In April, the IAA visited Sue Nithyanandan’s shop in Epsom, to discuss staff, teamwork and staff development. Three months on, we ask how this advice has helped.

Sue's Action Plan

1. Ask staff to write their own job descriptions to see things from their perspective

2. Arrange monthly one-to-one meetings with staff so you can share your priorities

3. Run staff team competitions to help them understand your business’ strength.

Results

As Shelagh advised, staff have written their own job descriptions. We’re a small business, so everyone needs to pull their weight. Having a formal job description in writing has helped our staff stay focused and improved team spirit.

I’ve also been doing regular reviews with key members of staff. We mainly talk about what’s working well and where we can improve. It’s helping me keep an eye on wastage, especially in fresh and baking – following staff feedback, I’m saving £140 a week.

It’s only when we meet people such as yourselves that we get to learn. We don’t have a lot of time to go out and it’s so valuable to get a second opinion from outside experts.

Visit  our Independent Achievers page to find out more about Sue’s visit, to develop your own action plan and see similar results in your shop