A busy pharmacist, Marc Solburger doesn’t have time to stress about the nitty gritty details of running a retail food outlet. The owner of two Gloria Jeans franchises must rely on his staff and managers to ensure his business is running well.
Retail food was a new world to Marc. A pharmacist by trade, Marc’s relationship with Gloria Jeans began with offering his customers free coffee while they waited for their scripts.
“Because the two businesses where side-by-side, we where able to offer our customers free coffee,” explained Marc. “It was a great arrangement, so when the owner of the Gloria Jeans wanted to sell, we picked it up.”
With his time already filled running the pharmacy, Marc remains hands-off from the running of the stores.
“I have managers at each store who oversee the day to day running of the shops,” Marc professed. “I only drink the coffee.”
Two years on, Marc is frank about the challenges he faces. “Controlling costs and motivating the staff are the two big challenges,” Marc said.
To address this, Marc decided to take advantage of government training incentive and offer accredited training.
“We’ve had quite a few of the staff go through the training program,” Marc stated. “Any new staff have gone through and done the certificate.”
After a disappointing experience with another provider, Marc turned to Positive Training to deliver the Certificate III in Retail.
“There was another group involved in doing the training, but there were issues,” Marc explained. “Positive Training were very effective and ensured the training was getting done. It was getting completed and we were getting paid our incentive.”
A key point of difference that Marc liked about Positive Training was the trainer’s experience in the retail food sector.
“The one thing that did impress me about Positive Training was that the guys have owned retail business,” Marc declared. “It made them more believable to the team.
“Also, they understand what it takes for a business to succeed and deliver that through the training. They teach the staff about increasing sales and add-on sales, which gives them a greater understanding of the importance of these things.”
Another element Marc likes about Positive Training is the hands-on approach to delivering the training.
“They organise everything and make sure the staff turn up,” Marc said. “They don’t involve me in the process, which is great for me as I wouldn’t have the time to manage all that.”
The success of the training can be seen in the level of engagement with the staff.
“We’re about to embark on profit sharing arrangement with staff,” declared Marc. “Giving them more responsibility, taking control of their environment and allowing them to have more of a say in what happens.
“The results speak for themselves.”
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