POS (Point-of-Sale) replacement is a big investment that all retailers need to face every 10-15 years.  

Alongside choosing and implementing the right technology, team members and customers using the system effectively and confidently will be the key to fully realising the benefits for the long term. 

At CLX, our teams work on multiple POS replacement projects globally. We work with supermarkets, petrol stations, convenience stores, department stores and more. We have seen what works and what doesn’t. 

If POS replacement is on your agenda, don’t lose valuable time doing trial and error with your people.  

Here are six change management and training problems we have solved for retailers around the world.  

Problem #1: Geographic Challenge  

A POS replacement will likely touch your full fleet and depending on your footprint, this may take you to far and vast places. 

As part of our blended training approach, CLX have delivered eLearning or digital learning as the hero of a POS training plan. It’s learning that can be accessed from anywhere – at home, in the office or geographically remote locations.

eLearning does not replace face-to-face but works well as a prerequisite to F2F learning. However, if distance means face-to-face training is not always possible for everyone, at minimum, all team members have access to learning that previews the new screens while building speed, confidence and competency. 

Problem #2: Team Member Engagement / Change Fatigue  

There is always a lot going on and to get cut through, our POS eLearning is a game, designed for screen familiarisation and fun. 

Our game is against the clock with the different levels starting from easy (scan a few items and pay by card) to how to void to build very quickly, covering split payment to manual discounts to refunds to reprinting receipts to customer walk out and more. 

Learners play while learning. They can access a leaderboard which encourages healthy competition and repeat practice.  

As fun as the POS game is, it is not a lone wolf. The digital learning works as part of a blended learning approach, underpinned by a training needs analysis and change impact assessment.  

It also needs to be supported by stakeholder engagement, and a communications and sponsorship plan to build excitement and drive interest.  

Problem #3: Leadership Engagement  

Our solution provides comprehensive data and reporting to leaders, not just a “Completed/Not Completed” status.  

It can give leaders visibility of most improved, number of attempts, most difficult/easiest levels, and high performers.  

Our leaderboard can be filtered globally, or more locally such as region or store. Everybody can play the POS game and leaders can be part of it too, they can set team challenges, celebrate momentum and award prizes. 

At the other end, leaders can also identify those who may be struggling and offer additional, discreet and targeted support.  

Problem #4: High Turnover / Future-Proof Solutions   

Our digital learning is built to last. It can be used for induction and refresher training long after system go-live. This is especially relevant to high-turnover industries such as retail and hospitality. 

We can also update the learning, scheduled to your system releases. This ensures the learning mirrors the most up-to-date system, process and policies in your stores. It’s something you can use until your next POS replacement (in another 10 years!) 

Problem #5: Cost Effective Solutions    

The combination of digital learning and face-to-face training (facilitated by CLX accredited trainers), is a cost-effective way to roll out training to enterprise-wide workforces.  

Moreover, we can also offer cost effective ways to boost adoption such as post go-live coaching, support centre training/troubleshooting sessions, quick reference guides, upskilling, certification programs, and ongoing bite-size learning.  

No need to engage additional providers. Our end-to-end change and training package is competitively priced, saving you time, money and worry. We are 100% accountable for embedding the change and protecting your benefits for the long term.  

Problem #6: Proven Results     

We have seen scan rate targets met after one week of go-live, and stretch targets met after four weeks. We have also seen no changes to customer satisfaction at cutover, and high levels of team member engagement in the lead up to go-live and beyond. We also offer certification programs and bite-size learnings to ensure the results stick, long after your system go-live.  

Contact:    

If POS replacement is on the roadmap, get in touch.   

Sarah Campbell, Managing Director, Emerging Markets, Strategy and Partnerships –sarah@clxprofessionals.com  

Lucille Wong, Global Change Manager – lucille@clxprofessionals.com 

As front-end specialists working with the world’s biggest retailers to improve efficiencies and elevate customer experiences, we are seeing lots of transformation whether that’s a POS upgrade, a new checkout solution, and the latest in technology that detects unusual behaviours such as smart gates and video analytics (Skip Scan/AI).

However, we are not seeing enough investment in adoption, that is, taking the time to truly understand the impact of the change to your people, co-designing a plan to engage so everyone knows why and how to make the change whether that’s using the new system and technology, following process and exhibiting desired behaviours.

