Part of Half Time’ s new employee training strategies is to have new hires on the floor and learning what’ s in stock.
in building confidence, which leads to success in many other areas.” While certification courses are a great way to help train employees, Half Time’ s
Taylor believes that getting experience on the floor is another useful tool.
“ The biggest challenge here in our stores is knowing where the products are,” he says.“ We have over 3,000 SKUs, so knowing where everything is can be difficult, and the only way to get people to really learn is to put the product away.”
Typically, Taylor says that he will schedule a new hire to stock the floor right after they’ ve learned the register.
“ I schedule them on the floor to put products away. This way, on big delivery days, they have better knowledge of where everything goes,” he notes.
Tracking inventory is also a great way to not only teach employees where products are on the shelves, but also to ask the right questions.
“ We do a snap inventory every week for certain items that may be getting a little older or that have discrepancies,” Taylor says.“ So, I’ ll tell employees to find certain items on the shelves, count how many bottles there are and let me know. It’ s another great way for them to figure out where the beer is and ask the right questions.”
Based on what Half Time has in stock, employees can learn to ask different questions, such as what else can be ordered, what’ s available on the market that the store doesn’ t have or what’ s not available in the U. S. anymore.
“ These are the types of questions they need to ask, because there will always be questions. I still have questions, but you need to know the right person to ask," Taylor says.“ You can’ t just tell the customer,‘ I don’ t know’.”
EMPLOYEE RETENTION
As hectic as liquor stores can get, especially during busy shopping seasons, it’ s
Zahira Jasani is the recruiter for Twin Liquors.
important to keep employee retention high to prevent unwanted turnover.
In a fast-paced environment, Twin Liquor’ s Thibaudeau has tips for balancing the need for quick training while still ensuring thoroughness and safety.
“ It is important to train our employees in an efficient structured manner, so the associate can succeed as quickly as possible,” Thibaudeau says.“ By creating a standardized training process, our store managers can rely on a stepby-step check list and focus on each task, providing each employee with the time and attention to detail.”
Zahira Jasani, Twin Liquors recruiter, also notes that screening job
12 Beverage Dynamics • Winter 2025 www. beveragedynamics. com