June 24, 2025 • 30 mins
Retailers know that hiring is only half the battle. Keeping great employees engaged and motivated is what truly drives success. In today’s session, we’ll explore smart, practical strategies for incentivizing your team beyond just a paycheck. Whether you run a boutique, a tack store, or a multi-location shop, you’ll walk away with ideas you can implement immediately. Listen in...
WESA Retail Roundup June 23, 2025
- Host: Glenn the Geek, Host of Horses in the Morning
- Facebook: Retail Roundup Facebook group
- Guest: Ilya Ilienko | Linked In |
- Presented By: Western English Sales Association
Time Stamps:
07:33 - Flexibility in Business Scheduling
10:18 - Innovative Perks for Small Businesses
18:55 - The Importance of Employee Responsibility
27:01 - Creating a Positive Workplace Environment
Takeaways:
- Incentivizing employees requires a multifaceted approach that extends beyond mere financial compensation.
- Engaging employees through cross-training not only enhances their skills but also fosters collaboration among team members.
- Flexibility in scheduling and responsibilities can significantly improve employee satisfaction and retention rates.
- Creating a supportive work environment by allowing pets and family involvement can enhance employee morale and loyalty.
- Acknowledging milestones and achievements in the workplace cultivates a sense of belonging and recognition among employees.
- Community involvement through volunteer opportunities can strengthen employee ties to the business and enhance brand loyalty.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Foreign.
You are listening to the HorseRadio Network, part of the Equine
Network family.
Well, hi everybody.
Glenn the Geek, back with you.
Founder of the Horse RadioNetwork and host of Horses in the
Morning, the daily podcast forthe last 15 years.
Welcome to WESA Retail Roundup.
The Retail Roundup is your goto virtual hub for all things retail.
(00:23):
Join panel discussions, learnfrom webinars, share your thoughts,
ask questions and connect withthe community.
We host a virtual event orshare educational content every Monday
via the Retail RoundupFacebook group.
If you're not a member yet,head over.
Just search for Retail Roundupon Facebook.
You'll find it there and youdefinitely want to join that.
Retailers know that hiring isonly half the battle.
(00:44):
Keeping great employeesengaged and motivated is what truly
drives success.
In today's session, we exploresmart, practical strategies for incentivizing
your team beyond just a paycheck.
Whether you run a boutique, atax store, or multi location shop,
you'll walk away with ideasyou can implement immediately.
And today we're joined byIlya, who's a financial expert who
(01:06):
uniquely blends corporateleadership with small business insight.
Ilya currently serves as CFOof a tech startup and advises clients
with wealth management.
Ilya's 20 plus years ofexperience spans Fortune 500 companies
and small businesses alike,making him a powerful voice for retailers
looking to build motivatedteams with limited resources.
Plus, he has a whole bunch ofother acronyms that are scrolling
(01:28):
down there.
Thank you, Elias.
Thanks for joining us.
Thank you very much for havingme, Glenn.
It's a pleasure.
So where are you located?
Where are you at in the world?
I am in warm and sunny South Carolina.
Oh, wow, okay.
Yeah.
Been to Florida, not too faraway from you.
And of course, how warm is it.
Going to be for you guys?
About 95 today.
So, you know, normal summer day.
(01:50):
Same as you probably.
Yeah, very similar.
And you're in horse country, alot of horses up in your area.
We have a lot of listeners upyour way.
So, yeah, most definitely.
I actually took some time andhad an engagement at one of the largest
Arabian horse farms on thisside of the United States.
Oh, wow.
Okay.
Yeah, it's right nearby, veryfew towns over.
(02:12):
Very cool.
Yes.
So fairly familiar with your landscape.
Our little world over here.
Yeah.
And you know how crazy we are then.
We're, we're addicted to whatwe do.
You know, we're passionateabout our hobby, that's for sure.
You're ambitious and driven.
Yes, exactly.
So why should retailers thinkbeyond the paycheck?
(02:32):
You know what, you know weobviously pay our employees, but
you know, you need to do alittle bit more to make a dedicated
employee.
So, you know, why should wethink beyond that?
Well, Glenn, your employeesare your boots on the ground.
So you can't track everythingthat happens in your business.
(02:55):
Your employees play afunction, they see what is happening
and they are the eyes andears, not just to the ground, but
they are your primarycommunication devices to your vendors,
to your customers and all ofthe other relationships.
So as the business grows, theemployees that have been at the business,
(03:20):
they start, they get to knowthe business, they understand its
inner workings.
And tenured employees canbring more of a benefit to the, you
know, to the business.
And as such, as such, we wantto not just hire and be able to hire
well, but we want to be ableto retain because as we retain talent,
(03:45):
that talent grows and can giveus back in terms of obviously business
strategy and furthering our business.
So it's very important.
What kind of 9 financialincentives can you do for employees?
Or let me rephrase that, whatkind of 9 financial incentives are
effective for employees in asmall business especially.
(04:06):
Sure, sure, I would say acategory of non financial, non monetary
benefits.
For example, cross training.
Cross training doesn't,doesn't just benefit the employee
by keeping them more engagedand allowing them to broaden their
(04:28):
skills, but it also allowsyour business to benefit from those
employees cross training each other.
So in other words, oneemployee knows what the other one
is doing and should one ofthem fall out of the game, then the
other one knows theresponsibilities of the other.
(04:48):
It's also a great way to breakup the monotony.
For example, and thisparticularly applies to Gen Z and
the Millennials and theyounger generation.
Everything is so instant wherethose generations tend to favor a
little bit more action and alittle bit more movement and attention
(05:14):
on themselves.
So cross training providesthis attention and it also provides
the energy and the robustnessand the variety to the to work.
So cross training is one thatin my experience has worked exceptionally
well, not just for employees,but for the business itself as well.
For continuity.
(05:34):
If you want, I can provide afew more.
Yeah, sure.
Rotation and sharing schedules.
So for example, you know,businesses, as businesses get to
know their employees, they,they see that employees can be trusted.
You can, especially at asmaller business.
You can take the reins off alittle bit and provide freedom.
(05:56):
And employees like freedom.
You know, people who can be trusted.