To truly optimise the benefits of your investment, we need buy-in from all levels of the business so everyone can understand the change and their role in making it successful.

What do we mean by this?

We work with a lot of retailers, and always in stores.

We see:

• Checkout solutions not used – stores don’t open the new checkout and it remains unused.

• Security tags on high value items such as meat removed at self checkouts by team members without checking/confirming payment.

• Stores with smart gates that leave the gates open (therefore, not used to minimise loss).

• Of the stores that have smart gates and are using them, team members manually open them without a receipt check.

• Self-checkouts interventions are cleared for the customer with no investigation and/or no coaching from the team member.

Why does this matter?

It is the difference between people using your multimillion-dollar investment in technology.

It is the success of the project and its ability to deliver the benefits called out in the business case.

It is going ‘half in’ – you’ve invested in the technology and your organisation’s time and effort, but you haven’t effectively conveyed what it means to your people or inspired or influenced any change.

Ultimately, it impacts customer experience. If your team isn’t sure of the benefits, then they are unlikely to know how to effectively support your customers with the change.

Why does this happen?

The reasons are varied but from our global retail experience, it is usually a mix of the following:

• A focus on implementation of new technology, on time and to budget at the expense of investment that truly understands how it impacts customers and team members. 

• A misunderstanding of the new ways of working and a lack of commitment to improve customer service behaviours prior to introducing further change.

• End-to-end process is not thought through and therefore poorly articulated.

• An assumption that managers and leaders have the skills and capability to lead change.

• An assumption that team members have the will, skills and capability to change.

• A lack of understanding of the retail workforce at all levels of the organisation from store support centre to stores, their goals and aspirations – what drives them, what inspires them, what motivates them.

• Training is created as an add-on or afterthought, resulting in hastily created content, mixed messaging, and information overload on floor teams.

• Your initiative/project is ‘flavour of the month’ and not embedded into existing customer service frameworks or principles or business-as-usual training such as induction and refresher training.

What can you do about this?

At CLX, we are specialists in influencing and embedding behaviour change in retail, specifically focusing on front-end transformation.

Our change and training experts have extensive experience in designing and delivering lasting solutions that motivates and upskills a retail workforce because we know what works, we know retail and we have proven success in landing change.

Let us prepare your people for faster adoption and maximum return on investment.

Contact:  

Sarah Campbell, Managing Director, Emerging Markets, Strategy and Partnerships –sarah@clxprofessionals.com

Lucille Wong, Global Change Manager – lucille@clxprofessionals.com

Shrink, or the unexplained loss of inventory, is a challenge for retailers of all sizes. In a cost-of-living crisis, the cost to the global retail industry is reaching new heights.

There are several factors that contribute to shrink including theft, employee error, customer error and fraud. Shrink can occur at any point in the supply chain, from the distribution centre to the sales floor.

However, it is in the front end or the checkout area that is particularly vulnerable to shrink. This includes missed scans and product swapping on traditional checkouts and self checkouts. Items may also be taken from merchandise stands and kiosk areas.

It is estimated that 25% to 55% of shrink come from the front end.

At CLX, we are front-end specialists, working with the world’s biggest retailers to design and deliver solutions proven to minimise loss and shrink in the checkout and other service areas.

We have seen what works and what doesn’t. Here are our five biggest lessons learnt:

1. “Shrink management” needs to be part and parcel of delivering excellent customer service and safety

Shrink initiatives originate from the total loss department of the store support centre. When the goal is to implement new technology or process on time and to budget, we have seen a disconnect from project objectives to how it impacts customers and team members.

We have seen “shrink training” as an add-on, resulting in hastily created content, mixed messaging, and information overload on floor teams.

Shrink needs to be part and parcel of delivering excellent customer service and safety. Any shrink training needs to be embedded into existing customer service frameworks or principles and integrated into business-as-usual training such as induction and refresher training.

2. Customers need support even with the most discreet and less obtrusive technologies

We like the emergence of non-intrusive technologies which is great for customer experience.

Skip Scan technology, for example, is AI powered video analytics that can detect unusual behaviours at self checkouts.

But it requires engaged and active team members to manage the unexpected when a customer does see it for the first time whether they have been caught red handed or if they have made a genuine mistake.

