News

Sears using kiosks to qualify new sales hires

June 19, 2003

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- Before job applicants at Sears, Roebuck and Co. even sit down for an interview, they must answer questions at an electronic kiosk situated in the stores.

According to an article in the Chicago Sun-Times, the company's human resources experts structured the "logic tree" that governs the flow of questions. Alan Lacy, Sears chief executive officer, said if the applicants fail to answer a certain number of questions correctly, the software boots them off with a polite farewell.

If they answer correctly, they receive more questions. If they do well, they are invited to interview with a real person, the article said. See related story, "Kiosks take HR to 'hire' level." 

The process is part of Sears' emphasis on hiring people who are willing to follow a uniform set of selling practices, Lacy said.

Sears is using Web-based training tools to teach its sales associates how to improve their dealings with shoppers, according to the article.

"We had people who tended to freelance" in how they dealt with customers, Lacy said.

Now that Sears has remodeled its stores to make them easier to shop by introducing shopping carts, central checkout areas and more self-service displays, it is fine-tuning its efforts to better compete against discount rivals ranging from Kohl's to Home Depot, the article said.

Lacy outlined some of the changes in the meeting with the newspaper's editorial board, and Chief Financial Officer Glenn Richter gave further details during an appearance at a Wall Street analysts' meeting in New York.

Sears is flattening the range of commissions that people who sell appliances are paid. Sears is giving greater prominence on its sales floor to lower-priced appliances to fend off Lowe's and Home Depot. Appliances account for $6 billion of department stores' $23 billion in yearly sales, the article said.