May 2009 Newsletter

PAY AND BENEFITS DISCUSSIONS AMONG EMPLOYEES~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How many of you have a policy like the one below?

Look familiar? Chances are good that many of you have either a formal policy similar to the one above, or else have a tradition or practice of responding to pay and benefit discussions with disciplinary action. If you are one of these, you may be surprised to learn that such policies generally violate federal labor law. Indeed, the National Labor Relations Act contains a provision, Section 7 (29 U.S.C. § 157), that gives all employees the right to "engage in concerted activities", including the right to discuss their terms and conditions of employment with each other. Section 8(a)(1) of the NLRA (29 U.S.C. § 158(a)(1)) makes it an unfair labor practice for an employer to deny or limit the Section 7 rights of employees. Based upon those two provisions, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has taken the position for decades now that employers may not prohibit employees from discussing their pay and benefits, and that any attempts to do so actually violate the NLRA. Courts have basically uniformly supported that position. Moreover, those particular sections of the NLRA apply to both union and non-union employees, so there is no exception made for companies where the employees are non-unionized.

Despite the seeming inflexibility of the NLRB's position regarding policies against pay and benefit discussions, there are some limits, as explained below.

One limit involves the manner in which employees exercise their rights to discuss wages or benefits. The law entitles employees to have such discussions, but does not require employers to allow employees to do so during times they are supposed to be working. However, singling pay discussions out for prohibition, while allowing other types of conversations unrelated to work, might be evidence of intent to violate employees' Section 7 rights, so you should be careful in that regard.

Another limit would concern the content of such discussions. Certain employees may have benefits that could potentially involve privacy issues under other laws, such as the ADA or HIPAA. Discussing such benefits in a way that involves releasing information that should be confidential under such laws, particularly in the case of two employees talking about an uninvolved third party's medical conditions, could potentially lose the gossiping employees the protection otherwise afforded under the NLRA. The NLRB would consider whether employees were on notice that releasing such information violates company policy and the law, and also the extent to which the employer actually keeps such information confidential.

Finally, it is clear that it makes a difference under the law as to how employees obtain the salary and benefit information they are discussing. Employees discussing their own information are protected, as are employees discussing the pay and benefits of others if they obtained that information through ordinary conversations with others. However, if in order to get the pay and benefit information they discuss with others, they access offices or files known to be off-limits to them, or cause others to break access restrictions and give them confidential information, and the company has clearly taken steps to restrict the information and uphold its confidentiality, then they may well find themselves unprotected by the NLRA if they are disciplined, even discharged, for participating in the access violation. A major case on point is that of N.L.R.B. v. Brookshire Grocery Co., 919 F.2d 359 (5th Circuit, 1990).

Practical Tips
As an alternative to flatly prohibiting employees from discussing their pay and benefits, consider the following:

· In the context of a general discussion about the importance of devoting oneself to work during work hours, counsel employees that it is all right to discuss various things at work (keep in general - do not single out pay and benefits as topics), but that as in most things, moderation usually works best, and there is a fine line between being informative or conversational and being a busybody, a time-waster, or perceived as self-important. In discussing such a thing, take care not to do it in a threatening manner, such as implying that anyone who talks too much about their job conditions will be shunned by coworkers. That could easily be perceived as promoting a chilling effect on employees exercising their Section 7 rights.

· Do not be afraid to promote what is right in your company. Make it easy for employees to know that your pay and benefit practices are competitive with other companies within your industry, and promote your company's practices regarding advancement opportunities, merit increases in pay, and open-door policies.

The more that employees know where they stand, and the more they feel that they have a stake in the company and its success, the less need they will feel to spend time talking about their pay and benefits.

Use Caution!
Many employers use sample policies that they have found on the Internet or in collections of policies in popular office software, and some employers simply draft their own policies. With some areas of employee relations, that can work. Concerning pay and benefit discussion policies, though, it is not a good idea at all to "roll your own". This area of the law is so little-known by most employers and employees and so fraught with potential problems that any employer considering writing or enforcement of a policy restricting discussion of pay and benefits should definitely consult an employment law specialist who is knowledgeable about NLRA issues before taking any actions.

GENERATING MORE REVENUE
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We sent out a survey at the end of April asking all the stores on our email list to tell us what they are doing now to generate more revenue, as to adding new services or new merchandise. Following are the comments of this survey. If you have not added any services or new classifications, I hope this will inspire you. You have to be creative in this economy.

