Anita Raubeson
Sales Force Management
Tuesday & Thursday 9AM-10:15AM
Professor Sooder
Field Report
Nordstrom, Inc.
Nordstrom, Inc.
Overview
Nordstrom is a leading fashion specialty retailer. It was originally a shoe store and expanded
their inventory to include clothing, accessories, handbags, jewelry, cosmetics, and fragrances. There are
231 stores nationwide. The first store opened near Seattle in 1901 and was originally called Wallin and
Nordstrom. Nordstrom is now considered a fortune 500 company and was listed at No. 72 in Fortune
Magazine's 100 best companies to work for in 2009. I love Nordstrom and consider it my favorite place
to shop for my retail needs. It is an amazing company and I wanted to do my field assignment on this
company, Nordstrom, because I believe in everything that this company stands for and want to learn
more about how they function internally.
Recruiting System
There are many different ways of obtaining employment at Nordstrom. There are internship
opportunities as well. Nordstrom is an equal employment opportunity company and seek individuals
with excellent communication skills and a need to serve others. They have a high standard for the
customer service they provide. Nordstrom mainly recruits through the application process. Most of the
positions they offer, you can apply online. Their online application will guide you through the process of
providing your information and completing any necessary pre-screening. If an individual is not able to
access the online application, they can contact the human resources office at the location they are
interested in. The beginning step of completing an online application is to create a profile at
Nordstrom.com. Once you create a profile at Nordstrom.com you can attach a resume, express your job
preferences and create alerts that will provide you with email notifications when jobs that meet your
interests are posted. You will receive an automated acknowledgment upon completing the online
process. The length of time to review all applicants depends on the position. Nordstrom will contact you
if you meet the qualifications of a position available. Most of Nordstrom’s available positions will be
posted online. Nordstrom does have a strong belief in promoting from within, so some positions may
not be posted online. There is lots of opportunity for growth within the company. Nordstrom also offers
part-time and seasonal employment opportunities, particularly for sales events such as the annual and
semi-annual sale, as well as holidays. Nordstrom does not only offer retail sales positions but also offers
a variety of positions at their headquarters in Seattle, Washington. These positions include marketing,
finance, accounting, information technologies, product design and development, and human resources.
As well, Nordstrom does encompass a college recruitment program. Each of Nordstrom’s locations is
responsible for identifying local colleges that support their hiring needs. They also provide an internship
program for college juniors and seniors. This specific internship opportunity is titled “Retail
Management Development Internship Program.” This particular internship program is a recruiting
technique method that entails giving college students the opportunity to learn more about the company
internally by working closely with managers while also earning a competitive wage and receiving an
employee merchandise discount. Upon successful completion of this internship program —the student
be offered an assistant manager or salesperson position, depending upon availability and their individual
preferences. This internship process works closely with Nordstrom’s strong belief of promoting from
within. An additional internship opportunity Nordstrom provides is an internship program titled the
“Seattle MBA Internship.” This internship opportunity is available to first-year MBA students. During this
internship you will be located in Seattle Washington where Nordstrom’s corporate campus is located.
This internship requires the individual to work on function-specific projects in areas such as strategy,
finance, ecommerce, consumer insights and loyalty, collaborate with your intern class on a crossfunctional capstone project of strategic priority to Nordstrom, interact with a variety of our business
units including Nordstrom Stores, Nordstrom.com and the Rack, participate in networking and
presentation events that provide executive team exposure, gain behind-the-scenes access to the retail
apparel industry through hands on experiences such as working in our stores, and build relationships
with peers and experienced Nordstrom employees through social and professional events. The final
internship program that Nordstrom offers is the “Seattle Headquarter Internship.” This internship is
very similar to the “Seattle MBA Internship.” This internship is once again located in Seattle,
Washington. During this internship the individual will gain exposure to many aspects of our business,
work on challenging projects with milestones, deliverables and deadlines take behind the scenes tours
of our Downtown Seattle flagship store and the Nordstrom Quality Center, work the first day of the
anniversary sale and build a first-hand understanding of the stores and our customer, and have the
opportunity to meet company leaders. This program is open to college students in their junior or senior
years that are enrolled in accredited institutions and appropriate degree programs, such as, fashion
merchandising, marketing, finance and information technology. Once again, Nordstrom strongly
believes in recruiting from within so even if an individual may not obtain the position that he/she wants
for the rest of their career at Nordstrom, they have plenty of opportunity to transfer and advance in the
company. Also, a Nordstrom employee could refer an individual to the company but this is a one-time
communication and there is no formal way of referring someone. This summarizes Nordstrom’s
recruiting methods.
