Apparel Advisory Board Member Spotlight: Kevin Causey
Six questions answered by our featured Apparel Advisory Board Member of the Month, Kevin Causey.
#1 Briefly summarize your career path and your current position.
My first job out of college was with Blockbuster Video. I worked with them for over 11 years. During this time I was able to see the rise and fall of an industry leader as well as see an industry totally change from the time I joined it to what it is today. This was also my first experience in management, so I was able to learn and experience many things that have shaped who I am today. I did everything from starting as a shift manager to being promoted to a Store Manager and then a District Trainer and finally a District Manager for my final six years with the company. After the downturn of Blockbuster, I joined CVS where I started as a Store Manager and was then promoted to a District Training Store Manager. I learned a lot working for a company with a store count of almost 10,000 stores. Finally, I was recruited to join Dillard's in 2015 and have been with the company for over five years. I was able to get my foot in the door as an Assistant Store Manager at the Mall of Georgia location. I was able to learn the business for a couple of years before moving to one of our flagship stores at St John's Town Center in Jacksonville, Florida. I worked there for 15 months before being promoted to my own store here in Auburn, Alabama. During my 20+ years in retail management, I have been lucky to work for a diverse group of companies in different sectors of the retail market.
#2 What are the “primary” responsibilities of your current position?
As a Store Manager with Dillard's I am responsible for everything that happens in my building. The goal of any store (and company) is to grow sales while increasing profitability. At its core, my biggest job responsibility at Dillard's is something that I learned long ago at Blockbuster. I must put the right people in the right place at the right time. Staffing is the single most important part of my job. As the Store Manager it's my job to recruit and develop my staff to complete the objectives that we have in store and to uphold the standards of the company as well as provide growth opportunities to those on my staff. It's also my job to communicate and guide my team in the direction of our company's strategic vision.
#3 What are the major challenges of your current position?
Staffing is always the most important and most challenging. Finding great people is so important to our business. But, it's just as important to find the right people. By that I mean people that are in tune with our company objectives and focuses. You can have the most talented team in the world but if they aren't on the same page or don't understand the company vision then it makes it very hard to work towards a common goal.
Hand in hand with staffing is people management. Including our support departments, we have 12 different areas of our store. Within those areas we can have a lot of different people working in different positions. There is no "one size fits all" way to manage people. Everybody is different. As a manager, you must figure out what drives each person and what they need from you in order to be successful in their position and beyond.
#4 What competencies are necessary for success in your current position?
As a manager there are several competencies that are necessary for success. Here are just a few that I believe are critical to success in my current position:
Empathy. In our business you have a large number of people under your roof who are all experiencing different things at work and in their personal lives. They have different goals and needs. It's important to see things from their perspective in order to help them through difficulties and understand when they need support.
Adaptability. This is true in any business. You can't simply keep doing the same thing over and over. Trends change. Customer shopping patterns change. Customer needs change. The needs of your employees are always changing and evolving. You have to be willing to change.
Problem solving. Throughout the course of the day you have to make many decisions and it's important to be able to make those decisions quickly and confidently.
Honesty. I know it sounds simple, but I always try to be as up front with my team as possible even when the truth may be painful for the other person to hear. I also learned long ago to never promise something that I could not deliver.
Communication. It's not just what you say- it's how you say it.
Collaboration. With staffing being the most important aspect of this job, I want people working for me that are going to find new and exciting ways to do the things we do. When I hire people, I don't hire them to do the same job the same way that anybody can do. I hire them to put their spin on the job. Yes, there are things that they have to execute, but I want them to put their personality and expertise in their work.
#5 What advice would you offer a student interested in a career in this industry?
I have hired a number of students that were in school at Auburn or were recent graduates. The biggest advice I would offer is to be willing to give your all. The students/grads I have hired that were willing to throw themselves into the job and give 100% have been successful. The ones that weren't were not. Even if you have different aspirations, if you don't strive to be the best that you can be then won't get the most out of your experience and you (and your employer) will be worse off for it in the future.
I would also tell students/graduates to be willing to make mistakes. When I first got into management, I made a number of mistakes. Without those mistakes and learning from them, I would not be the person that I am today. It's OK to make mistakes. The important thing is to learn from each of them, don't repeat them in the future, and learn how to deal with things better the second, third, and fourth times they come around.
Be willing to try new things even if they are out of your comfort zone. This is where your true personal and professional growth happens. One thing I have seen from some students/graduates is that if they don't think they can do something perfectly then they are apprehensive about doing it and can shy away from the challenge. Growth comes from putting yourself in positions where you are trying new things.
Don't take your work home with you. I don't mean that physically, but I mean it mentally. Some days I leave work feeling great, other days I feel like I should have made different decisions. When you have a bad day at work, don't let it bleed into your personal life. You have to find a good work/life balance. It's OK to think about work when you are off, but don't let it consume you especially when you have a bad day. On the flip side, the same goes with your personal life. If you have a bad day at home, try to leave it at the door when you come to work. Your co-workers don't want to work with someone who is in a bad mood or is constantly complaining. You go a long way in creating the work environment that you exist in.
Finally, take ownership of your career. This starts at the interview process by making sure you understand the expectations that your potential employer has for you. How is success measured? What are the things that they expect from you on a daily, weekly, monthly basis? And on the flip side, it's important that they understand what your career goals are because your hiring manager and/or direct supervisor is the most important person in your career besides yourself. Once you are in a position, take ownership of your development. Make sure you have conversations with your supervisor on your career aspirations and on your training needs and be open and honest about things that you need help developing. Be eager and willing but also understand that for 99.9% of our success doesn't happen overnight.
#6 What current trends or issues have the greatest impact on this job/business?
2020 has been like nothing we could have anticipated. As a retailer, this has had a monster impact on our business and on the business of retail and fashion. Customer needs and wants have changed greatly during this time. There is a much bigger push towards casual instead of dressy. This has changed a lot of how we merchandise our sales floor, products we are bringing into the store, and future product buys.
Customers also want a bigger variety of options on how to shop. They may want to shop or buy online, pick up in store or curbside, work one-on-one with a stylist via phone/text/zoom, or they may even feel more comfortable booking an appointment to come in and shop outside of normal store hours. It's all about being adaptable to how the client wants to shop.
Another trend is that a lot of previously ailing companies have been put out of business by the pandemic. This opens up opportunity for some retailers but also puts the malls in an interesting position. Malls now have more retail spaces to fill than ever before. How they fill them will greatly impact future traffic flow and their ability to prosper.
Image contributed by Kevin Causey