Team members need to know what to do in each and every scenario.

3. A tiered loss strategy mapped to the risk profile of each store

Retailers should use all available data to identify the extent in which the front end is contributing to shrink and invest in the right solution mapped to risk profiles.

Take smart gates for example, for a low-risk store, retailers may choose ‘fake gates’ which opens for everyone, relying only on presence to encourage compliance. This may be an option in the short term, but it may not be long until this is exposed and something more is required.

A medium-risk store may require less upfront investment and retailers can consider gates that require every customer to scan a receipt before the gates open. This heavily impacts customer experience, so investment is required to support team members and customers through this change.

A high-risk store may need the smartest of gates including cameras which tracks people at the front end. Gates will only open if no unusual behaviour has been detected.

4. Design a smart front end layout

We see higher incidences of opportunistic theft when the front end is cramped and congested – when there is ‘too much going on’, when team members are busy and flustered, when there is a sense that ‘no one is watching.’

At CLX, we are experts are designing spacious checkout areas that removes obvious blind spots, giving team members maximum visibility to see the area at all times.

This is a deterrent to incidental theft, but most importantly team members can also see customers who may need help and can provide that support quickly.

5. Escalation and de-escalation: Keeping your team members, customers and community safe

At CLX, we do not talk about loss without talking about safety. Every loss strategy must be underpinned by plans to keep everyone safe.

The threat of systemic and organised crime is ever-present. Team members can be supported with panic buttons or duress alarms, and need to be trained on how to use these.

Escalation training and understanding the role they play, as well as the role of team leaders in store, safety teams in the head office, on-site security guards, and the police is crucial to keeping team members, customers, and community safe.

Organised crime is different to incidental theft, and they carry different risks and as such, de-escalation training (in the case of incidental theft) can be just as important as escalation training (in the case of organised crime).

A part of managing shrink is positive behaviours and creating a culture that supports this. Reinforcement learning is essential when change is constant, and team member turnover is high.

Equip your store leaders with the right capability to lead, observe and coach their team so shrink isn’t just ‘flavour of the month’ and forgotten about when the next initiative comes along. When new skills are reinforced and embedded into business-as-usual, we see sustained benefits for the long term.

CLX specialises in delivering loss prevention and shrinkage solutions at the front end. We have implemented strategies and solutions which have been proven to reduce loss while improving customer and team member satisfaction.

Get in touch to find out how we can support your loss/shrinkage targets.

Contact: 

Mark Packiyanathan, Managing Director, Australia – mark@clxprofessionals.com

Michelle Vanstaden, Managing Director, UK and Europe – michelle@clxprofessionals.com

Sarah Campbell, Managing Director, Emerging Markets, Strategy and Partnerships –sarah@clxprofessionals.com

CLX is excited to work with Al-Futtaim to transform customer experiences in Marks & Spencer stores in Hong Kong. Last month, the Central Tower Foodhall on Queen’s Road Central, re-opened with a brand new and improved checkout experience.  

Al-Futtaim engaged specialist retail consultants, CLX Professionals to design and implement a full front-end transformation. The challenge was to provide more checkout options and reduce customer queues, especially during peak periods such as lunch time and the holidays.  

Within weeks of store re-opening, we are seeing positive uptake of the new checkout options with no compromise to customer satisfaction. Customer wait times especially during the busy lunch hour have greatly reduced. 

In developing our solution, CLX reviewed multiple data points such as basket size, average transaction time, method of payment (cash or card), customer profiles and more.  

Central Tower is in a busy, international and commercial part of Hong Kong. Customers are a mix of multilingual locals, expats, tourists and businesspeople.  

Its previous front end offered eight traditional checkouts. This at times, created long queues during lunch hours when many workers with small baskets needed to get out as quickly as possible.  

For management, there was little flexibility during unexpected staff shortages as opening all eight checkouts would require eight team members to be available.  

Additionally, there was the challenge of space. With a small footprint, all solutions needed to fit in. The space needed to feel open and welcoming with a place for trolleys and baskets after their use. 

CLX deployed its strategy and design teams to model different layout and checkout options.  

We designed, prototyped, and manufactured bespoke solutions including four smaller traditional checkouts, six slimline self-checkouts for basket shops and two compact trolley self-checkouts, providing a total of 12 checkout options.   