Organizational Design
Nordstrom is a very large company and the organizational design of such a company is very
complex. The simplest organizational design of Nordstrom is demonstrated by an inverted pyramid. This
inverted pyramid exhibits Nordstrom’s goal. This goal states that their aim as a retail company is to
provide outstanding service every day, one customer at a time. The pyramid is shown below:
Exhibit 1
The customers are placed at the top as shown above. Next are the sales and support people
followed by the department managers. Then, the Nordstrom merchandising group, store managers,
regional managers. To end, the executive team and board of directors which support those above them
on the pyramid. This inverted pyramid displays that Nordstrom values those who work closest with their
customers. Nordstrom states, “We work hard to make decisions in the best interest of our customers
and those serving them.” Nordstrom’s organizational design also includes contractors, suppliers, etc.
Nordstrom also has an organizational design of Internal Management and Executives of the
company beginning with the CEO, Director and President, who is currently Blake Nordstrom and a
number of Directors. They are followed by the CFO, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President,
Michael Koppel and the Executive Vice Presidents of Marketing, Nordstrom Direct, Merchandising,
Product, Nordstrom Rack, Nordstrom Fsb and Credit, Administration, Legal and Secretary, Human
Resources, Stores, and finally Strategy and Development. CFO breaks down and works closely with
positions that include the Vice Presidents of IR & Treasurer, CIO and Finance. Merchandising breaks
down into the Vice Presidents and General Merchandise Managers of Merchandise Men’s Apparel,
Merchandise Women’s Apparel, Merchandise Shoe Division, Merchandise Women’s Accessories and
Specialized Division, Merchandise Group, Merchandise Cosmetics, and last Merchandise Nordstrom
Rack. Stores break down into territories which include The United States and Canada.
Note: An example of this organizational chart of Executives and Internal Management can be found at
http://www.theofficialboard.com/org-chart/nordstrom.
Training Program
Nordstrom trains all of their employees thoroughly. Nordstrom prides itself on hiring people to
become some of the most outstanding customer service personnel. Their employees are given tools that
enable them to accomplish their goal of exceptional customer service. Managers at Nordstrom are
trained on how to interview potential employees. They are trained in behavior interviewing techniques
that help the manager create interviewing experiences that allow the manager to see and understand
what an individual’s character and demeanor may encompass. Managers are taught to be servant
leaders, which translates to a great leader is first a great servant to those who depend on him/her. At
Nordstrom this is best seen by the ‘each one teach one’ method, which is an approach that insures that
employees are constantly supported in their professional growth and development at Nordstrom.
Mentoring within Nordstrom is a top priority. It is of such importance because Nordstrom
believes mentoring helps new hires in the difficult transition process of understanding Nordstrom’s
culture, allowing them to eventually become extremely successful employees. Continuous mentoring
and coaching are provided to support the employees in their professional growth and development.
There are structured programs available at Nordstrom that support professional development.
These programs are titled “Nordstrom future leaders” and “New Manager Development Program.”
These programs are said to allow the new employees to better understand their new roles through
examples and other lessons of mentoring that they would not receive through traditional training.
In a response to a question in Culture Audit, regarding training and development, Nordstrom
writes, “At Nordstrom, we are often asked what makes our company unique. Many people think we
have a rigorous training process or a special secret. There is no secret. Without a doubt, it is our people.
Nordstrom is a company made up of nice, competitive, hard-working people who like to have fun at
work. An ‘each one teach one’ philosophy is ingrained in the culture, and all the great leaders in the
company are amazing teachers. We believe our employees often learn more through the examples and
lessons of mentors than they do in formal training.”
Leading/ Directing Plan
Nordstrom is extremely proficient at leading and directing their employees. Nordstrom has
managed to create a vision, coach and motivate others while achieving the organization’s goals and
objectives. They have succeeded in this by first creating a culture at Nordstrom that is family oriented
and open. By saying that Nordstrom is family oriented, I mean that Nordstrom originally started as a
family business and though they are now a publicly traded company, Nordstrom still continues to
cherish their experiences, celebrate their accomplishments, and appreciate one another, just like a
family. Nordstrom is also open to opportunity, open to listening to ideas, open to helping one another,
and open to any idea that an employee may have. Nordstrom makes it an objective to make every
employee feel valued, welcome and cared for. Also, Nordstrom’s culture goes on to mention that
Nordstrom is a company where they encourage their employees to use good judgment, be empowered,
set high goals, have ownership of their career at Nordstrom, healthy competition is good, be honest, be
a good neighbor, be kind, and have fun.