They like when freedom isoffered to them.
So with freedom you can offersharing schedules and rotations.
So for example, you can tellYour small team, hey, figure out
what works best for you andshould you have a problem, you don't
(06:18):
need to involve me, but goahead and just communicate with your
colleagues and work it out.
That's freedom and it alsohelps continuity and it also lessens
the managerial burden.
From the business owner, Ithink, to.
The work life balance you'retalking about with, with younger
people today.
They're more in tune to thatand I admire them for that.
(06:41):
I wish that I had been our generation.
It was tender.
You just go to work and youwork all the time and you come home
and you know, whatever timeyou have left is what you have left.
And I think that's changed a lot.
And I like that it's changed a lot.
I think it's a betterexperience for everybody.
For family, for you, for theemployee, for everybody.
(07:02):
Yes, I, I agree, Glenn.
I remember the times when Iwould get on the subway in New York,
go to work, take my half anhour lunch, get back on the subway
and get back home now with zoom.
I mean look at us now doing,doing this from one state and another
state.
Freedom and flexibility isdefinitely, is definitely a plus.
(07:26):
And with that being said,actually flexibility, flexibility
in terms of your business needs.
This is a great intro into mynext one that I was going to say
flexibility into your businessneeds and scheduling.
So for example, you're talkingabout freedom.
If the business owner noticesthat you have down times or for example
(07:50):
in the summer, some of yourdays are not as busy, you can offer
flexibility in terms ofscheduling and work attendance as
you see fit.
And that also may play a rolein, you know, tele attendance if
you say, you know.
So anything else that comes tomind, other incentives?
(08:12):
Sure, yeah, absolutely.
I think for the, for anappropriate type of business and
especially the industries inequine, bringing your kids and allowing
employees to bring animals,their pets to work is a huge, can
be a huge plus because itdoesn't only integrate the employee
(08:36):
as an employee, but itintegrates that employee from the
human perspective.
It lets the employee and theirfamily, their four legged ones get
to know the business as welland feel more comfortable.
I think that type of thing,non monetary is one of the best.
It's funny you mentioned that.
(08:58):
I consulted for a very, verylarge retailer in our world and they
allowed their employees tobring dogs in.
And it was a cubicle farm, youknow, and it was low cubicles and
I had a Boston terrier thatwould stare at me all day long from
the next cubicle.
He'd stand up on the Top ofthe cubicle, and he'd stare at me
all day long.
I had that Boston terrier.
I could still picture himstaring at me all day.
(09:19):
But that was.
It was a wonderful perk forthat particular business because
they did let their dogs comein and, you know, they had to be
behaved and all that stuff.
But it worked out well therebecause, you know, we're in a.
We're in an animal business.
I mean, that's what we do.
Yeah.
Yes, absolutely.
For lots of businesses, thesethings work.
(09:39):
For some other ones they don't.
And for example, I have ananimal, that one, and he's pretty
quiet, so I could bring him to work.
It's just the size is a little bit.
What do you have?
What do you have there?
This is a Doberman.
Oh, you have a Doberman there?
Okay.
Yeah.
His name is Aries, just likemy mom is an Aries.
There you go.
(10:01):
There you go.
So have you worked with a lotof different businesses?
Is there perks that you canoffer that work?
Well, for a small businessthat doesn't necessarily break the
bank?
Yes, Glenn, I think one of thebest, and this directly applies to
(10:24):
a lot of your listeners, oneof the best perks I saw was when
I worked for PalmettoArabians, which is one of the largest
Arabian horse farms on thisside of the United States.
And being that it was arelatively large horse farm and a
vet come in fairly frequentlyto the property.
(10:47):
And because the horse farm andthe small business that's attached
to it were providing the vetso much business, then they had a
relationship and agreementthat any one of their employees can
bring their pets to use thevet for free, assuming that it's
(11:07):
obviously not for leg breaksor things like that, but for your
regular ongoing animal routine management.
And that was fantastic.
You don't only get to bringyour animal to work, but you can
also have your animal serviced.
Yeah, vaccines, all thatstuff, checkups, you know, that kind
of stuff all adds up,especially today when, you know,
(11:27):
a small animal vet calls.
$300 to show up.
Absolutely.
The other big one in retail inour world, and it's.
It's become a joke, actually,is discounts.
So if you work for a tax shop,you get a discount on everything
you buy.
And the joke is that you'regoing to spend more than you make
anyway, so the retailer isreally better off because we all
(11:48):
do spend a lot of money whenwe get discounts at the.
The places we work.
But.
But it means a lot.
I mean, it means a lot becauseyou're going to buy the stuff anyway.
And now I'm getting a discountbecause I work there.
Well, not, not only that, butthat's a, that's a great, that's
a great one that, that I didnot think about.
And thank you for mentioningthat, Glenn.
(12:10):
When I was doing publicaccounting, we had a division specifically
focusing on small business.
And one of the things that weencourage small businesses to do
is to explore their community.
So in other words, you know,you may have a corner gym, you may
have a gym on the corner ofthe block.
(12:32):
And although your smallbusiness may not be large enough
to get a corporate discount,you can speak to the gym and say,
hey, can we get a family discount?
And that has worked not justacross gyms or other health facilities,
but also, you know, yourregular grocery store.
If you say we are a member ofthis community, can we get a, you
(12:56):
know, a 10 discount?
For example, groceries that myemployees shop here, if they just
mentioned that, you know,we're your business neighbor, or
a dollar off of a cup ofcoffee or lunch or things like that.
Go out, go out, advertise yourbusiness, say that you're a part
of the community and ask themif they can participate.
(13:18):
If you funnel, you know, someof the business to them, I think
it's a great win.
Win.
Yeah, I think that's a great idea.
I never thought about that,you know, doing that for local businesses.
How about recognition, youknow, employee of the month.
Do those kind of things work?
Yes, I think that, I thinkthat we as people, we all like attention.
(13:40):
And, you know, particularlythe younger generation, everything
is instant, instantaneous.
It's at your fingertips.
So I think the need forattention is great and the need for
us to be accepted.
