Performance tracking keeps Market District on course

All new hires at Market District’s in-store bakeries go through a six-month training process that encompasses job shadowing and weekly performance reviews.

Successful training is all about communication. “I visit the stores twice a week, which shows respect and helps everyone understand that we are all focused on the same thing,” says Sean Snoznik, bakery merchandising manager for the two-unit Market District based in Pittsburgh. Market District is a subdivision of the much larger Giant Eagle Inc., and its small size allows store-level personnel to be involved in the decision making process as the bakeries try to implement as much scratch baking as possible.

The training structure depends on the position, but it is a six-month process, reduced from an 18-month model that proved too arduous. Most importantly, everyone is trained in customer service, from the bakers and decorators to the counter staff. Once they are trained in customer service, they move on to training specific to their job. The new hires are paired with the trainer to job shadow. Trainers for each job class are not only chosen for their ability to perform their job well, but also for their ability to communicate and articulate what the proper practices are.

Trainees are scored on a weekly checklist to ensure they are meeting goals and are in the right position for their skill set. As the training period progresses, the job shadowing lessens. The first week is 100 percent shadowing, the second week drops down to 90 percent shadowing and so on until the trainee is working on his/her own at about three months into training, Snoznik says. Of course, the remaining three months of training still include performance tracking and reviews to ensure the trainee stays on target.

To make sure employees are performing up to Market District standards, Snoznik uses production segment sheets that detail how much time it should take to complete each task the employee is assigned for the day. The times are determined by engineered standards from Snoznik's previous life in training and development, and are based on how a “C” or average employee should perform. “The spread sheets tell them how much time it should take to do everything, so they know exactly what they have to get done,” Snoznik says. “So, someone who is an ‘A’ employee can knock it out and have adequate time to do other things.”

If the employee is not performing up to standards, they are given remedial training to help brush up on the required skills. If, for whatever reason, the employee isn't grasping the skills needed, they are reassigned to a job that more closely matches their talents.

Market District's training program not only details product knowledge and quality, but also includes documentation on what the finished product should look like with pictures of what is acceptable and examples of what is not. Counter staff also is trained in how the products should appear. “Quality control is one of the biggest challenges we face, and at the end of the day, it's the counter staff providing service to the customers who are last line of defense,” Snoznik says.

Employees also are cross-trained. Bakers, who are at the top of the food chain, can do everything in the department, such as decorate cakes and help customers. Decorators can decorate and also work the counter.

The bakery tries to launch new products every month, and those new products come with procedural documentation. A specialist will work with production employees on how to execute the new product. Quarterly meetings also are conducted with the leads in each store to help develop new products and understand what the in-store needs to be focusing on.

“We want to show our team members that hard work is rewarded, so we try to promote from within,” Snoznik says. “Everyone has an opportunity to change job grades or improve themselves within the company.”