There are many benefits to being an employee at Nordstrom. These benefits motivate their
employees to work harder and achieve great employment at Nordstrom. These benefits can also be
applied to an employee’s family as well. Some of these benefits include health benefits such as dental,
medical/vision, and wellness programs. Also, income protection is available such as long term disability,
life insurance, short term disability, and accidental death and dismemberment Insurance. Furthermore,
Retirement and savings are available, flexible spending accounts, and life/work benefits are also
available. Finally, time away is offered at Nordstrom which is important to many employees. This time
away allows employees to go on vacation and spend time with their families. This time away along with
the other benefits listed above is definitely an incentive for Nordstrom employees to achieve the
organization’s goals and objectives because by reaching these goals Nordstrom can offer such great
benefits which leaves their employees more satisfied with their career at Nordstrom.
Most Nordstrom employees are employed based on commission. This commission motivates
their employees to work harder in order to sell more, which means more money in the employees
pocket in the end. It is said that if you work hard, you will be rewarded. If you don’t make commission
for some unknown reason such as slow traffic etc. you will be compensated at ten dollars an hour
normally. As well as receiving commission, Nordstrom offers its employees a 20 percent discount off of
the merchandise Nordstrom offers. This is a great perk to working at Nordstrom if you are fashion
possessed. Understandably, if you are choosing to have a career at Nordstrom you have to be fashion
cultivated and by being a talented employee at Nordstrom an employee could save hundreds of
thousands of dollars by applying their discount to merchandise they purchase and would most likely
purchase if they weren’t a Nordstrom employee. For some employees this discount is what motivates
them to have a successful career at Nordstrom.
Nordstrom coaches their employees through many different methods. Some of these methods
include structured mentoring programs, as well as having an ‘each one teach one’ philosophy engrained
in the culture at Nordstrom. The employees at Nordstrom motivate and coach each other. As well,
different levels of management motivate and coach one another regarding diverse management
dimensions. There are many different tools available to Nordstrom employees, managers, etc. to better
their capabilities as a Nordstrom employee.
Controlling and Accountability Efforts
Nordstrom sets clear standards for the goals they are striving to reach to determine whether
they are progressing toward their goal or not. Nordstrom rewards their employees in many different
ways. The first way that Nordstrom rewards their employees is through their “Pacesetters” title which is
given to the top 10 percent of salespeople whose net sales meet or exceed an annual sales goal for their
department. Each year the bar is raised based on the previous year’s Pacesetter performance. These
“Pacesetters” are acknowledged in company recognition meetings, and they also receive a cash award,
Nordstrom stock, a higher merchandise discount for the year and special business cards recognizing
their achievement. The program is tiered, meaning the longer someone is a Pacesetter, the more award
benefits they can earn. Being a “Pacesetter” is a distinction that salespeople strive to achieve. They work
to build their business and come up with innovative ways to serve customers to earn the title.
Another way Nordstrom recognizes if they are meeting their goals is by rewarding “Driving Your
Business” awards. Nordstrom recognizes stores that are increasing in sales volume. There are regional
and national awards recognizing top performing stores, including individual recognition for store,
department, and assistant and support managers. Within each region, store managers provide
recognition to top performers on an ongoing basis for their efforts to drive business in a number of
areas that focus on increasing sales and building Personal Trade. At the end of the year, the top stores in
each region that achieved the highest increases across the areas of focus are recognized, totaling eight
regional winners. Cash awards are provided to department, assistant and support managers for the top
store in each region. The top store for the company is announced as the national champion, winning the
Driving Your Business (DYB) trophy and cash awards for the department, assistant and support
managers.
Next, Nordstrom recognizes their top performing employees which are reaching their personal
goals, store goals, and company goals by awarding them the “All-Star Award.” One sales All-star is
recognized each month and one support customer service All-Star is recognized each quarter in ever y
store at the recognition meeting. All-Stars are non-managers who are recognized for giving superior
customer service. Because the All-Star Award is a surprise, the respective department manager must
think of a creative reason to get the winner to attend the meeting. Families are contacted ahead of time
and invited to attend and celebrate this special award. Winners receive a higher merchandise discount
of 33 percent for a year, a cash award of $100, special business cards recognizing their achievement and
peer recognition. After the awards are given, photos of each All-Star are displayed in the customer
service department of their store for the next 12 months.
Last, is the John W. Nordstrom Award. Each year one individual is honored with the very top
recognition: The John W. Nordstrom Award. This honor goes to one manager who most exemplifies the
characteristics of founder John W. Nordstrom, including hard work, persistence, servant leadership,
loyalty, honesty, ethics, competitive spirit, and perhaps most importantly, an untiring commitment to
putting the customer first. This award recipient goes through the inevitable ups and downs of business
while consistently delivering great results over time. The Nordstrom family first gave out this award in
1961, and it is awarded to one manager each year who is not an officer. With the company having
grown to more than 50,000 employees, this is quite a special award.