So acknowledginganniversaries, you know, work anniversaries,
(14:03):
acknowledging that youremployee had a fantastic something
happen in their life.
And likewise, you know, maybesomeone passes away or there's a,
you know, there's a bad thingthat happens.
Giving them time off, takingthem to lunch, all those things,
they give attention and showgratitude to employees.
(14:25):
And that's one of the biggestthings that small businesses can
do.
They can't quite compete withthe big box stores, but where they
can't compete monetarily orfor example, on your benefits, they
can go ahead and compete on attention.
You're not a number in our, inour business, you will grow with
(14:47):
us and we will acknowledge youand what is happening, you know,
in your life, if that makes sense.
Yeah, no, I mean, birthdayswere always a big thing at a lot
of the companies I worked for,you know, they.
They have a cake or bring in,you know, something.
But again, it's just.
You're right, it's just, hey,you're being acknowledged that I'm
here and I'm valuable.
(15:07):
You know, I think that's.
That is the key.
And I don't care what age youare, you always want that.
You want to be told you'redoing a good job too.
As simple as.
You did great today with thatone customer that came in with the
boots, you know, for the boots.
You spent an hour trying bootson them and they ended up walking
away with a pair of boots, youknow, and, you know, just those little
(15:28):
things really do make a.
Because you did just spend anhour and you were probably frustrated,
right?
As an employee, you werefrustrated because it, you know,
it.
I've done that before instores and tried on boots for an
hour.
And the fact that they walkedaway with a pair of boots, you know,
acknowledging that isimportant too.
As important as the otherstuff, I think.
(15:49):
Absolutely.
Yeah.
But Glenn, that takes.
That goes back to one of thepoints I think I was saying, or was
going to say, which is beingtuned into your employees, especially
tuned into those employees whoappear to be tuned into your business.
So it's a, you know, give,give relationship.
(16:11):
You understand what your.
What matters to your employees.
So, for example, taking thegym, you see that most of your employees
are very health conscious.
Health conscious.
And I've had a.
I've had this at one of mysmaller clients where instead of
a regular lunch, they wouldexpand it to an hour and a half if
(16:32):
you were visiting the healthfacility next door.
Oh, I see.
Okay.
So that's what, that's whatmatters to them.
That's what you give to them.
But at the same time, youknow, though, you notice that those
are.
Employees have your business'sbest interests at heart as well.
(16:54):
So are there things, otherthings they can do to compete with
the.
The big box stores orwhatever, with the full benefit packages
and, you know, the whole thing.
Are there other things thatthey can throw in that you've seen
work and are effective?
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, I think small businessesare, like I said, in a unique opportunity
(17:15):
where they don't have to gothrough these rigid policies and
procedures and have levelsupon levels of approvals if they
want to institute something.
Small businesses are much morenimble and quick to act.
So if you want to, forexample, try out an overstock policy,
(17:38):
say the small business, andI've had this happen.
A small business ordersInventory perishables, what have
you on an ongoing basis.
So some of that inventory oroverstock, if it cannot be returned,
they share with the employees.
So there's a gourmet grocerybusiness, which is.
(18:00):
Was a client of mine, and theywould get eggs, milk and things like
that for, you know, cooking.
And as new items come in, theywould give the other obviously not
expired items to their employees.
And given the prices of eggs.
Yeah, today.
Yeah, that's better than a paycheck.
(18:21):
Yeah, in a lot of cases, yes.
But flexibility, I thinkflexibility is a huge one.
Attention, being able to moveand react.
You try the overstock, and ifthat doesn't work, you can try having
your employee bring their dogor cat in.
(18:43):
If that doesn't work, switchto something else and keep track.
Big box stores will never beable to compete with that kind of
thing.
All they can do is throw money.
One of the things, too, thatI'm thinking about is responsibility.
What I mean by that is if youremployee has a good idea for something
that, that, you know,whatever, a special promotion or
program, giving them theresponsibility to take that and run
(19:06):
with it inevitably gives thempride in what they've done and makes
them feel like they're part ofthe team that's making this thing
grow and work.
So, you know, I always thoughtin the employees I've had, I've always,
you know, if they, if theyhave time and they have the wherewithal
to take that responsibilityand run with it, they learn a lot.
(19:28):
You see growth.
Hopefully it works.
If it doesn't work, that'sfine too.
You know, we all try thingsthat don't work, but giving them
the responsibility helps themgrow into future positions, too.
And also, you're testing them, right?
You're testing them for whatthey can handle and what they can
do.
And you might find a.
A new area or an area that.
A vertical that you could putthem in that you weren't thinking
(19:49):
about for that particularemployee because you found something
that they were really good at.
So responsive.
Don't be afraid to give them responsibilities.
What I'm saying.
I agree.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
What can we.
What can we.
What can we add to this?
You can provide autonomy.
You know, you see someone hasa sharp, bright mind, you know, be
(20:10):
forthcoming.
Express to them that you wantto hear their opinions.
They see.
They may see more customersthan you do, so they may have other
ideas that will be beneficialto the business.
Big box stores are not goingto be able to do that.
But you can leave your commentbox open all the Time for employees
and to what you're saying,expand the set of responsibilities.
(20:35):
It gets employees, it getsyour business to be sticky.
So they are growing with yourbusiness just like to what you were
saying.
And they feel like they are apart of this business.
So that's.
It makes it sticky and itmakes it harder for.
It makes it less likely foremployees to leave because they're
(20:56):
now part of this family.
Yeah, they feel like somesense of ownership there, right?
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah, I totally agree with that.
We talk about ROI all the timein relation to everything.
I think some of this, youknow, and you being a cfo, this is
something you deal with allthe time.
But I think there's some ofthis you're doing for your employees
that you can't track ROI on itand maybe shouldn't track.
(21:21):
It's not ROI able.
It's more creating thatlifelong employee, which I guess
is ROI when you think about itover a long period of time.
Right, sure.
Am I looking at it wrong?
I don't think so.
I think ROIs can be whatever.
Well, I mean, they.
Probably not.
I don't want to put my foot inmy mouth, but ROIs, you can calculate
(21:44):
ROIs in a number of ways.
