Posted by Caveo Learning ● August 3, 2016

Kohl's Instructional Designer Talks Retail Training Challenges

This is part of our ongoing series, Interviews with Learning Leaders.

kris_kern_stark.jpgKris Kern Stark, CPLP, has been in learning and development for 22 years, including roles in instructional design, facilitation, and management. She is now a senior instructional designer for Kohl’s Department Stores, based in Wisconsin. She identified her love for the learning profession in a training and development class while pursuing her bachelor’s degree in human resource management from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. She also holds a master's in learning and instructional technology from Arizona State University, and is a member of the Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter of ATD.

What are some specific training challenges in the retail industry?

Many industries say they move fast, but I have to tell you: retail moves fast! And we need to move faster in order to compete. People are able to get product out there quickly; we have to learn how to train quickly. We need to do our part in giving our associates the knowledge and skills they need to take care of our customers and do it efficiently. So "fast" comes up a lot, and that’s one thing we’re always talking about. The leadership has created a great framework to have an agile team.

Our training team trains everyone from the cashier to the C-suite. We do it all. For example, I am working on several different types of projects: redesigning our learning experiences on working through change, mentoring one of our summer interns, onboarding a new vendor for our negotiation curriculum, coordinating upcoming leadership training, and facilitating classes a few times a month here at our corporate pffices. We are busy people, but that is the best part—the variety!

What is the Kohl’s L&D team really doing right?

We’re good at asking the right questions during the needs assessments, and we have a strong process that we follow. Part of the process is that on most projects, we have a designer and a project manager. I can focus on the design, and my project manager focuses on the communication, the process, the planning, and the logistics of implementing the new learning experience, whether it’s to 20 people or 140,000.

We focus on having a strength-based culture. When we sit down as a team to assign roles, we talk about that every time. What do you want to work on this time? We work to our strengths, and so between our process, our experience, and a strength culture, we’re able to create innovative learning solutions. My leaders are great at recruiting; we hire very talented people. I’m humbled by the talent of the people I work with every day.

Are there trends you see in learning and performance that you love or that concern you?

Watch the On-Demand Webinar: Innovation in L&D: Building a Modern Learning Culture I love that more and more development is at the table. We are becoming a core part of the corporate culture. Development is a necessity no matter where you’re at. Even if you’re in a tough retail culture, development is what’s going to make your employees more successful, so you still need it. It used to be one of the first things that would go out the door. It’s not anymore—it’s really becoming a core part of a smart company. I love that.

I also love the innovation I’m seeing with different experiences and how we’re able to do so much more. I can build a whiteboard animation on my own in a few hours, instead of paying thousands of dollars and working many weeks with a vendor. Or, working with software that allows me to build things, whether mobile or on computer—that kind of innovation makes our job so much easier.

I try to stay current. There’s a lot of innovation out there, but yet there’s so many people who are choosing our field and consulting, but not really knowledgeable about our field, so the quality can suffer. We’re really asked to have such a variety of skills now that you have to be good at a lot of things to be a good designer. And to be a good facilitator, you can’t just stand up and talk to people; it takes a lot more than that. So it makes me concerned that people are jumping into our field without the right skills. 

How did you get started in the retail industry?

I went to a conference seminar led by one of the past managers here at Kohl’s. He showed some pretty innovative technology that they were using, and I thought, "That looks like a really cool place to work," and I always had that in the back of my mind. And I’d been in the legal field for seven years as a software trainer, and I thought, "If I stay here anymore, I’m going to be a software trainer for the rest of my career," and that was really never my vision. I was ready for a new challenge, and I answered the ad... and yep, I got the challenge I wanted.

What is the highlight of your career so far?

You know, this was a hard one. I think my career highlight was coming to Kohl’s. It’s exactly what I envisioned myself doing when I was getting my master’s, and I think even when I was getting my bachelor’s. And considering that nine years later I’m still in the same role, but I still love it, that says something. Before this, every three years or so, I’d get itchy and move.

Tell us about a training initiative that successfully improved a group’s performance.

I am responsible for negotiation content at Kohl’s, which means that I build the relationships with vendors or work with the facilitators to create valuable learning experiences. I make sure the content is strong. In 2011, we added an advanced experience. It’s been really awesome. Because of the learning and the coaching that happens with it, the participant has either made or saved Kohl’s hundreds of thousands of dollars. So that’s really cool. I love hearing those kinds of results. Part of the program that’s innovative for Kohl’s is that it’s a five-week program, so I divided a class into three face-to-face experiences, but between those three experiences, they meet with a leader in their organization twice to coach. The job of the facilitator is to teach the ideas and the theories and challenge their thinking, but really the leader—the coach they’ve been assigned to—it’s their job to apply what they’re learning in the classroom to Kohl’s and to their current negotiations and help them see things differently. That was new to Kohl’s; we had never really had a coaching experience like that before. I’m really excited it is going strong!

The other highlight was a few years ago… we do training for our "area supervisors," who oversee an area of the store. They are asked sometimes to walk around store with the district manager, and talk about their business. They’d never had any training on this, so we developed an experience for them. The course really got great feedback—it improved the experiences, confidence, and dialogue between the area supervisor and district manager.

What's the first thing you do in a new role?

I would listen. In college, I was a temp during the summers. I learned that when you come into a new role, you need to have your ears and eyes wide open. Listen with your ears and eyes, and you learn a ton.

Then I’d say network. On our team, we do a lot of meet-and-greets. It gets repetitive, but it really does pay off. You get to know who’s good at what, who’s passionate about what, and then you can leverage that when you’re building. People today need to be really good at a lot of things, but an expert in a couple things.

You have worked on respect and ethics projects. What’s the key to making those projects successful?

A good respect or ethics learning experience engages emotions in a person so that they’re moved by it. But it also needs to have takeaways that are practical. What can I do that is better or different—or continue to do—if I am a highly ethical person, just so I don’t forget? You can’t just say, "An ethical person is this and has these qualities." You need to say, "An ethical person does this or doesn’t do this."

What is your learning philosophy?

My DNA is learning, and I am always learning. I love watching my daughter grow and learn. I can’t wait to see what her strengths and her passions are. I love learning; it’s really who I am. Learning to play the piano was a bucket-list item for me, and I started taking lessons this past January. My daughter takes dance class, and the dance company offers piano lessons as well. I’m sitting in the lobby while she’s in her dance class, and I asked them, "Would it be possible for me to take lessons while she’s in here?" And immediately—they’re smart—they said yes. So I was the first adult piano student for them, and now they have a couple other adults that are taking music lessons. I recommend having an open mind and just keep learning.

Watch what makes people successful. One of the things that makes people successful is being strong communicators: they can quickly and easily articulate their message in ways that everybody can understand. The other quality that gets people far is the ability to build rapport and influence. If you’re a strong communicator and a strong person to influence others to change, you can go far. As a designer, I'm influencing people all the time. If you can’t do that, you’re not going to make it.

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Topics: Interviews with Learning Leaders