Recommendations
As an experienced MAR 3403 District Manager, one of the sales functions that I would
recommend Nordstrom improve upon would be their Training Programs. I believe that Nordstrom has
room for improvement in the way they train their employees, managers, etc. Currently Nordstrom has a
method of training in place that consists of 2 structured programs. Other than that, Nordstrom relies
solely on an ‘each one teach one’ philosophy which means that each employee and individual supports
another employee through their professional development through a mentoring relationship. I have
confidence in this philosophy that Nordstrom has made part of their culture but I also have confidence
that Nordstrom would only grow further by implementing more structured programs that could train
their employees to sell their products more efficiently. I feel as though Nordstrom needs to implement a
program that will teach their employees a fundamental way of identifying the customer’s needs,
presenting them with the different options that are available to them and closing the sale. I know that
being a sales person is perfected with time and experience but I trust that if Nordstrom invested in a
program that could give their employees a “head start” they would be more successful and there would
be no wasted time or less wasted time on trying to teach these new employees how to sell through
attempt and failure.
I also feel as though Nordstrom needs to implement a program that trains there new employees
in being successful at communicating with the customer and providing excellent customer service. I
believe that an employee could benefit from being taught different little methods of making the
customer happy and what general practices are known throughout the company that they can offer
there customer to make them more satisfied with their experience and purchase at Nordstrom. This
program should include role playing and practicing amongst each other so that they can have an idea of
how the process of selling a product and providing excellent customer service go hand in hand before
attempting to try it out on a real customer where there is the chance that they may lose a sale not only
for them but for the company.
As well, I believe that Nordstrom should develop a class or training program that allows the
employee to familiarize themselves with the product that they are expected to sell. I believe that a sales
person could only benefit from actually knowing the product that he/she is selling and having
interaction with the product so that when they go to sell to the customer they have first-hand
experience of the specific product and truthfully communicate this information to their customer. I think
that the more you know about the product you are trying to sell the better you are able to communicate
with the customer as to why they should purchase a particular item. I also believe that by knowing how
a product operates, functions, works etc. you are able to give a superior, honest, and more truthful
testimonial of the product to the customer which I believe the customer can sense. Regardless, if I were
to be selling a product I would want to know what I was selling before recommending it to others.
Nordstrom has a great training process and program currently but I believe that there is
definitely room for improvement. Currently, Nordstrom provides training to its managers so they can be
successful in behavior interviewing techniques that help the manager create interviewing experiences
that allow the manager to see and understand what an individual’s character and demeanor may
encompass. I think that this is great! Nordstrom believes that they should hire individuals who are “nice
people.” I understand how this ideology is used and encompassed but I also believe that there is some
fault to this method. Though Nordstrom believes that the individuals they hire need to be “nice” I also
believe that they need to have a drive and skill for sales. Yes, it is true that Nordstrom is known for their
excellent customer service skills and many customers come back and pay the price that Nordstrom
demands because of this experience but I also believe that in order to be an excellent and top
performing sales person you have to be more than “nice.” You also have to have a drive and you’re your
own personal goals to succeed in an environment like Nordstrom. Most Nordstrom employees are paid
by commission which gives them an incentive to work hard for their sale but I think that during the
interview process, an individual can be assessed on whether they have a drive and perseverance to want
to sell because it is there passion as well as customer service. I feel as though the skill of determining
whether an individual has a passion to sell should be taught to the managers that are hiring as well as
being able to understand a person’s character and demeanor.
Nordstrom could also involve some sort of program that consists of when a new hire is
employed by Nordstrom, that new hire is assigned a buddy and a mentor which they can go to at any
time if they were to have questions. Currently Nordstrom has a strong belief in mentoring but I believe
that they should make this mentoring process more structured and have a allocated mentor for an
individual who is new to the company as well as an assigned buddy that could help if the mentor were
for some reason unavailable.
Overall, I believe that Nordstrom needs more structure to their training process. At this point
they have a belief that employees help one another and they also believe strongly in the mentorship
process but there seems to be no structure to either of these processes. I also believe that Nordstrom
needs to develop more programs that allow a new Nordstrom employee to familiarize themselves with
the product they are going to be selling, as well as receive more training on how to properly sell a
product to a customer while still providing excellent customer service.
Sales Manager Interviewed
The Sales manager I spoke with at Nordstrom, Mildred, was not helpful at all. She couldn’t or
wouldn’t answer any of the questions I had prepared for her. She informed me that she had been with
Nordstrom for two years but when I asked her about the culture of her company she could not answer.
What she did tell me is that Nordstrom does believe in promoting from within which is how she got her
management position and that she loved her job very much. She was very nice but I feel as though she
had no knowledge of her company. I found most, to all of my information from Nordstrom’s website and
other sources available on the internet.