關注社會:培訓員工成爲領導

Training staffers to become leaders
When Jason Lutz graduated from college in 1995, he had big plans for Sneaker Villa, his parents' two-store sporting goods business in the suburbs of Reading, Pa. He persuaded them to open a third outpost, in Reading's gritty downtown, and stock it with hip-hop styles, not performance gear. In less than a year the downtown store had generated double the combined revenue of its sister stores.

It was the start of a massive makeover. Based in Philadelphia and rebranded Villa, the company today dominates the market for urban fashion in cities across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Ohio. Villa's 2008 sales neared $40 million, and its 25th store opened this year.

But Lutz, 35, now CEO, says the company offers more than clothing and footwear. It also strives to strengthen the inner-city neighborhoods where it does business -- beginning in the stores.

The company employs 107 full-time and 200 part-time workers, and its staffing policy is as simple as it is ambitious: Hire local kids who understand Villa customers because they are Villa customers, teach them life skills as well as retail skills, and show them a future.

Employees who have put in a year of good performance and community service are invited to attend Villa's 12-session management-training program, which covers everything from sales strategies to building connections in a low-income neighborhood.

It combines discussions with role-playing exercises that provide hands-on practice in navigating sticky situations. Trainees learn how to settle arguments among employees, soothe unhappy customers and prevent shoplifting. The final class addresses ways to build community partnerships. Fledgling manager Scott Levesque, 30, used that lesson to approach a Salvation Army community center in Philadelphia about teaching teens job-search skills. Levesque taught the class and urged his students to apply for jobs with Villa.

In the past four years, 70 employees have completed Villa's program. As a result, 85% of store managers, including 24-year-old Kareem Cathey, have been promoted from within. Cathey took a part-time job with Villa at age 16 and became a full-time employee after graduating from high school. Now he manages a store in Philadelphia's Allegheny neighborhood. Inspired by his training, he plans to return to school to study business management and entrepreneurship.

This year Cathey joined about 40 other store managers at Villa's first financial fitness workshop. He says that although he already knew much of the subject matter -- budgeting, balancing a checkbook, setting financial goals - the class taught him how to discuss money matters with his employees.

"I can give them an advance on their paycheck when they have financial problems, but I'd rather tell them how to keep it from happening again," he explains.

That's exactly what Lutz hoped would happen.

"We can only reach so many people directly, so we try to build strong leaders at the stores who can pass their knowledge on," he says. "Our goal is to leverage the brand to create local jobs, keep local dollars close to home and help people connect with positive community resources. The shoes and clothes just provide a cool entry point."

1995年傑森•魯茨（Jason Lutz）大學畢業後，爲Sneaker Villa策劃了大計劃。Sneaker Villa是他父母在賓夕法尼亞瑞丁市郊開的兩家體育用品商店。魯茨勸說父母在商業區再開一家店，專賣嘻哈風格的產品，而不是高性能的裝備。果然，經營不到一年，市中心新店的銷售額達到原來兩家店加起來的兩倍。

這還只是大變革前的小插曲。這個總部在費城且更名爲Villa的公司現在已經佔據了賓夕法尼亞、新澤西、特拉華和俄亥俄等州各城市的市場，2008年的銷售額將近4千萬美元。今年，Villa開了第25家分店。

不過，現年35歲的魯茨說，公司提供的絕不僅僅是衣服和鞋子。Villa還十分注意加強與所在城市的社會關係，就從商店內部開始。

公司現有107名全職員工和200名兼職員工，員工招聘政策很簡單，但又野心勃勃。Villa僱傭當地的孩子，因爲孩子就是Villa的顧客，所以他們瞭解顧客的喜好。公司教給他們生活技能和零售技巧，給他們展示美好的未來。

如果這一年員工在工作和社區服務上表現良好，就會受邀參加Villa有12階段的管理培訓項目，包括銷售戰略、與低收入人羣建立聯繫等等。

培訓項目包括分角色練習的討論課，員工可以實際操作解決棘手問題，如如何處理與同事的意見不和，怎樣應對顧客的不滿情緒，怎樣預防偷竊行爲等。最後一期課程是關於建立社區夥伴關係。30歲的斯科特•萊韋斯克（Scott Lévesque）是位初出茅廬的經理，在一次建立社區夥伴關係的課上，他來到費城的救世軍社區中心，教那裏的青少年如何尋找合適的工作。他不僅教課，還鼓勵孩子們來Villa工作。

過去4年中，有70名員工完成了培訓。所以，85%的分店經理都是從普通員工提拔上來的，包括24歲的克里姆•凱西（Kareem Cathey）。凱西16歲就到Villa打工，高中畢業後成了正式員工。現在，他在費城阿勒格尼分店當店長。受到培訓項目的啓發，凱西計劃重回學校，學習企業管理與創業。

今年，凱西和40名分店經理共同出席了Villa首屆財務健康研討會。凱西表示，雖然他對預算、平衡收支、制定財務目標等事項已爛熟於心，但這次討論會讓他第一次瞭解到怎樣和員工商討錢的話題。

凱西解釋說：“當員工們遇到財務困難的時候，我當然會給他們預支工資，但我更願意告訴他們如何避免類似事情發生。”

這也正是魯茨希望看到的。

他說：“我們要想管理好員工隊伍，就必須培養出強有力的領導，讓他們把自己的學識和技能傳授給員工。我們的目標是利用品牌的力量爲當地人們創造就業機會，防止資金外流，併爲人們提供有效的社區資源。銷售鞋子和衣服只是我們實現這些目標的一種手段。”

等職位男性所擁有的強大職業關係網絡。但是，一個MBA學位可能會在這一點上爲女性帶來裨益。