I thank God that I have a strong partner on the operations side of the business in my real-life job. We don’t have any trouble communicating, and we partner on every important decision, no matter whether it is directly related to LP or not. Also, he treats me as a true partner, both in private, and in the company of our peers and subordinates. This has been a huge win in our fight against shrink. My stores know that if I ask for something, I have the complete backing of their managers.
Partnership must exist at the highest levels of the organization, too. If the upper management is involved in the shrink reduction strategy, and make it important, then it will be important to all levels of management. If they don’t, it won’t. Companies who view loss prevention as a beneficial partnership within their organization see positive results. Loss prevention is not forced to constantly “sell” programs, because loss prevention is included in the company measurables for everyone, not just the LP team.
For example, my DM partner is rated annually on shrink, just as I am rated annually on sales performance for our district. We are forced by the company’s model to work together to accomplish common goals that benefit the whole team. It’s not just about shoplifters and internals. Nor is it just about audits, checklists, and training. It’s about all of this, plus sales, presentation, merchandising, pricing, signing, etc. Both of us view the entire package as a whole, although we focus on our individual areas.
Partnership goes two ways, though. Loss Prevention can’t be “Sales Prevention”. That means that we, as LP professionals, must understand our role, and be willing to do our part to help our stores, districts, regions, etc. make their sales goals. That can mean a variety of things, but it almost always means being willing to listen to problems and possible solutions, and to provide realistic input so that LP is part of the solution.
Partnership also must exist at store level. Although I have the “authority” to make changes to the LP programs in my stores, I never do so until I get the “buy-in” from the store manager. That means I have to educate him or her on the benefit of the program in question, or the potential change. It also means showing them the negative impact that would be caused by failure to make the necessary changes. If the manager believes in the program, it will be implemented and maintained. If they don’t, you will constantly be circling back to pick up the pieces of your broken programs in that store.
My team knows that they can call at any time, and that I will be a partner to them. I do give direction as is necessary, but I discuss the matter, and the possible solutions, with the managers so that we agree on the best course of action. Some may think of this as weak management, but I have great shrink numbers, and great relationships with all my partners, peers, and stores.
If a company allows their LP department to be directed by those who do not understand, nor “buy into” the company’s LP model, then that company simply is not serious about reducing shrink. It takes partnership at all levels of the organization to reduce shrink. If partnerships between loss prevention and operations don’t exist, then the model is broken.
Tags: Loss Prevention, Asset Protection, Retail Loss Prevention, Retail Theft, Shoplifting
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