The challenge

Meeting Peak Production Goals With Limited Resources

A specialty shoe, apparel, and accessory retailer with over 1,100 retail stores and $1.1B in annual sales faced a critical challenge. The organization needed to significantly reduce labor costs to meet peak production goals while increasing throughput in order fulfillment, replenishment, and receiving operations.

Balancing cost reduction with operational efficiency was critical to their success during high-demand periods — and they were worried they would fall short.

Recognizing the complexity of the situation at that scale, the retailer contacted the Joshua Tree Group for expert guidance and support in overcoming these operational hurdles.


The solution

Comprehensive Strategies for Cultural and Operational Improvement

The JTG team started with a company culture shift. To do that, they partnered with the client to use a blend of process redesign, multi-variable performance goals, management training, associate coaching, and new decision-support tools. This served as the foundation for an analytically-based pay-for-performance program.

This approach involved:

  • Streamlining procedures and developing, validating, and installing engineered performance goals.

  • Equipping supervisors with new performance reporting tools and coaching guides to provide clear and objective feedback

  • Implementing lasting improvements in operational workflow, layout, and procedures to enhance efficiency.

  • Shifting manager and supervisor focus towards proactive staff planning, associate coaching, and performance management.

  • Developing a performance-driven, self-directed workforce through relevant incentives and objective benchmarking.

These initiatives were designed to address the retailer’s unique challenges and goals, ensuring a seamless process that met their needs and led to significant operational improvements.


The results

Transformative Results in Efficiency and Workforce Engagement

The strategy’s implementation brought substantial improvements and a notable cultural shift within the company. Here’s a closer look at the outcomes:

Performance Gains

  • Productivity soared by more than 60%.

  • Employees were rewarded with 15% bonus earnings for achieving 100% performance, with many earning even more.

  • Supervisors received recognition for meeting performance goals in productivity, quality, staffing efficiency, and coaching/feedback effectiveness.

Cultural Transformation

  • The culture shifted to prioritize regular, objective coaching and performance feedback.

  • Weekly and daily staff planning became standard practices.

  • Public recognition of associates with high performance and improvement fostered a positive work environment.

Financial and Operational Benefits

  • Reduced labor costs through increased productivity.

  • Eliminated the entire second shift order-filling operations due to enhanced efficiency.

  • Improved quality and service performance during both peak and off-peak times.

  • Reduced dependency on temporary associates due to higher morale and retention of quality employees.

  • Clearly defined and objective performance expectations.

  • Recognition awards based on criteria valued by associates.

  • Daily, personal feedback on performance relative to goals.

  • Precise staff scheduling capabilities via integrated modeling tools.

This transformative foundational change boosted productivity and reduced costs while creating a more motivated and engaged workforce. This successful implementation highlights the power of a performance-driven culture in achieving both operational excellence and employee satisfaction, setting the stage for sustained growth and success.