You know, it could be in yourhead and that's the way that you're
keeping track of ROIs.
Or you could be looking,looking at absences, absenteeism
over time.
Or you could be looking andseeing Google reviews and how Google
reviews mention some of youremployees, maybe one or two particular
(22:05):
employees, you know, or maybeit's feedback from customers directly
that, wow, this employee ofyours went above and beyond.
So that's a way to track them.
And obviously ROIs are trackedup and down in your huge corporations.
We don't necessarily need toget into that kind of paradigm, but
(22:29):
we can keep track of employeeperformance just by utilizing the
basic metrics that make senseto us.
Is the customer happy?
Is the business moving?
Is the inventory all there isthe employee.
Are the employees performingtheir duties well, basically.
Right.
(22:49):
So, and this is something wehave never talked about on this show
is surveys.
Do you recommend surveys evenfor small businesses?
And that ties back because oneof the questions obviously can involve
employees, but do you.
How do you feel about surveys,customer surveys, customer surveys?
Well, we've had business, inmy experience, we've had businesses
(23:13):
use customer surveys, vendorsurveys, all sorts of surveys.
As unfortunately, as we'veprobably all seen on Amazon, people
that leave reviews typically.
Are the negative people.
Yes.
So they want to, they want toair out their displeasures.
(23:36):
So if you can filter orsomehow get around that and take
all of the negative reviews,for example, given that, you know,
90 of your review levers willbe leaving a negative review.
If you can take that with agrain of salt and learn from it,
I think it could be a very,very positive tool if used appropriately
(24:00):
and at the right place.
Obviously, you know, some,some small businesses are not going
to be review accommodating orwhatever it is.
You know, you have mass, massclients or customers coming in, getting
one time small transactions,buying potato chips or what have
(24:22):
you.
That's not the kind ofprobably environment that's going
to be that tool conducive.
But if you have ongoingrelationships that are very material
to your business, the feedbackcan be absolutely beneficial.
Like if you have a clubprogram or something like that, they're
(24:43):
your target for surveys.
I think two surveys.
There are so many.
Now.
Anytime you buy anything,anytime you sneeze anywhere, somebody
wants you to do a survey.
And I think, I know I don't doas many as I used to because I get
so many.
It's like I don't, I justdon't care to do it right.
I think they've kind of lost alittle bit of their effectiveness
(25:04):
because of the quantity youreceive now.
Survey paralysis.
Yeah, just like information paralysis.
We.
It's true.
I mean, it is true.
So any final piece of advice,one piece of advice that you could
give a retailer, trying tomotivate a team, trying to develop
that loyalty and that sense ofownership, what would you say to
(25:25):
them?
What do you want to leave them with?
Well, I think that you needto, you need to market your, your
business, you need to create avoice for your business.
So, so for example,volunteering, paid time off, it's
not, it's not as attractive,you know, when you say it.
But if you position yourbusiness to go to the community and
(25:50):
approach nonprofits and say,hey, we want to be, we want to be
active and we have a fewemployees that we're going to dedicate
their time that allows you tomarket your business free of charge
and doing this face to facewith much more impact as opposed
to if you are putting it onyour business, on LinkedIn or something
(26:10):
that's so less.
Personal, that could be doneeasily in the horse world with therapeutic
riding organizations.
Every community has them, youknow, also rescues, horse rescues,
things like that too.
And it ties directly into yourbusiness and, and they then obviously
feel some loyalty to you andthey also buy their stuff from you.
(26:31):
So it's Kind of a.
Absolutely kind of a win winthat way.
You know, there's so much to,to unpack here.
But employees are the hardestthing we do and the most beneficial
thing we do.
At the same time, you know,it's, it's hard to create that environment
and also, you know, to dealwith what we have to deal with with
(26:53):
employees today.
It's not all sunshine and roses.
Right.
But you get the good ones andthey make it easy.
So.
But it's the app.
I always said it always comesdown to the manager.
It comes down to you as themanager, what the atmosphere is going
to be in your store.
That's it's going to.
And we've all been inrestaurants that have, even fast
food places have terrific managers.
(27:13):
And you walk away saying,those employees all seem very happy
and I was glad to be there.
Or you walk into the ones thatare not.
Right and you can tell thatthe manager's in the back, he's yelling
and screaming or whatever.
It does come back to ussetting that atmosphere and creating
that workplace that peoplewant to work at.
(27:33):
Yes.
I think, Glenn, if I can.
What you just said made methink about the.
What is it?
Emotional Quotient.
Eq, but Emotional quotient.
And there's a book whichsomething emotional quotient 2.0
or something like that, andI've read it and I have it on audiobook.
(27:58):
I would highly suggestmanagers and business owners look
into that becauseunderstanding your employees, making
that human connection, you'renot going to understand or have your
perks be valuable if you don'tknow what is or is not valuable to
(28:18):
your employees.
So it comes down to the humanelement getting to know them, letting
the employees get to know your business.
And with that you can isolatethe high performers and potentially
give them more freedom, moreflexibility and grow together.
(28:39):
I think that's a perfect placeto leave it today.
Thank you for joining us.
We really appreciate it.
There's no LinkedIn best placeto find you.
Absolutely.
Okay.
Yeah.
My name is unique enough whereyou can put in Ilya Ilienko and I'm
the only result.
Yeah, you were the only one.
You're rare in that space,that's for sure.
(29:03):
Well, you know, Ilya is aderivative of Elijah just in Eastern
Europe.
So to your listeners, thankyou for listening from Elijah.
Oh, very good.
Well, thank you all for beinghere on Wes's retail roundup.
To watch retail roundups,check out the WESA trade show YouTube
channel.
You also find the episodes onWisdom by Wes, a podcast feedback.
(29:23):
And on the WESAwebsite@wesatradeshow.com Retail
roundups are published every week.
I did want to make a note too.
I haven't even told Sophiathis yet, but Jennifer and I both
will be going to WESA in August.
We're only we're less than twomonths away now for the next trade
show in August in Dallas.
So we're going to look forwardto meeting as many of you as we can
(29:44):
in Dallas and you can stay upto date with all of the information
and all of the helpful stuffthat we put out.
