Something that happens in my store every single year is writing out and reviewing KRAs, or Key Responsibility Areas. This is my guiding document to make sure that my staff are meeting the expectations that I have for them. It’s also the tool that my staff use to make sure that they know what priorities they should be focusing on each day.

And even though all those things are so good and so helpful, I quickly discovered my other favorite part of developing formal KRAs for my staff. And there are two of them….

1. It helped me to set proper expectations for myself.

I can’t do all of the things. In fact, studies show that you really can only be excellent at about 3-5 areas. Now, don’t get this confused with tasks. You can absolutely do more than 3-5 tasks and be excellent at them but I am talking responsibility areas. So for instance, I can’t be excellent at:

Social Media
Sales
Bookkeeping
HR/Employee Training
Operations
Future Business Planning
Vendor Relations
Customer Communications
Janitor

But I try to be. I try so hard to be. I try too hard to be. And these are even really generalized things. Goodness, social media could be its own stand alone responsibility area. You could consider Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Website Updating, Blogging, Snapchat and more as separate responsibility areas!

And then there are the store owners that are doing their own alterations/sewing and oh my goodness, I just can’t even imagine how they get through a year.

So I challenge you, let the expectations of doing all the things go. If you are a one man show, I see you. I know you are looking at me saying, but Janice, I have no other option. I am going to challenge you though. Would your business grow at a more rapid pace if you could make the investment of handing off some of the things on your plate to someone else?

Take a piece of paper and make a list. What are all the areas of your business that keep it running AND keep it growing. Then circle what 3-5 you want to take on as your responsibilities. Then farm out the rest. And if you are a one man show, or have just a few part time employees, you may have just created the job description for your next hire.

Which leads us straight into….

2. I find the holes in the responsibility areas that don’t currently have an owner.

I was finding myself getting frustrated because certain things in my store were just never getting done (I’m talking about you, huge stack of filing). But the reality was, it wasn’t that no one was taking responsibility, but that it was no one’s responsibility. My girls weren’t just not doing their job, this wasn’t their job. And if they would have stopped to spend 12 hours on filing (yes it took me and my son that long to get caught up) they would have been dropping another item that is their priority.

That one little thing of filing opened my eyes to a very large hole that we had in our store. It’s time for an operations manager. And yes, some of the things that go along with that are absolutely happening in my store right now, but I am doing some of them and someone else is doing a little and if all else fails that person picks up the slack. You better believe that means it’s not getting done well.

I had a gaping hole when it comes to the operational function in my store and when I sat down to do my yearly review of KRAs, I realized it.

So, when I knew what the hole was that needed to be filled, it made it a whole lot easier to fill.

I hope that you will take some time this week to brain dump all the responsibility areas of your store. Then, I want you to assign them to your staff. Pick your 3-5 areas (spoiler alert, future business planning better be one of them) and see what’s left. Start thinking about putting some feelers out to fill that hole in your store.

Trust me, you will be setting yourself up for the new year in a way that will leave you refreshed and reinvigorated to focus on certain areas of your business that you can be truly excellent at!

The last month of the year is such an exciting time. I easily find myself so focused on goal setting and looking forward to the next year.  But sometimes I forget that there are some key things that I need to complete in order to be able to move forward successfully. Here are my top 4.

1. Do a physical inventory!

You know you have to do it. You know it affects your numbers and your accountant will want an accurate count of what you currently have in your store. Remember not to inflate these numbers though. If you got your bridesmaids dresses for free you will want to make sure they are correct in your POS system but you will not count a value of them in your inventory. You actually want this number to stay low for tax purposes!

2. Update your POS system

While you are doing inventory is the perfect opportunity to make sure colors and size charts are updated, the account information is correct and that pictures are updated. It’s also an  opportunity to mark customers as inactive and clear out old information.

3. Review each of your staffers job descriptions or KRA’s

We do KRA’s in our store (Key Responsibility Areas, thank you Dave Ramsey). So, each December we sit down and review those. What is going well, what’s not going great, what goals does each staffer have for the new year and what goals do I have for them? We make any adjustments that are needed, go over any changes to their pay and commission structures and sign off that we had this talk! It sets us up well for the new year and also does a great job of refocusing and reinvigorating the staff.  

BONUS TIP: Even do this for yourself!!! What responsibilities do you have in the store, what should change about those and what raise should you get!

4. Plan your training for next year

Make a plan for yourself to stay connected with your staffers and keep working at pushing them and growing them in the coming year.  The only way to do this, just like growing anything else, is to be consistent. Sit down and plan out what training, education and meetings you are going to have with your team in the coming year. Put it on the calendar, research the books and then stick to it.

But here is one of the most important parts, don’t forget about planning your own training.  What is there for you to learn in the coming year and how are you going to do it? And then model to your staff the priority that you make in your education to better yourself, your team and your business. They will be inspired to do the same!

Could you make it a goal to focus on one of these areas for each week this month?

By the end you will have everything done and you will be ready to face the next year in a way that is sure to mean great things in your business!

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