If you’ve ever played the telephone game, you know how it ends.
The message starts clear. It travels. It mutates. And by the time it reaches the last person, it sounds nothing like the original.
For Helzberg, a fine jewelry retailer with 161 stores across 34 states, that’s exactly what store communication felt like.
As LeRae White, Corporate Communication & Event Specialist at Helzberg, put it:
“Do you remember the telephone game that we all played as kids? That’s what we were living day in and day out.”
As LeRae explained during her ZipTalk at NRF, the challenges were rooted in both tools and processes.
At NRF, LeRae walked through how Helzberg addressed those challenges by rethinking not just what they communicated, but how—shifting from top-down messaging to true two-way communication through Groups.
That changed when they decided to give every store a voice.
The Challenge: Fixing Problems After the Fact
Helzberg’s model was traditional and familiar to most retailers. “Traditionally, we’ve had a top-down communication structure where we create messages at HQ, and we send them out to the field,” LeRae explains.
When POS systems glitched, or something wasn’t programmed correctly, HQ often found out later—sometimes much later. “Stores were sharing challenges. We heard about them in post-event surveys, which were always after the fact.”
By then, the moment to support stores had passed. As LeRae puts it, “You can’t fix what you don’t know.”
Helzberg didn’t need more messaging. They needed real-time visibility.
The Shift: Hearing What’s Happening When It’s Happening
The turning point came when Helzberg recognized communication couldn’t just flow one way. “We needed to hear what was going on, when it was happening, so that we could actually provide them support,” LeRae says.
Enter Zipline Groups.
Bringing those conversations into a secure, centralized environment didn’t just make communication easier. It made it visible.
Now, when something breaks, stores surface it immediately, and HQ can act immediately. “When we know about it immediately, we can make a difference right then and there.”
Groups eliminated the distortion caused by relayed messages and delayed reports.
Instead of hearing a watered-down version of events, HQ could see issues exactly as stores described them. “You’re seeing exactly from the store what it is that they’re trying to tell you,” LeRae explains.
And the response time changed overnight. “Our HQ saw it in real time, jumped in, no waiting, no guessing.”
The telephone game stopped.
The Unexpected Win: Stores Helping Stores
What surprised Helzberg most wasn’t just faster HQ response, it was the peer-to-peer collaboration that followed.
“They’re helping one another in ways that we never thought were possible,” LeRae says. Stores began sharing tips, clarifying confusion, and solving issues together.
In some cases, they moved faster than corporate could. “They’re teaching one another how to do things faster than we could ever help them.”
That shift did more than streamline operations. It reshaped the relationship between HQ and the field. “It’s dramatically changing the culture that we have among our organization overall between the stores and our HQ.”
Wins became visible. Milestones were celebrated in real time. HQ didn’t just direct, they participated.
Showing Up Is the Strategy
Two-way communication only works if someone is actually listening.
For LeRae, that commitment is simple. “We just show up.”
She reads group chats constantly. She nudges teams to respond. She ensures nothing falls through the cracks. Because, as she says, “Accountability keeps it moving, keeps everybody working towards the same goals and ensures that nothing falls through the cracks.”
Even when something goes wrong (a broken link, a vendor name error) corrections are immediate and transparent.
“There’s no waiting, there’s less confusion, and just quick and visible corrections in the moment.”
That transparency builds trust. It reinforces partnership. And it strengthens execution.
Better Decisions, Broader Perspective
Perhaps the biggest change has been at HQ.
LeRae describes her role as the point on the beach ball where all the stripes intersect — where marketing, HR, internal communications, and stores come together.
“Our HQ now sees in real time just how smart and resourceful our store teams are.”
Instead of decisions coming from a single perspective, they’re shaped by input from across the field.
As she puts it, “The bottom line, making better decisions because we’re listening and acting from well-rounded perspective as opposed to just our stripe on the beach ball.”
Every stripe matters.
Advice for Retailers Starting Out
For retailers considering a similar shift, LeRae’s advice is direct: “Jump in early, dive deep, and go all in.”
And don’t treat communication tools as static. “Zipline isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it tool; it evolves constantly.”
Her final takeaway is simple: “Dive in, embrace the enhancements, and let them transform the way that you communicate every day.”
👇 Watch LeRae’s full ZipTalk from NRF:
When Helzberg moved beyond top-down communication and embraced two-way visibility at scale, they didn’t just improve messaging.
They gave every store a voice.
And that changes everything.
Discover how Zipline helps retailers like Helzberg cut through the noise, drive execution, and keep teams aligned. Schedule a call today to see how we can help your business achieve the same results.