Retailroundup on Facebook.
You want to join that for sure.
And you can find Wisdom byWesa, the podcast for Wesa on any
podcast player, Spotify or anyone of the thousand other podcast
players.
Just search for Wisdom by Wesa.
(30:06):
They have a brand new hostthat started last episode, so you
want to check that out too.
My wife Jennifer is one ofthose who also was in retail for
a very long time in the horseworld, so she knows a little bit
about what she's talking aboutand a buyer.
So check out the new Wisdom by Wesa.
Last episode I think was thefirst one that they put out.
So check that out on yourpodcast player.
Ilya.
(30:26):
Have a great one.
Health and prosperity to your listeners.
Thank you very much.
Foreign.
You are listening to the HorseRadio Network, part of the Equine
Network family.
Well, hi everybody.
Glenn the Geek, back with you.
Founder of the Horse RadioNetwork and host of Horses in the
Morning, the daily podcast forthe last 15 years.
Welcome to WESA Retail Roundup.
The Retail Roundup is your goto virtual hub for all things retail.
(00:23):
Join panel discussions, learnfrom webinars, share your thoughts,
ask questions and connect withthe community.
We host a virtual event orshare educational content every Monday
via the Retail RoundupFacebook group.
If you're not a member yet,head over.
Just search for Retail Roundupon Facebook.
You'll find it there and youdefinitely want to join that.
Retailers know that hiring isonly half the battle.
(00:44):
Keeping great employeesengaged and motivated is what truly
drives success.
In today's session, we exploresmart, practical strategies for incentivizing
your team beyond just a paycheck.
Whether you run a boutique, atax store, or multi location shop,
you'll walk away with ideasyou can implement immediately.
And today we're joined byIlya, who's a financial expert who
(01:06):
uniquely blends corporateleadership with small business insight.
Ilya currently serves as CFOof a tech startup and advises clients
with wealth management.
Ilya's 20 plus years ofexperience spans Fortune 500 companies
and small businesses alike,making him a powerful voice for retailers
looking to build motivatedteams with limited resources.
Plus, he has a whole bunch ofother acronyms that are scrolling
(01:28):
down there.
Thank you, Elias.
Thanks for joining us.
Thank you very much for havingme, Glenn.
It's a pleasure.
So where are you located?
Where are you at in the world?
I am in warm and sunny South Carolina.
Oh, wow, okay.
Yeah.
Been to Florida, not too faraway from you.
And of course, how warm is it.
Going to be for you guys?
About 95 today.
So, you know, normal summer day.
(01:50):
Same as you probably.
Yeah, very similar.
And you're in horse country, alot of horses up in your area.
We have a lot of listeners upyour way.
So, yeah, most definitely.
I actually took some time andhad an engagement at one of the largest
Arabian horse farms on thisside of the United States.
Oh, wow.
Okay.
Yeah, it's right nearby, veryfew towns over.
(02:12):
Very cool.
Yes.
So fairly familiar with your landscape.
Our little world over here.
Yeah.
And you know how crazy we are then.
We're, we're addicted to whatwe do.
You know, we're passionateabout our hobby, that's for sure.
You're ambitious and driven.
Yes, exactly.
So why should retailers thinkbeyond the paycheck?
(02:32):
You know what, you know weobviously pay our employees, but
you know, you need to do alittle bit more to make a dedicated
employee.
So, you know, why should wethink beyond that?
Well, Glenn, your employeesare your boots on the ground.
So you can't track everythingthat happens in your business.
(02:55):
Your employees play afunction, they see what is happening
and they are the eyes andears, not just to the ground, but
they are your primarycommunication devices to your vendors,
to your customers and all ofthe other relationships.
So as the business grows, theemployees that have been at the business,
(03:20):
they start, they get to knowthe business, they understand its
inner workings.
And tenured employees canbring more of a benefit to the, you
know, to the business.
And as such, as such, we wantto not just hire and be able to hire
well, but we want to be ableto retain because as we retain talent,
(03:45):
that talent grows and can giveus back in terms of obviously business
strategy and furthering our business.
So it's very important.
What kind of 9 financialincentives can you do for employees?
Or let me rephrase that, whatkind of 9 financial incentives are
effective for employees in asmall business especially.
(04:06):
Sure, sure, I would say acategory of non financial, non monetary
benefits.
For example, cross training.
Cross training doesn't,doesn't just benefit the employee
by keeping them more engagedand allowing them to broaden their
(04:28):
skills, but it also allowsyour business to benefit from those
employees cross training each other.
So in other words, oneemployee knows what the other one
is doing and should one ofthem fall out of the game, then the
other one knows theresponsibilities of the other.
(04:48):
It's also a great way to breakup the monotony.
For example, and thisparticularly applies to Gen Z and
the Millennials and theyounger generation.
Everything is so instant wherethose generations tend to favor a
little bit more action and alittle bit more movement and attention
(05:14):
on themselves.
So cross training providesthis attention and it also provides
the energy and the robustnessand the variety to the to work.
So cross training is one thatin my experience has worked exceptionally
well, not just for employees,but for the business itself as well.
For continuity.
(05:34):
If you want, I can provide afew more.
Yeah, sure.
Rotation and sharing schedules.
So for example, you know,businesses, as businesses get to
know their employees, they,they see that employees can be trusted.
You can, especially at asmaller business.
You can take the reins off alittle bit and provide freedom.
(05:56):
And employees like freedom.
You know, people who can be trusted.
They like when freedom isoffered to them.
So with freedom you can offersharing schedules and rotations.
So for example, you can tellYour small team, hey, figure out
what works best for you andshould you have a problem, you don't
(06:18):
need to involve me, but goahead and just communicate with your
colleagues and work it out.
That's freedom and it alsohelps continuity and it also lessens
the managerial burden.
From the business owner, Ithink, to.
The work life balance you'retalking about with, with younger
people today.
They're more in tune to thatand I admire them for that.
(06:41):
I wish that I had been our generation.
It was tender.
You just go to work and youwork all the time and you come home
and you know, whatever timeyou have left is what you have left.
And I think that's changed a lot.
And I like that it's changed a lot.