All three solutions were designed with aesthetics, ergonomics, and practicality at front of mind. We introduced larger packing areas on the traditional checkouts and built-in storage solutions to reduce clutter.  

The combination of the three options creates a balanced front end, enabling customers to choose how they want to checkout.  

The space also has clear customer entry and exit routes, improving customer flow so it feels less crowded.  

To support the change, CLX designed and developed a multilingual change and training program. 

The program, developed in English and traditional Chinese was delivered in Cantonese, aimed to build motivation, knowledge and skills so team members could direct customers to the right checkout option, coach customers who chooses to use self checkout and continue to provide exceptional customer service through verbal and non-verbal communications.  

The partnership between CLX and Al-Futtaim Marks & Spencer began in August. From strategy to design, to manufacturing, human-centred change management and delivery, the project was completed in 12 weeks. 

We look forward to working with Al-Futtaim Marks & Spencer to elevate customer experiences in Hong Kong and beyond.  

CLX specialises in delivering front end solutions to improve customer experiences. Get in touch to find out how we can design and deliver your front-end transformation.  

Contact:   

Sarah Campbell, Director, Middle East and Strategy and Partnerships, Global – sarah@clxprofessionals.com   

At CLX, we design and manufacture a range of bespoke checkout solutions for retailers around the world.  

We have compact units for a basket shop, bigger units for a trolley shop, checkouts with belts, checkouts without belts, checkouts with hand scanners, checkouts without hand scanners. We offer a combination of different options to suit customer needs and preferences, as well as the store layout and size.  

Once we have agreed with you on the right strategy for your balanced front end, and we have designed fit-for-purpose solution(s) for your store, we begin the prototyping process.  

This is when we create a sample of your solution(s) so you can see it and feel it, giving you confidence to move into production.  

Why is this important? 

During this stage, we check every element of the design from the dimensions, the ergonomics, the IT components, and the operation of every part so we understand how everything comes together. 

 What comes before prototyping?  

Before prototyping, we transform the 3D visual renders into manufacturing drawings, taking into consideration all materials, surface finishes, manufacturing techniques and installation processes.  

What comes after prototyping?  

After prototyping, we capture all feedback and make any design tweaks. Once we are happy that it is also easy to install, we approve it for production.  

 We may be a bit zealous in comparing it to Christmas, but prototyping really is an exciting time for us and our clients. After weeks of hard work, we finally see the visual renders turn into real life solutions.  

CLX offers strategy, design, manufacturing, shopfitting, change management and training to customer facing businesses around the world. Our one-touch approach means we can operate fast as we turn the visual designs into manufacturing drawings and installation guidelines.  

Get in touch to find out how we can design and manufacture bespoke checkout solutions for your front end transformation.  

Contact:   

Sarah Campbell, Director, Strategy and Partnerships, Global – sarah@clxprofessionals.com   

At CLX, we work with the biggest and smartest retailers from around the world. We see the latest in innovation and technology that aims to improve the customer checkout experience.  

We know customers want more options to checkout depending on what they are buying, the size of their shop, and the time of the day. 

To achieve optimal customer experiences and operational efficiencies, retailers need to invest in a “balanced front end ecosystem”. 

With the right mix of checkout solutions, varying customer needs and expectations can be met.  

Here are six ways to checkout:

1.Traditional Checkout 

The most well-known of all checkout options. An assistant scans and (sometimes) bags your items. 

In general, the traditional checkout is good for a large shop, when customers want a chat, or when additional assistance is required, such as when returning an item, buying gift cards (may need authorisation) or alcohol (may need ID check). 

Many retailers offer traditional checkouts. 

However, having only this way to checkout is increasingly limiting as it relies on the availability of staff with very little flexibility when it gets busy. 

In the post pandemic context, we are seeing labour turnover increase, the cost of recruitment rising and a preference for staff to work in different areas of the store that is not always at the front end for long periods of time.

Additionally and importantly, it doesn’t cater to a growing segment of customers (up to 50% depending on market) who prefers self-checkout almost exclusively. 

2.Basket Self Checkout 

Most shoppers know this as self checkout. It was first introduced in supermarkets as a way for customers to get through quickly for small basket shops (15 items or less). Given the hardware is more compact, retailers could fit more units, thus reducing wait times. 

