hardware and Paint Association (NHPA) has released a new set of resources designed to help make the employee onboarding process easier. These tools can be used together or separately, depending on your individual need.
The resources listed here are available to NHPA Training Members on at nrhatraining.com. If you are not an NHPA Training Member, but would like to learn more, visit nrha.org/membership.
Onboarding Handbook Owners and managers who want to develop their own onboarding program or need to improve on what they have can use this guide to get started. Available as a downloadable PDF, this guide covers why onboarding is important, best practices and a checklist of items to incorporate into a new hire’s first weeks on the job.
Joining a Retail Team This online, on-demand course is designed to help new employees understand the role they play in providing an excellent customer experience. The course, which consists of a series of six short modules, covers teamwork, customer service and why independent retailers are an important part of the community.
Skills Assessment Tests The product knowledge training available from NHPA covers the major categories in a typical home improvement store along with hundreds of products. Where should a new hire start? The Skills Assessment Tests are short tests that can help you find the categories where your new employee has the most knowledge. You can use the results to determine where you will start your training.
Retail Terms While terms such as SKU, planogram and turnover may be a part of your everyday vocabulary, they may be intimidating to someone new to the industry. New employees can learn more than 50 retail terms using a fun and interactive game format.
Job Description Templates Creating a job description is an important part of your hiring and onboarding process. NHPA has created a series of sample job descriptions you can use as a guide when creating a document for laying out your expectations and giving new employees a reference point for evaluating their progress. Use these templates for creating your own job descriptions that fit your operation’s needs. Click here to access the free templates.
Path to Success Poster NHPA’s training covers a variety of topics, including product knowledge, selling skills, merchandising and operations. The Path to Success poster shows you how all of those courses fit together, from basic to most advanced. It’s a great way for new hires to see all of the opportunities they have to further their careers. Click here to access this free resource.