Men's Stores: Add Tux Rentals - gives you up to 3 opportunities to sell to them when they come into the store to order, pick up, bring back. If they do not buy anything immediately, at least they will become more familiar with your store and what you have available. You may get them as a customer later. To help ensure they make a purchase now or come back later, you might consider giving them a coupon that is good for $25 off $50 or more purchase. LC

Men's & Women's Store: Leased some vacant space (separate store front) to a coffee, pastry shop

Men's & Women's Store: We already have added services in our store. We have work wear and formal wear in our store and we rent tuxes. We also have a lettering company in store too. We do embroidery, screen printing and engraving. The combination of all the stores helps a lot.

Women's Stores: Take in outside alterations if you have your own in-house staff. LC

Gift Stores: Personalization of gifts by engraving or embroidery. If you do not have the necessary equipment find a local business to partner with. LC

Western Stores: Find a local boot repair shop you can partner with so customers can drop off their shoes for repair at your store - brings them into the store 2 times (2 opportunities to sell to them) LC

Shoe Stores: Find a local shoe repair shop you can partner with so customers can drop off their shoes for repair at your store - brings them into the store 2 times (2 opportunities to sell to them) LC

Department Store: our business has been good

Shoe Stores: Vera Bradley handbag department

Shoe Stores: Recently, we had 2 shops close and I've expanded my inventory to include some clothing and gift items.

Men's Store: I was already doing tux rentals. This has been a bright spot for business because proms and weddings are still happening and people don't seen to be cutting back in this area unlike regular merchandise sales.

Men's & Women's Store: Not really, but we are trying to expand our tux rental business in men's, and we are absolutely growing our accessories business in women's.

Men's & Women's Store: We have purchased more reasonable priced merchandise for summer and early Fall and are looking for more year round items that we can reorder into all year around. Many of our customers are from Denver, Florida, Texas, California and do not need heavier Winter items.
Men's Store: We have added some lady's clothing, purses and jewelry. The response has been positive so we will grow it slowly.

Men's & Women's Store: All ready do a great # of Tuxedo rentals. We are getting more aggressive on outside sales.

Sporting Goods Store: Added a paddlesport section, selling kayaks and all the accessories, since its part of the "outdoors" and is a compliment to the balance of the store...and a section of grilling accessories that is new

Men's Store: [Added] womans

Men's & Women's Store: We offer a free "new-look" makeover to customers putting together a complete outfit. No purchase necessary, but they must sign up for our e-mail notices.

Men's & Women's Store: Off Duty Holsters

Men's & Women's Store: We actually have been renting tuxedos for about 30 years. It does bring in business when clothing sales slow down. We are trying to promote by giving the prom committees at the various schools a rebate for each tuxedo rented for their prom. It seems to help get extra business.

Men's Store: About 2 years ago we added about 300 sq ft of ladies. Just casual things jeans, tops and coats. It has turned into a great little side business for us 7% of our business.

Men's Store: We have added tux rental and in the first 3 months with little advertising we have done 9K in net profits. We have also started to take outside alterations and are charging a premium to do the work, 14K in the last 8 months. Remember we all have the best tailors for mens alterations it is ok to charge for the service too. They expect it.

Men & Boys Store: We use to start with boys size 8 and now have a summer line up of boys size 4-7. It's Quiksilver and a little expensive so not sure how that will go over. So far it hasn't.

Men's Store: I was given the opportunity to stock a small line of band instrument accessories and music books for the local grade/middle school students. I get a small commission, but will get some new faces thru my doors hoping that the extra traffic may garner another sale here and there.

Women's Store: specialized marketing

Western: "cheap" stuff .... $12.99 or 2 for $25.00 jeans, shorts, sweatshirts, sports shirts ,,, and $99.99 mens suits with free alterations .... a real crime but hey, we are in survival mode and breaking even this year is the goal !
Western: We are, however partnering with the Tourism and Conventions Bureau to do more to get events to our town and work with them to get the visitors in our store.

Gift Store: Trying to refine and balance our stock with new and old vendors.
We feel we are giving the most for the customer all ready. With our hours, service and the prices we have as marked. We feel what we have in the store meets what our customer are looking for in price and quality

We added Wedding Gowns to our Bridal Accessory store.