I think it's a betterexperience for everybody.
For family, for you, for theemployee, for everybody.
(07:02):
Yes, I, I agree, Glenn.
I remember the times when Iwould get on the subway in New York,
go to work, take my half anhour lunch, get back on the subway
and get back home now with zoom.
I mean look at us now doing,doing this from one state and another
state.
Freedom and flexibility isdefinitely, is definitely a plus.
(07:26):
And with that being said,actually flexibility, flexibility
in terms of your business needs.
This is a great intro into mynext one that I was going to say
flexibility into your businessneeds and scheduling.
So for example, you're talkingabout freedom.
If the business owner noticesthat you have down times or for example
(07:50):
in the summer, some of yourdays are not as busy, you can offer
flexibility in terms ofscheduling and work attendance as
you see fit.
And that also may play a rolein, you know, tele attendance if
you say, you know.
So anything else that comes tomind, other incentives?
(08:12):
Sure, yeah, absolutely.
I think for the, for anappropriate type of business and
especially the industries inequine, bringing your kids and allowing
employees to bring animals,their pets to work is a huge, can
be a huge plus because itdoesn't only integrate the employee
(08:36):
as an employee, but itintegrates that employee from the
human perspective.
It lets the employee and theirfamily, their four legged ones get
to know the business as welland feel more comfortable.
I think that type of thing,non monetary is one of the best.
It's funny you mentioned that.
(08:58):
I consulted for a very, verylarge retailer in our world and they
allowed their employees tobring dogs in.
And it was a cubicle farm, youknow, and it was low cubicles and
I had a Boston terrier thatwould stare at me all day long from
the next cubicle.
He'd stand up on the Top ofthe cubicle, and he'd stare at me
all day long.
I had that Boston terrier.
I could still picture himstaring at me all day.
(09:19):
But that was.
It was a wonderful perk forthat particular business because
they did let their dogs comein and, you know, they had to be
behaved and all that stuff.
But it worked out well therebecause, you know, we're in a.
We're in an animal business.
I mean, that's what we do.
Yeah.
Yes, absolutely.
For lots of businesses, thesethings work.
(09:39):
For some other ones they don't.
And for example, I have ananimal, that one, and he's pretty
quiet, so I could bring him to work.
It's just the size is a little bit.
What do you have?
What do you have there?
This is a Doberman.
Oh, you have a Doberman there?
Okay.
Yeah.
His name is Aries, just likemy mom is an Aries.
There you go.
(10:01):
There you go.
So have you worked with a lotof different businesses?
Is there perks that you canoffer that work?
Well, for a small businessthat doesn't necessarily break the
bank?
Yes, Glenn, I think one of thebest, and this directly applies to
(10:24):
a lot of your listeners, oneof the best perks I saw was when
I worked for PalmettoArabians, which is one of the largest
Arabian horse farms on thisside of the United States.
And being that it was arelatively large horse farm and a
vet come in fairly frequentlyto the property.
(10:47):
And because the horse farm andthe small business that's attached
to it were providing the vetso much business, then they had a
relationship and agreementthat any one of their employees can
bring their pets to use thevet for free, assuming that it's
(11:07):
obviously not for leg breaksor things like that, but for your
regular ongoing animal routine management.
And that was fantastic.
You don't only get to bringyour animal to work, but you can
also have your animal serviced.
Yeah, vaccines, all thatstuff, checkups, you know, that kind
of stuff all adds up,especially today when, you know,
(11:27):
a small animal vet calls.
$300 to show up.
Absolutely.
The other big one in retail inour world, and it's.
It's become a joke, actually,is discounts.
So if you work for a tax shop,you get a discount on everything
you buy.
And the joke is that you'regoing to spend more than you make
anyway, so the retailer isreally better off because we all
(11:48):
do spend a lot of money whenwe get discounts at the.
The places we work.
But.
But it means a lot.
I mean, it means a lot becauseyou're going to buy the stuff anyway.
And now I'm getting a discountbecause I work there.
Well, not, not only that, butthat's a, that's a great, that's
a great one that, that I didnot think about.
And thank you for mentioningthat, Glenn.
(12:10):
When I was doing publicaccounting, we had a division specifically
focusing on small business.
And one of the things that weencourage small businesses to do
is to explore their community.
So in other words, you know,you may have a corner gym, you may
have a gym on the corner ofthe block.
(12:32):
And although your smallbusiness may not be large enough
to get a corporate discount,you can speak to the gym and say,
hey, can we get a family discount?
And that has worked not justacross gyms or other health facilities,
but also, you know, yourregular grocery store.
If you say we are a member ofthis community, can we get a, you
(12:56):
know, a 10 discount?
For example, groceries that myemployees shop here, if they just
mentioned that, you know,we're your business neighbor, or
a dollar off of a cup ofcoffee or lunch or things like that.
Go out, go out, advertise yourbusiness, say that you're a part
of the community and ask themif they can participate.
(13:18):
If you funnel, you know, someof the business to them, I think
it's a great win.
Win.
Yeah, I think that's a great idea.
I never thought about that,you know, doing that for local businesses.
How about recognition, youknow, employee of the month.
Do those kind of things work?
Yes, I think that, I thinkthat we as people, we all like attention.
(13:40):
And, you know, particularlythe younger generation, everything
is instant, instantaneous.
It's at your fingertips.
So I think the need forattention is great and the need for
us to be accepted.
So acknowledginganniversaries, you know, work anniversaries,
(14:03):
acknowledging that youremployee had a fantastic something
happen in their life.
And likewise, you know, maybesomeone passes away or there's a,
you know, there's a bad thingthat happens.
Giving them time off, takingthem to lunch, all those things,
they give attention and showgratitude to employees.
(14:25):
And that's one of the biggestthings that small businesses can
do.
They can't quite compete withthe big box stores, but where they
can't compete monetarily orfor example, on your benefits, they
can go ahead and compete on attention.
You're not a number in our, inour business, you will grow with
(14:47):
us and we will acknowledge youand what is happening, you know,
in your life, if that makes sense.
Yeah, no, I mean, birthdayswere always a big thing at a lot
of the companies I worked for,you know, they.