Research shows that customers prefer self checkout as it is usually quicker than a traditional checkout. Customers have also grown to like the independence and control of self checkout as it allows them to scan and pay at their own pace. 

3.Trolley Self Checkout  

In supermarkets, this is great for customers with a bigger shop (15 items or more) and want to self checkout. This type of checkout includes somewhere to park your trolley, features more space including a fragile shelf for your bread and eggs (so you can pack them last).  

During busy periods, team members can assist with unloading the trolley or packing bags. It also looks very similar to a traditional checkout with ample space, making it easier and more inviting for customers to use. 

Beyond supermarkets, trolley self checkout is in retailers with big and bulky items like furniture and building equipment.  

4.Hybrid Checkout 

This checkout provides the best of both worlds. It works as a self checkout and a traditional checkout, providing the ultimate in flexibility. 

Long queues? Switch it to a traditional checkout to get as many customers through as possible. Unexpected staff absences? Keep more checkouts open and switch it to a self checkout until more staff arrive. For customers, it means more checkouts open at any given time. 

As a bonus, this model is cheaper to make than a standalone self checkout machine, resulting in a faster return on investment for your business.

5.Autonomous Shopping

Imagine going into a store, getting what you want and then walking out. Using the same types of technologies used in self driving cars with a bit of AI, autonomous shopping allows you to do that: scan or tap on arrival, take your items and then leave. 

Your credit card will be charged for what you have taken. This type of checkout is best for small purchases when you are short on time, like in stadiums and at airports. We expect to see this in places like cinemas and universities too. 

6.Smart Cart/Mobile Shopping 

Smart cart / mobile shopping allows you to scan and bag your items in the aisle. Customers can use their own phone or a store device. Checking out usually means walking out through a dedicated “scan and go” area.

While the checkout process is usually quicker, this is the real winner if you are shopping to a budget. It is the only checkout option that tracks how much you are spending as you shop, so you can choose what to take, and what to put back on the shelf. 

We believe all elements play a crucial part in the front end ecosystem. Without careful consideration of all these elements and what is required for your customers, an optimal front end will not be achieved. 

We have worked with the biggest retailers around the world to get this right. When we get it right, we see increases in customer satisfaction, operational efficiencies, and business growth.

The balanced front end, along with loss/shrinkage strategies and human-centred change management programs will enable businesses to optimise the benefits with minimalised risk. 

Get in touch to find out how we can help you achieve a balanced front end for your customers. 

Contact: 

Sarah Campbell, Director, Middle East and Director, Strategy and Partnerships, Global – sarah@clxprofessionals.com

Mark Packiyanathan, Director, Australia and Asia Pacific – mark@clxprofessionals.com

Dean Mengual, Director, UK and Europe – dean@clxprofessionals.com

CLX is excited to welcome Josh Matavesi, a renowned rugby player, as the latest addition to the team. Josh joined last month as a Project Coordinator for the UK team at CLX. His transition from being a professional athlete to a project coordinator is both intriguing and inspirational.  

Seventeen years ago, Josh began his rugby journey with Camborne RFC, and after traveling the world to play rugby at the highest level, he has recently returned to the club.  

Josh embodies the club’s core values of community and teamwork. Tony Chapman, the CEO and Founder of CLX, who has also been associated with the club since the age of five, instills the same values when running this global company.  

“I felt nervous starting a career in an unfamiliar industry,” said Josh. However, he was inspired by the CLX vision, mission, and Tony’s dream of transforming customer experiences worldwide.  

Transitioning from sports to the business world can be challenging.  

CLX supports individuals from all backgrounds, including athletes, to join us. We seek out individuals with dedication, management skills, and a high-performance mentality. CLX values diversity of perspectives and experiences and believes it is the key to success.  

“I am now playing rugby, and when off the field, I’m working on different projects, doing research and data analysis,” said Josh.  

Josh also said, “I craved the camaraderie of working in a team,” and “At CLX, I have the opportunity to work with global teams.”  

At CLX, we are always open to engaging with the global community. We have offices and ongoing projects worldwide, including Australia, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Southeast Asia.  

We offer our clients services, such as consulting, shopfitting, building and construction, manufacturing, logistics, and training.  

If you are interested in any of these areas, contact us to learn more about our current job openings.  

