There have been and will continue to be for the next few
months more loss of jobs in the retail industry than ever before
in history. The list of companies downsizing, reorganizing, and
merging is too numerous to list and, obviously, this writer for
one wouldn’t dare do so because of the political fall out. But
leave it to say that virtually every retailer in America has been
affected by budget cuts that have eliminated hundreds of LP
jobs within the last month alone.

     This trend will continue in the short term due to a host
of reasons—increased gasoline, utility and insurance prices,
hurricanes, a mild winter, survival-mode mergers, interest rate
hikes, increased competition, the ever-increasing popularity of
on-line shopping, and health care cost, to name just a few.

     The retail industry will soon be facing another set back
when the insurance industry, who’s just now dealing with the
aftermath of last years busiest and most deadliest hurricane
season in history, passes on increases that will dwarf the
increases of the last five or ten years. At the present time there
is no light at the end of the tunnel, and everyone should expect
the bad news to continue over the next six months.

Doing More with Less

     So the question becomes, “How do we as individuals survive
it and continue to develop our own careers.” There is no easy
answer other than to say that it lies within each one of us to
develop ourselves, to take responsibility for our own careers,
and to face risk and change with courage and hope.

     It begins with what you’re doing as an individual to
improve yourself, your skills, your leadership abilities, and your
educational credentials, in order to increase the value you are
delivering to your current company. While this may sound like a
textbook response, which bores most and is ignored by many, it
is the way to survive and thrive.

     The problem is that we’re all so busy doing more with less
that it has created a dysfunctional speed-driven environment
that doesn’t allow us the time to attend to our own
self-development. It’s almost like the speed of the Internet has
now infiltrated and become the speed of our lives. One merely
need look at the ever-increasing store count responsibilities for a
field loss prevention executive to see this fact.

     The industry leaders are as hard pressed as any to deliver
more with less and certainly aren’t happy with the increasing
store count trends, limited training dollars, and life-changing
budget cuts. But they, too, are as vulnerable as everyone else and
should be asking the same questions of themselves as the field
executives are. How do I survive if I’m downsized or just let go?

Preparing for the Inevitable

     Bum Phillips, the former Houston Oilers football coach, once
said that there are two types of coaches—those that have been
fired and those that are waiting to be fired. The same could be
said for retail loss prevention. Everyone should and must be
prepared to either be replaced or eliminated.

     Preparing for such a thing is a difficult task, and one that
few take seriously. But there are steps you can take to increase
your survivability and value, regardless of your level in the
organization.

     The first is to complete a college education at any cost.
The second is to learn the financial side of our business, by
taking classes, getting involved in the inventory process, learning
to read and analyze profit-and-loss statements, and becoming an
expert in shrinkage analysis and exception-reporting systems.

     Third is to continue to develop your leadership skills. Read
books on leadership, team development, and motivation. Learn
how to be a good leader of people and of processes. This is
where the true answer lies—good leaders never go away, they
just change teams or find a new career.

     The fourth and final suggestion is look at the job you’re doing
now, break it down into its parts, and ask yourself this question:
“How do I improve the service I deliver to my stores, my internal
customers, and my direct reports?” Determining how you
increase your value to your company requires a different mind
set that is diametrically opposed to the traditional view of what
they are going to do for you.

     These are some suggestions for surviving the blood bath. In
the next column, I will focus on moving forward if you are,
indeed, one that is chopped. Until then, keep your head up and
give it your all.