We added a women's trunk show line to our traditional men's store mix. NO inventory, just orders. Generated $40,000 in volume the first 2 shows. I expect that as it grows, it will contribute to our mens business as well.

We have added new lines, and have promoted our tuxedos better.

We are promoting our tailoring services and men's accessories, enhancing the later categories for freshness. In women's we are aggressively merchandising denim and related tops.

THE BENEFITS OF USING AN OPEN-TO-BUY
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One of our Open-To-Buy Service clients reported to me that even though his March sales were 8% below last year's actual sales, his Gross Margin was higher! This is because he actually uses his Open-To-Buy as it should be used, keeps dollars available to spend on in-season off-price goods, and makes sure he takes advantage of all opportunities!

Next month we will have a more in-depth look at his numbers so be sure not to miss it.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH
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"Now is all you have in life. Your future is created by the choices you make and steps you take today."

St Francis of Assissi

OPEN-TO-BUY SERVICE
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Control your inventory and increase profit with TRMA's Open-To-Buy Service starting at just $300 a month.

It is critical for the retail store that inventory be controlled so there is not too much or too little. We have been providing this service to retailers for many years, and at a price even the smallest retailers can afford.

For more information, call us toll free at 1-877-206-1299, visit us on the web at http://www.the-retail-advisor.com/open-to-buy.html, or send an email to LC@the-retail-advisor.com.

TELE-SWAP GROUPS
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Join a Tele-SWAP Group to talk to other retailers like yourself!

There are so many retailers around the country who are isolated because they are a small independent retailer. This service gives you an opportunity to talk with others in a similar situation without having to worry about giving away any information to your competition. Get the help and advice you need to be more successful without having to leave your store.

If you would like to discuss issues with retailers who are similar to you, but far enough away they are not competitors, visit us on the web at http://www.the-retail-advisor.com/peer_groups_tele-swap.html. Send an email requesting an application. Once I get your application I will contact you about joining a group to take part in a monthly one-hour teleconference call. The biggest commitment will be the one-hour a month for the call. The cost is minor at just $180 for a 6 month commitment (just $30 a month).

RETAIL JOB DESCRIPTIONS
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Well thought out and developed job descriptions should be the documents you use as a basis for interviewing and hiring new employees and also for making sure your employees are doing their job as it should be done. To help you with this time-consuming project, TRMA has developed very detailed job descriptions for almost all positions in a retail store in WORD so you can easily copy them to your computer and personalize them to your unique situation. The job descriptions are available on CD for only $25, including shipping. For a detailed list of jobs, visit us on the web at http://www.the-retail-advisor.com/job.html.

EMPLOYEE THEFT DIRECTLY CAUSES 1 OUT OF 3 BUSINESS FAILURES
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Studies have shown that almost half of all your store's shrinkage is due to employee dishonesty!

If you can reduce shrinkage by 1% that is an additional 1% of profit for you. As the owner it is your job to provide the procedures, checks and balances to keep your employees honest. Also, consider that as our country plunges into this recession, normally honest people may become desperate. Financial need is one of the main reasons given for attempting theft from an employer. Make sure you are doing all you can to help avoid temptation before it strikes.

As a former controller for a 5-store chain of family apparel stores and with my experience working with retailers around the country as a retail management consultant I have developed a manual to help you with this. It is our "Internal Control Manual" that covers all aspects of a retail store's operations. It is set up in an easy question and answer format where a Yes answer means things are OK and a NO answer means you may have a problem that needs further checking.

To get a copy for your store, for just $95 shipped Priority Mail, visit our website at http://www.the-retail-advisor.com/internal_controls.html.

Do not wait until you discover that a trusted employee has stolen $70,000 from you (like a retailer I know had happen to him last year). Take steps now to make sure your merchandise and cash are as safe as you can make them. Do not delay!

WHAT WE DO . . .
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o Monthly Open-To-Buy Service
o  Open-To-Buy Implementation on Your System (if available)
o  Merchandise Performance Evaluation
o  Shrinkage Control
o  Development of Incentive Plans
o  Development of Job Descriptions
o  Seminars On Retail Subjects
o  Financial Analysis
o  Financial Budgeting and Cash Flow Projections
o  Computer/POS System Evaluation, Selection, Usage
o  Policy and Procedure Development
o  Lead Tele-SWAP Groups (Share With A Peer)