Operations

Josiah Gates is the vice president of retail innovation at Aubuchon Hardware, which has 110 stores located throughout the northeast. One of his favorite sayings is, “Great leaders develop great leaders.” This is largely out of respect for the key …

Tyler Russom is a district manager with Buchheit Enterprises, which has eight large-format farm stores/home centers located in southeastern Missouri and western Illinois. He cut his leadership teeth working for Lowe’s, going through its management/leadership training rigors. After leaving Lowe’s …

Jim Rivas is the director of store operations at Friedman’s Home Improvement, which has four large-format home centers and is based in Santa Rosa, California. Rivas has worked in retail management nearly his entire career. When he was in his …

Christian Herrick is the chief executive officer of Randy’s Do It Best Hardware, which has two stores based in Timberville, Virginia. Herrick’s leadership journey has covered a lot of territory, taking him from missionary work in Alaska to a service …

Want another way to find job candidates or know more about current applicants? Search for them online. According to a recent report by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), more than one-third (36 percent) of organizations disqualified a job …

The challenges of finding and keeping excellent employees are obstacles to running a business smoothly. As an owner, you can choose inventory, set prices, plan promotions and organize events, but you can’t make employees show up to work or force them to provide excellent customer …

An independent home improvement store’s success is dependent on its employees, who can differentiate a local business from the big boxes with the excellent customer service they provide. However, customer service is an increasing focus for the big boxes, and …