Professional Experiences and Experienced Professionals
How can Drake understand your business problems if we don't understand the business you are in?

Optimizing Performance through Partnership and People
The Drake Retail Practice consists of industry experts who know retail and are able to develop solutions based on the unique needs of each client. We have built upon over 50+ years of people expertise to provide solutions for the retail world that incorporate best practices for workforce solutions, performance management, and web-enabled technologies. This expertise extends to delivering soft and hard skills on-line, in a computer-based format, or leader-led training. Our collaborative internet software allows us to further enhance performance by enabling visual real-time distance training, web seminars, e-mentoring, and e-commerce solutions.

Specialists in Retail
For nearly half a century, Fortune 500 Retailers have depended on Drake for the very best in Human Resource Performance Solutions.

To emphasize our expertise in the area of intensive Customer Service we have structured a Retail, Hospitality and Event Practice that concentrates solely on these industry segments.

The Drake Retail Practice is made up of a team of Industry Experienced Management Professionals. We are familiar with the issues that face you on a day to day basis and have experienced these issues first hand. Our aim is to partner with you to make your business more effective.

Using the best of the best - we customize a Drake team for your organization using specialists from our Retail Practice and specialists from our Product and Services teams to build a customized Productivity Solution for your business.

Discovery Process
The discovery process is the information-gathering phase of the client engagement process. This phase takes us into your organization, from senior management through to the "Front Line" Store Associates to gain insight and determine your business needs.

At Drake we have a successful history in Human Resource Productivity solutions. We concentrate on solving the business problems unique to your organization and we pride ourselves on understanding your business intimately in order to provide these solutions in an immediate, cost-effective manner.

Our Priorities:

• Understanding your unique culture and strategic direction
• Determining your key measurable objectives
• Setting and managing standards in Productivity, Service, and Performance
• Measuring your "Best In Class" performers for "Benchmarking"
• Increasing Sales Productivity and Customer Service
• Reducing Turnover through increased Associate Satisfaction
• Selecting people with the behaviors to "fit" your organization's culture
• Building cost effective Human Resource Performance solutions

Defining Performance
Successful Performance in the Retail and Hospitality Industry has been defined to us by our clients as:

• Customer Satisfaction
• Sales Associate Productivity
• Employee Satisfaction
• Return On Investment
• Customer & Associate Retention

Measuring Performance
Each one of these performance areas, while individually important, together are vital in ensuring total success at Retail. At Drake we ensure our understanding of how these measurables are defined by you within your unique organization.

Retail is ever changing. From new store openings to associate turnover, seasonal promotions that increase traffic, all of these elements greatly influence your Retail staffing requirements. The Drake Retail Practice is well prepared to respond to these immediate needs.

Using our unique Retail Assessment Processes Drake will also ensure that the candidates we provide are the right "fit" as well as skill set, for your organization. By measuring your own Top Performers, we are able to identify the skills, behaviors and knowledge competencies that define your own "Best In Class" Associates. This enables Drake to consistently recommend the best "fit" for your organization.

Human Resource Productivity Solutions
Information gathered in the discovery process will assist Drake in recommending Human Resource Productivity Solutions that can optimize performance at Retail. Our products and services have been tailored to meet the specific needs of the Retail sector. Including:

• Drake P3®: Predictive Performance Profile - State of the art technology in Personality & Behavior Assessment
• Picture Talk™ : One to One Web-Enabled Communication Tool
• Web@assessor ®: Customizable Assessment's
• Discover Ware ®: Interactive multi-media education for the New Retail frontier

People are Everything in Retail
Selecting and retaining top performers is critical to Retail. Your people are your "Front-Lines" to your customer. You need the best people representing your brand.

Recruiting, developing and maintaining the best talent in the Retail Industry will ensure your success in sales, customer service, and operational performance.

Using proprietary Drake technologies customized for the Retail Industry we can architect optimum resource strategies for you.

Harvesting Talent from the Marketplace
The Retail Practice specializes in recruiting people for permanent, temporary, and contract work in:

• Retail Executives and Managers - Head Office, District, Store
• Sales associates & Store Support Associates
• Buying & Merchandise Management
• Visual Merchandising & Display Associates
• Event / Special Promotion / Product Launch Associates
• Warehousing, Inventory and logistics Associates
• Call Center Management & Associates

Reduce Costs by using:

• Drake Retail to outsource your immediate Management & Associate requirements for "Just-In-Time" results.
• Drake's proprietary Recruitment and Selection techniques to streamline your hiring process and lower staff turnover
• Drake's Training & Development expertise - delivering Best-In-Class content on CD, over the Web or in the classroom.
• Drake's seamless E-Commerce Solutions - front-end set up, back end systems integration and contact center staffing.
• Drake's Collaborative Technologies designed to support corporate, store and customer applications.

Increased Revenues Through:

• "Just-In-Time" Drake's Flexible Staffing for cost-effective support for store openings and peak seasonal traffic periods.
• Drake's state-of-the-art proprietary recruitment and selection techniques to ensure you hire only top performers
• Drake Training - maximize each person's product & service knowledge base for service excellence
• E-Commerce Exploitation - Drake's proprietary technologies enable greater customer revenue per transaction

Achieve Strategic Initiatives Including-Outsourcing and e Commerce

• Drake focuses on what we do best - providing full-service solutions People, Process and Technology to meet your productivity needs
• So you can focus on what you do best - retaining and servicing your customer
• Whatever your project or strategic initiative - however large, however small, Drake can manage it.
• Using proprietary Drake technologies customized for the Retail Industry we can architect optimum resource strategies for you.

The National Retail Foundation
Drake International Retail Practice is a member of the worlds largest retail trade association, the National Retail Foundation (NRF). The mission of the NRF is to conduct programs and service in research, education, training, and information technology and government affairs to protect and advance the interests of the retail industry. NRF's membership includes the leading department, specialty, independent, discount and mass merchandise stores in the United States and 50 nations around the world. NRF represents more than 100 state, national and international trade organizations, which have members in most line of retailing.

For more information on the Drake Retail Practice, please contact: