Signage

Signage is an important (and often overlooked) means of communication with the team. It is a very effective way to communicate vision and measure development.

This past month, I took down all of the old signs and replaced them with my own new signs. This had an immediate effect on the team and has continued to improve performance. The entire first week after hanging the new signs, there was a general buzz around the store – with team members were discussing what they were reading and asking questions about what certain things meant.

The new signs have also provided me with a way to create competition and accountability. For example, recently our closes have not been up to par in terms of cleanliness and setting the morning shift up for success. I decided to create a closing grade sheet and post each night’s sheet on the wall, along with the names of the closers and the date, and those grades stay up for an entire week. Initially, this improved performance because people did not want their names associated with terrible scores. Now, however, performance is continuing to improve as the closing teams are trying to top one another. I often hear people claiming that their close is going to be “the new record” or “the first perfect score."

Hanging these grade sheets, as well as the other signs, has significantly impacted the team at Federal Heights.