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Our people make the difference." Most grocery executives have uttered this sentence when speaking about their companies' strength in the marketplace. Whether a given chain's employees would knowingly nod their heads in agreement or roll their eyes and think "that old line again" is an open question, however.

Expert observers say it's only the chains that pay store-level employees more than lip service that have truly learned the difference good people can make. Key evidence of this knowledge is a hiring, orientation and training process that aims to turn employees into corporate assets.

In the high-turnover world of retail staffing, a chain that can keep good employees has a definite advantage in a market where service is a premium and a helpful store associate can turn a customer into a loyal customer. Chains need to learn to keep the keepers.

Human resources has to be part of a supermarket company's strategic plan, says Frank DiPasquale, vice president of training and development for the National Grocers Association. "The acknowledgement and recognition of the importance of integrating human resources planning into the overall organization's strategic plan is very important, as is stressing the importance of people in the organization," he says.

Perhaps the most significant aspect of integrating human resources with the overall strategy is clearly defining the corporate culture. DiPasquale suggests that retail food chains learn to fully understand themselves and be able to explain how important employees are to the organization and how important customers are. What the company expects of employees relative to customers should be clearly defined. "Employees should also understand the role they play in not only servicing the customer, but providing information and knowledge about the chain and the products and services it provides. They are the face of the brand." he says.

Terri Kabachnick, founder and CEO of the Kabachnick Group, says levels of service must be defined. "Employers should ask, 'If the job could talk, what would the job ask for?'...

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