Chern's case study executive summary

APPENDIX

Strategic Staffing at Chern's: A Case Study

CHERN'S COMPANY HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION

Siblings Ryan and Ann Chern founded Chern's, an upscale men' s and women's department store, 20 years ago after they graduated with their MBAs. The pair had planned to launch their own company for years, and refined their business model after each spent a great deal of time learning about the retail industry by working in different retail organizations. The product mix and high-quality products Chern's sells made it rapidly successful, and the company developed a loyal following. The firm quickly expanded its product line and began opening additional loca- tions 15 years ago. Ryan and Ann have turned their basic idea of providing customers with the best service, selection, quality, and value into a thriving business. The two are now co-presidents of Chern's: Ryan serves as the company's chief executive officer; Ann serves as the company's chief operating officer.

Chern's pursues an aggressive growth strategy. Currently the company has 140 stores in 28 states on the East Coast and in the Midwest. Chern' s employs an average of 19,000 full- and part-time employees. Providing superior customer service has been the company' s main business strategy and has successfully differentiated it from its competitors. Although the company's prod- ucts are expensive, the high product quality and excellent customer service have made the company successful. Because customers' tastes can differ from one store to the next, the company tries to be as decentralized as possible. Therefore, it gives its store managers a considerable amount of discre- tion in terms of bow they run their stores. Likewise, each manager runs his or her own department as a small business and is rewarded according to the department' s and the store's overall success.

Because customer service lies at the heart of the company's business strategy, it is a core part of the corporate culture of Chern' s. Ann and Ryan believe that customer service is the essence of selling and that because the firm's sales associates are in direct contact with customers, they are the core drivers of the company's performance. Both department managers and assistant depart- ment managers support the sales associates. Besides giving the sales staff their full support, the department managers at Chern's are, in tum, supported by their store managers, assistant depart- ment managers, buyers, and merchandising managers. Figure A- 1 illustrates these relationships.

Core values are an essential part of the Chern's brand and are the foundation of its culture. The company' s family ownership contributes to its desire to make every employee and customer feel valued and cared for. The firm is known for its strong and unique culture, which it feels is due to its belief that the best approach to business is to hire good people. As such, Chern's tries to iden- tify and select the right people, train them, and give them the tools and autonomy they need to suc- ceed. Successful employees are rewarded with above-market base salaries and generous bonuses.

Store Manager

Assistant Department

Managers

Buyers

Department Managers

Sales Associates

Merchandising Managers

FIGURE A-1 The Sales Support Relationships among Chern's Staff Members 383

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Phillips, J. M., & Gully, S. M. (2015). Strategic staffing (3rd. ed.). NY: Pearson
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The management philosophy at Chem's is based on empowerment. Chern 's believes that by hiring well it can trust its employees to use their own judgment. Consequently, the firm gives them a considerable amount of freedom in terms of how they do their jobs. By striving to create a fair and positive environment and giving each employee the tools and autonomy he or she needs to succeed, the company feels it has created an environment in which its sales asso- ciates can truly excel. In fact, last year, 42 Chern's sales associates sold at least $1,000,000 in merchandise-a company record.