BI-LO Partners With Kronos to Hire Customer-Friendly Workforce

Download Printable Version

When Frank Outlaw, a Winn-Dixie executive, purchased a small chain of food stores in 1964, he had a firm vision: Create a chain of supermarkets where customers could purchase national brands for less. That vision became BI-LO, a chain that includes more than 207 supermarkets in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. The company’s philosophy of “low prices, high quality, and excellent service” has been the cornerstone of BI-LO’s success since its inception.

Delivering excellent customer service is critical to being a successful supermarket chain. As part of BI-LO’s ongoing commitment to providing top service, the company partnered with Kronos^® to develop and validate a pre-employment assessment, the Kronos Grocery Service Orientation Assessment (GSOA). This tool is designed to identify key job behaviors required for frontline customer service positions, as well as individual characteristics that drive successful job performance.

“Our interest in participating in the Kronos customer service project is related to our objective of improving the customer’s experience while shopping at our locations,” says David Gill, BI-LO Compensation/HRIS manager.

Predictor of success: Grocery Service Orientation Assessment

The Grocery Service Orientation Assessment — developed by Kronos scientists to predict customer service performance in a grocery store environment — is one of many next-generation assessments in the Workforce Talent Acquisition suite of assessments.

This assessment identifies eight factors that define effective customer service: helping customers, communicating and influencing, building customer relationships, demonstrating effective collaboration, meeting customer expectations, managing work tasks, demonstrating self-control, and fulfilling work requirements. The GSOA measures these factors and other individual characteristics — such as friendliness, stress tolerance, agreeableness, self-discipline, altruism, and compliance — based on an applicant’s responses to questions related to self-descriptions, work styles, work preferences, and reactions to job situations.

Local validation is a scientific and legal best practice when using selection assessments. To validate the Grocery Service Orientation Assessment at BI-LO, approximately 500 employees — cashiers, courtesy clerks, customer service clerks, and department clerks — participated in the study. Participants answered questions posed in the GSOA, and their managers separately rated participants’ customer service performance.

Comparative results corroborate assessment accuracy

To evaluate the effectiveness of the GSOA, Kronos scientists examined the relationship between the assessment scores of employees and their managers’ evaluations. “The study found a relationship between assessment scores of BI-LO employees and the customer service performance ratings of their managers,” explains Gill. “The results showed that employees with higher scores were more likely to provide effective customer service.” 

Employees participating in the BI-LO study were then categorized as effective (green), moderately effective (yellow), or ineffective (red) customer service providers based on their managers’ ratings. Kronos researchers examined the assessment scores of employees in each group and found a strong correlation between the assessment scores and how managers rated employees in each group as customer service providers. Employees rated by their managers as effective customer service providers (green) had statistically higher customer service performance scores than those in the yellow group, who had higher scores than those in the red group.

Reducing number of ‘bad hires’

In addition to examining these linear relationships, Kronos researchers also evaluated the business impact of using the GSOA at BI-LO. During the performance-rating process, supervisors were asked if they would hire the employee again. The majority of employees identified by supervisors as poor hiring decisions fell into the red or ineffective customer service group in the GSOA study. Employees who scored “red” on the assessment were five times more likely to be considered nonhires by their supervisors, underscoring the assessment’s ability to predict which applicants will become “bad hires.”

“Based on this information, we expect to see increased levels of customer service performance by hiring applicants who score in the green group, which should help us save both direct and indirect costs associated with hiring ineffective performers,” notes Gill.

Positive applicant and manager reactions

Research indicates that applicant reactions to assessments are important, as positive reactions can lead to more positive perceptions of the application process, increased likelihood of job offer acceptance, and more favorable attitudes about the organization. For supermarkets, whose applicants are often customers, the fair treatment and engaging experience of applicants is important to maintaining the organization’s brand.

During the BI-LO study, Kronos scientists asked participants if the assessment content seemed job-related, if the questions were easy to understand, and if the online survey process was user-friendly. Results showed overwhelmingly positive reactions to the assessment experience. Participants said the content seemed related to customer service-oriented roles, the “correct” answer was not obvious, participants could not appear more qualified than they were, and the assessment was clear and easy to complete.

“The Store Operations Leadership group supports the tougher scoring component to better assist hiring managers in identifying applicants who are likely to be better-suited to naturally create positive customer experiences,” offers Gill. “The changes in the assessment are addressing prior concerns about applicants easily identifying the desired answers.”

Coupling applicant assessment with acquisition solution

Based on the success of the local validation study, BI-LO is implementing the Grocery Service Orientation Assessment into their Kronos Workforce Talent Acquisition solution as an enhanced assessment tool when hiring customer service associates. Using the validation data, Kronos researchers have worked with the supermarket chain to optimize GSOA scoring to be calibrated specifically for the BI-LO customer service environment.

“Using the Kronos validation study to accurately identify and hire applicants who are more likely to deliver positive customer service in our supermarkets provides a competitive advantage,” says Gill. “And reducing the likelihood of making a ‘bad hire’ provides an additional return on our investment in our hiring technology that can contribute to improved retention and overall job performance of our associates.”

BI-LO Profile

“Using the Kronos validation study to accurately identify and hire applicants who are more likely to deliver positive customer service in our supermarkets provides a competitive advantage.” — David Gill, Compensation/HRIS Manager

Employees: 15,500

Industry: Grocery

Products: Workforce Talent Acquisition™

PROJECT BENEFITS

• Applicant-friendly assessment process that supports supermarket’s brand

• Grocery service orientation assessment customized to the organization’s specific needs

• Accurate identification of effective grocery customer service providers

• Reduction in hiring of applicants poorly suited for customer service

Kronos Incorporated 297 Billerica Road Chelmsford, MA 01824 +1 800 225 1561 +1 978 250 9800 www.kronos.com

More information about Kronos customer success stories may be found at www.kronos.com/resources .

©2010, Kronos Incorporated. Kronos and the Kronos logo are registered trademarks, and Workforce Talent Acquisition is a trademark of Kronos Incorporated or a related company. All other product and company names mentioned are used for identification purposes only and may be the trademarks of their respective owners. All specifications are subject to change. All rights reserved.
229096-112808