Contact:  

An Nguyen, Global HR Manager, an@clxprofessionals.com  

For nearly a decade, CLX has been working with the world’s biggest and smartest retailers to transform the front end of its largest stores.  

The objective of our programs is to improve self-sufficiency while maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction. 

Millions of shoppers around the world choose to use self-checkouts even when there is an option to use a serviced main lane.  

We believe this trend will continue when there is investment in these five key areas:  

1. Smart design  

Be obsessed with the needs of the customer. We design all our hardware based on this whether that’s a place for customers to put their handbag, a shelf for their eggs and bread (so they can pack them last) or great ergonomics so they don’t have to overreach for bags, scanners, anything. We do our designs from hours of observations, data analysis and user testing.   

2. Variation of designs  

Provide options. We have compact units for a basket shop, bigger units for a trolley shop, checkouts with belts, checkouts without belts, checkouts with hand scanners, checkouts without hand scanners. We offer a combination of different options to suit customer needs and preferences, as well as the store layout and size. 

3. Effective zoning  

Effective zoning is a key to front end success. 

Work on a layout for optimal efficiencies. Generally, in supermarkets, we see the more compact, basket checkouts at one end, belted checkouts for mid-size shop in the middle and serviced main lanes for full trolleys at the opposite end. We find this provides the most logic for customers and flexibility for store teams.  

4. Human centred design change management 

Engagement and training of team members is crucial, not only for upskilling but also to control any potential negative sentiments towards change including self-checkouts. Team member buy-in is the key to a positive customer experience.  

Our human centred design change program addresses the technical, behavioural and emotional impact of the change. We aim to build motivation, knowledge, confidence and skill.  

We start engagement activities months ahead of go live. We provide training before go live, and we stay on the ground, post go live, to coach and support team members and customers for up to one full week after deployment.  

In supermarkets, customers usually do their shop once a week, so this approach covers the majority of regular customers coming into that shop.  

The result is increased adoption, enabling full benefits to be realised as quickly as possible. With benefits maintained and sustained, this has allowed businesses to move quickly to scale, giving them confidence to also trial new technology and ideas. 

5. Redefining service 

Redefining service is a key to front end success. 

In the past, service has meant “I will do it for you.” Now, service is “what service do you need today?”  

Whether the customer would like a chat, some help with packing or nothing at all (they just want to pay and go), team member communications and training focuses on understanding verbal and non-verbal cues, identifying and anticipating customer needs and adjusting the level of service.  

The key to positive sentiments of self-service is to make it easy and provide outstanding customer service. As a bonus, this approach is the biggest deterrent to theft and contributes to loss program objectives too.  

We are excited about our work in service transformation. We are continuing to roll out our programs which includes new hardware, new technology and exceptional customer service training.  

Get in touch to find out how we can help you increase self-sufficiency while maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction.   

Contact:  

Sarah Campbell, Director, Middle East and Strategy and Partnerships, Global – sarah@clxprofessionals.com  

Mark Packiyanathan, Director, Australia and Asia Pacific – mark@clxprofessionals.com 

Dean Mengual, Director, UK and Europe – dean@clxprofessionals.com  

With the influx of new customer experience solutions, innovation, and technology in customer facing organisations, it’s crucial that businesses are investing in their people to land and sustain change. It’s been proven that through the implementation of well-developed Human Centred Change Management, organisations will deliver their business case objectives and benefits, whilst driving a positive experience for their team and customers. To unlock the positive outcomes of a successful Human Centred Change program, the plan must first focus on strategies to communicate, motivate and train team members.

Human led communications and continuous improvement

Defining the appropriate communications strategies, messaging, tools, and channels within a Human Centred Change plan is critical to build team members’ awareness and knowledge. Employees need to be aware of what the change means to them so that they feel equipped and empowered when landing and embedding the change.

Implementing two-way communications through listening sessions and employee feedback at each project phase allows businesses to improve their Human Centred Change plan and wider business operations. Any continuous improvement made as a result of feedback should be communicated back to team members to ensure they are aware that their input is supporting the overall transformation and in turn building trust with their organisation.

Linking motivation to landing change

Employee motivation is a fundamental factor when implementing change as it is what connects them as an individual to want to move from current state to the new state.