They have a cake or bring in,you know, something.
But again, it's just.
You're right, it's just, hey,you're being acknowledged that I'm
here and I'm valuable.
(15:07):
You know, I think that's.
That is the key.
And I don't care what age youare, you always want that.
You want to be told you'redoing a good job too.
As simple as.
You did great today with thatone customer that came in with the
boots, you know, for the boots.
You spent an hour trying bootson them and they ended up walking
away with a pair of boots, youknow, and, you know, just those little
(15:28):
things really do make a.
Because you did just spend anhour and you were probably frustrated,
right?
As an employee, you werefrustrated because it, you know,
it.
I've done that before instores and tried on boots for an
hour.
And the fact that they walkedaway with a pair of boots, you know,
acknowledging that isimportant too.
As important as the otherstuff, I think.
(15:49):
Absolutely.
Yeah.
But Glenn, that takes.
That goes back to one of thepoints I think I was saying, or was
going to say, which is beingtuned into your employees, especially
tuned into those employees whoappear to be tuned into your business.
So it's a, you know, give,give relationship.
(16:11):
You understand what your.
What matters to your employees.
So, for example, taking thegym, you see that most of your employees
are very health conscious.
Health conscious.
And I've had a.
I've had this at one of mysmaller clients where instead of
a regular lunch, they wouldexpand it to an hour and a half if
(16:32):
you were visiting the healthfacility next door.
Oh, I see.
Okay.
So that's what, that's whatmatters to them.
That's what you give to them.
But at the same time, youknow, though, you notice that those
are.
Employees have your business'sbest interests at heart as well.
(16:54):
So are there things, otherthings they can do to compete with
the.
The big box stores orwhatever, with the full benefit packages
and, you know, the whole thing.
Are there other things thatthey can throw in that you've seen
work and are effective?
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, I think small businessesare, like I said, in a unique opportunity
(17:15):
where they don't have to gothrough these rigid policies and
procedures and have levelsupon levels of approvals if they
want to institute something.
Small businesses are much morenimble and quick to act.
So if you want to, forexample, try out an overstock policy,
(17:38):
say the small business, andI've had this happen.
A small business ordersInventory perishables, what have
you on an ongoing basis.
So some of that inventory oroverstock, if it cannot be returned,
they share with the employees.
So there's a gourmet grocerybusiness, which is.
(18:00):
Was a client of mine, and theywould get eggs, milk and things like
that for, you know, cooking.
And as new items come in, theywould give the other obviously not
expired items to their employees.
And given the prices of eggs.
Yeah, today.
Yeah, that's better than a paycheck.
(18:21):
Yeah, in a lot of cases, yes.
But flexibility, I thinkflexibility is a huge one.
Attention, being able to moveand react.
You try the overstock, and ifthat doesn't work, you can try having
your employee bring their dogor cat in.
(18:43):
If that doesn't work, switchto something else and keep track.
Big box stores will never beable to compete with that kind of
thing.
All they can do is throw money.
One of the things, too, thatI'm thinking about is responsibility.
What I mean by that is if youremployee has a good idea for something
that, that, you know,whatever, a special promotion or
program, giving them theresponsibility to take that and run
(19:06):
with it inevitably gives thempride in what they've done and makes
them feel like they're part ofthe team that's making this thing
grow and work.
So, you know, I always thoughtin the employees I've had, I've always,
you know, if they, if theyhave time and they have the wherewithal
to take that responsibilityand run with it, they learn a lot.
(19:28):
You see growth.
Hopefully it works.
If it doesn't work, that'sfine too.
You know, we all try thingsthat don't work, but giving them
the responsibility helps themgrow into future positions, too.
And also, you're testing them, right?
You're testing them for whatthey can handle and what they can
do.
And you might find a.
A new area or an area that.
A vertical that you could putthem in that you weren't thinking
(19:49):
about for that particularemployee because you found something
that they were really good at.
So responsive.
Don't be afraid to give them responsibilities.
What I'm saying.
I agree.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
What can we.
What can we.
What can we add to this?
You can provide autonomy.
You know, you see someone hasa sharp, bright mind, you know, be
(20:10):
forthcoming.
Express to them that you wantto hear their opinions.
They see.
They may see more customersthan you do, so they may have other
ideas that will be beneficialto the business.
Big box stores are not goingto be able to do that.
But you can leave your commentbox open all the Time for employees
and to what you're saying,expand the set of responsibilities.
(20:35):
It gets employees, it getsyour business to be sticky.
So they are growing with yourbusiness just like to what you were
saying.
And they feel like they are apart of this business.
So that's.
It makes it sticky and itmakes it harder for.
It makes it less likely foremployees to leave because they're
(20:56):
now part of this family.
Yeah, they feel like somesense of ownership there, right?
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah, I totally agree with that.
We talk about ROI all the timein relation to everything.
I think some of this, youknow, and you being a cfo, this is
something you deal with allthe time.
But I think there's some ofthis you're doing for your employees
that you can't track ROI on itand maybe shouldn't track.
(21:21):
It's not ROI able.
It's more creating thatlifelong employee, which I guess
is ROI when you think about itover a long period of time.
Right, sure.
Am I looking at it wrong?
I don't think so.
I think ROIs can be whatever.
Well, I mean, they.
Probably not.
I don't want to put my foot inmy mouth, but ROIs, you can calculate
(21:44):
ROIs in a number of ways.
You know, it could be in yourhead and that's the way that you're
keeping track of ROIs.
Or you could be looking,looking at absences, absenteeism
over time.
Or you could be looking andseeing Google reviews and how Google
reviews mention some of youremployees, maybe one or two particular
(22:05):
employees, you know, or maybeit's feedback from customers directly
that, wow, this employee ofyours went above and beyond.
So that's a way to track them.
And obviously ROIs are trackedup and down in your huge corporations.
We don't necessarily need toget into that kind of paradigm, but
(22:29):
we can keep track of employeeperformance just by utilizing the
basic metrics that make senseto us.
Is the customer happy?
Is the business moving?
Is the inventory all there isthe employee.
Are the employees performingtheir duties well, basically.