It’s important that businesses understand what it is that motivates their team at work and then design change management plans and solutions that address and support these factors.

Whether motivated by building specific skills, career progression or simply by feeling valued, retailers need to recognise their team as the beating heart of operations and the ones who will advocate the change. Motivation can come in many forms such as reward, recognition, professional development, or additional support. It’s important that change solutions pinpoint and address what it is that motivates their team and ensure that this continues through the embedding phase.

Building skills and embedding change through training

As employees transition to a new way of working, they need the skill and will to perform in their updated role. This is achieved by designing and implementing blended training programs that focus on building new behaviours and skills to land and sustain the change.

Training should be designed to address the people impacts of the change through utilising an appropriate blend of digital, face-to-face and user tools to best support the team members. When developing a training plan, it is important to understand the types of learners and any relevant environmental factors to ensure the learning outcomes are best addressed.

Training programs that lift capability whilst also motivating team members through adopting solutions such as competition-based gamification will enable a business to reach the desired learning objectives whilst building engagement and team member sentiment around the change.

Organisations that put humans at the heart of their change management plans can be confident that they will deliver a program that meets their business objectives and benefits whilst continuing to improve overall team member culture and engagement. At CLX, we specialise in designing and delivering Human Centred Change Management programs at every level of an organisation.

Get in touch with us to discuss how we can assist you with your next Change and Transformation program.

On Monday, 5 December, Marks and Spencer (M&S) officially unveiled their first of its kind Foodhall checkout area as part of the launch of their store at London Colney. The transformative Tilling space provides innovative solutions that allow customers to shop how, where and when they want. M&S partnered with leading customer experience consultants, CLX Professionals to design and implement the full front-end at London Colney’s reimagined Foodhall, with the mission of creating more space and checkout options for M&S customers.

Unlike any existing front end in the United Kingdom, London Colney, now boasts a new horseshoe shaped self-checkout tilling layout that provides a feeling of space and freedom to shop using redesigned checkouts and supporting technology. Additional solutions allow customers with large trolleys to shop at their own speed while still transacting in a familiar way.

The CLX team came together in collaboration with M&S in late July and began reimagining the customer experience. This involved looking at global standards and existing solutions, customer and colleague friction points and how to create better ergonomics, tilling options and space. The entire project was pulled together in 12 weeks from design through to implementation and training of the Colleagues.

The new horseshoe layout and checkouts for customers doing smaller shops

The horseshoe shaped self-checkout area is a redesigned space for those doing basket shops in store. Notably, customers can see which checkouts are available from two entry points and then can easily access them in this wide-open section.  CLX’s CEO and Founder Tony Chapman explains it as a particularly streamlined and ergonomic solution that enables customers to flow through the store while reducing any sense of being cramped. 

“The layout of the new self-checkout area gives a significant amount of space back to customers. Alongside the supporting technology it works to keep the area calm while reducing queues,” said Tony.

Complementing the new basket shop area are the trolley self-service checkouts, an additional option for customers to use when completing a larger shop. The checkouts allow customers to utilise a spacious packing bench and bagging area. An additional fragile shelf supports better packing as customers can now separate specific items like bread and eggs until last. This solution combines a traditional shopping experience with a self-checkout solution, that has been designed to ensure customers can move at their own pace, park their trolleys and enjoy ample space.

“The most important part of the new checkout experience is the people and how easily they can now interact. Colleagues need to feel equipped to help customers across the front end and customers need to feel supported in shopping whichever way they want,” said Tony.

The new main lanes, meaning customers still have the choice to checkout in traditional fashion

The Human Centred change and training program was specifically designed and delivered by CLX to build behavioural capability and support Colleagues in delivering passionate service. In keeping with the divergent nature of the new solution, the training was all encompassing ensuring everybody felt looked after. The dedicated Customer Service workshops equipped each colleague with everything from understanding the strategy and their important role within it, to the principles of great service and the tools they would need to ensure the best customer experience.

Positive customer feedback suggests that customers are now experiencing less friction on their journey through the front-end, becoming further centred in an improved shopping experience.

“We are thrilled about the successful launch of the new checkout areas at M&S London Conley’s Foodhall and very much excited for our partnership with Marks and Spencer to continue as we work together to design and deliver more service transformation strategies, across more stores, next year,” said Tony.