Right.
(22:49):
So, and this is something wehave never talked about on this show
is surveys.
Do you recommend surveys evenfor small businesses?
And that ties back because oneof the questions obviously can involve
employees, but do you.
How do you feel about surveys,customer surveys, customer surveys?
Well, we've had business, inmy experience, we've had businesses
(23:13):
use customer surveys, vendorsurveys, all sorts of surveys.
As unfortunately, as we'veprobably all seen on Amazon, people
that leave reviews typically.
Are the negative people.
Yes.
So they want to, they want toair out their displeasures.
(23:36):
So if you can filter orsomehow get around that and take
all of the negative reviews,for example, given that, you know,
90 of your review levers willbe leaving a negative review.
If you can take that with agrain of salt and learn from it,
I think it could be a very,very positive tool if used appropriately
(24:00):
and at the right place.
Obviously, you know, some,some small businesses are not going
to be review accommodating orwhatever it is.
You know, you have mass, massclients or customers coming in, getting
one time small transactions,buying potato chips or what have
(24:22):
you.
That's not the kind ofprobably environment that's going
to be that tool conducive.
But if you have ongoingrelationships that are very material
to your business, the feedbackcan be absolutely beneficial.
Like if you have a clubprogram or something like that, they're
(24:43):
your target for surveys.
I think two surveys.
There are so many.
Now.
Anytime you buy anything,anytime you sneeze anywhere, somebody
wants you to do a survey.
And I think, I know I don't doas many as I used to because I get
so many.
It's like I don't, I justdon't care to do it right.
I think they've kind of lost alittle bit of their effectiveness
(25:04):
because of the quantity youreceive now.
Survey paralysis.
Yeah, just like information paralysis.
We.
It's true.
I mean, it is true.
So any final piece of advice,one piece of advice that you could
give a retailer, trying tomotivate a team, trying to develop
that loyalty and that sense ofownership, what would you say to
(25:25):
them?
What do you want to leave them with?
Well, I think that you needto, you need to market your, your
business, you need to create avoice for your business.
So, so for example,volunteering, paid time off, it's
not, it's not as attractive,you know, when you say it.
But if you position yourbusiness to go to the community and
(25:50):
approach nonprofits and say,hey, we want to be, we want to be
active and we have a fewemployees that we're going to dedicate
their time that allows you tomarket your business free of charge
and doing this face to facewith much more impact as opposed
to if you are putting it onyour business, on LinkedIn or something
(26:10):
that's so less.
Personal, that could be doneeasily in the horse world with therapeutic
riding organizations.
Every community has them, youknow, also rescues, horse rescues,
things like that too.
And it ties directly into yourbusiness and, and they then obviously
feel some loyalty to you andthey also buy their stuff from you.
(26:31):
So it's Kind of a.
Absolutely kind of a win winthat way.
You know, there's so much to,to unpack here.
But employees are the hardestthing we do and the most beneficial
thing we do.
At the same time, you know,it's, it's hard to create that environment
and also, you know, to dealwith what we have to deal with with
(26:53):
employees today.
It's not all sunshine and roses.
Right.
But you get the good ones andthey make it easy.
So.
But it's the app.
I always said it always comesdown to the manager.
It comes down to you as themanager, what the atmosphere is going
to be in your store.
That's it's going to.
And we've all been inrestaurants that have, even fast
food places have terrific managers.
(27:13):
And you walk away saying,those employees all seem very happy
and I was glad to be there.
Or you walk into the ones thatare not.
Right and you can tell thatthe manager's in the back, he's yelling
and screaming or whatever.
It does come back to ussetting that atmosphere and creating
that workplace that peoplewant to work at.
(27:33):
Yes.
I think, Glenn, if I can.
What you just said made methink about the.
What is it?
Emotional Quotient.
Eq, but Emotional quotient.
And there's a book whichsomething emotional quotient 2.0
or something like that, andI've read it and I have it on audiobook.
(27:58):
I would highly suggestmanagers and business owners look
into that becauseunderstanding your employees, making
that human connection, you'renot going to understand or have your
perks be valuable if you don'tknow what is or is not valuable to
(28:18):
your employees.
So it comes down to the humanelement getting to know them, letting
the employees get to know your business.
And with that you can isolatethe high performers and potentially
give them more freedom, moreflexibility and grow together.
(28:39):
I think that's a perfect placeto leave it today.
Thank you for joining us.
We really appreciate it.
There's no LinkedIn best placeto find you.
Absolutely.
Okay.
Yeah.
My name is unique enough whereyou can put in Ilya Ilienko and I'm
the only result.
Yeah, you were the only one.
You're rare in that space,that's for sure.
(29:03):
Well, you know, Ilya is aderivative of Elijah just in Eastern
Europe.
So to your listeners, thankyou for listening from Elijah.
Oh, very good.
Well, thank you all for beinghere on Wes's retail roundup.
To watch retail roundups,check out the WESA trade show YouTube
channel.
You also find the episodes onWisdom by Wes, a podcast feedback.
(29:23):
And on the WESAwebsite@wesatradeshow.com Retail
roundups are published every week.
I did want to make a note too.
I haven't even told Sophiathis yet, but Jennifer and I both
will be going to WESA in August.
We're only we're less than twomonths away now for the next trade
show in August in Dallas.
So we're going to look forwardto meeting as many of you as we can
(29:44):
in Dallas and you can stay upto date with all of the information
and all of the helpful stuffthat we put out.
Retailroundup on Facebook.
You want to join that for sure.
And you can find Wisdom byWesa, the podcast for Wesa on any
podcast player, Spotify or anyone of the thousand other podcast
players.
Just search for Wisdom by Wesa.
(30:06):
They have a brand new hostthat started last episode, so you
want to check that out too.
My wife Jennifer is one ofthose who also was in retail for
a very long time in the horseworld, so she knows a little bit
about what she's talking aboutand a buyer.
So check out the new Wisdom by Wesa.
Last episode I think was thefirst one that they put out.
So check that out on yourpodcast player.
Ilya.
(30:26):
Have a great one.
Health and prosperity to your listeners.
Thank you very much.
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