L.L.Bean is one of the most successful family-run businesses in the US, with more than 50 retail locations and a rich heritage of 100+ years.
Their core values—providing world-class service to help customers discover and enjoy the outdoors—set a high standard for store associates, or “Guides,” to bring their brand to life.
“Everybody is cross-trained,” says Justina Griffin, Manager of Store Operations. “Nobody is just a men’s clothing expert, or footwear expert—they have to do it all.”
Their communications processes, however, weren’t making the grade. A combination of verbal directions, email, shift start-up meetings, and back-office company intranet created a “game of telephone” that couldn’t be relied on. They needed to:
- Close the gap between home office and frontline communication
- Ensure everyone has access to pertinent information
- Boost productivity through more efficient communications
- Empower Guides and leaders to deliver the best brand experience
No more telephone games
Zipline was first launched to store leaders, right when pandemic store closures were beginning. By the time they opened back up, so many requests to use the platform came through they knew they had the answer to closing the HQ-frontline communication gap for good.
Now L.L.Bean is able to put everything, from product line updates to new policies and procedures, in the palm of every employee’s hand. Guides can access messages and documentation at any time (with an “on the clock” popup to account for device usage time), execute faster, and have more time to spend with customers.
“Now that Guides are in Zipline, we don’t have to worry about how long that verbal cascade will take. We can get communication to everybody, faster,” said Griffin.
Targeted communications for complex hierarchies
The L.L.Bean Store Operations team knew a successful associate-facing communications strategy would be different from a leader-facing one. So the Zipline team worked with them to create a long-term strategy consisting of rollout phases.
They tested Zipline’s Associate Experience—a pared-down version for part-time employees who may access comms less frequently—in 2 stores for 2 months to get everything right and curate information for Guides and leaders.
“Ultimately,” explained Griffin, “our testers liked the streamlined interface of Zipline’s Associate Experience much better. It isn’t overwhelming for those employees who only work a few days a week, and it only gives them the exact information they need for their shift.”
Learn more about their “run, walk, crawl” phases of implementation in an interview with Justina from our Summer Camp ‘24 customer conference:
How L.L.Bean Made Store Communication Awesome
Driving productivity, boosting retention
Having a one-stop shop for communications and task management has made everyone happier, from HQ to the front line.
Speed of business has increased, in-store productivity has dramatically improved, and employees are empowered with more time and access to do their best work—what Griffin describes as “transformational.”
“Leaders still spend 5 minutes with each Guide at the beginning of their shift. But those start-up meetings aren’t about regurgitating the ‘business stuff’ anymore. They’re spending time getting to know that employee, recognizing their hard work, coaching them, connecting with them.”
“[Guides] are saying, ‘Hey, we’re on the floor, we could be recovering and updating these visual standards!’ Leaders don’t need to delegate these tasks anymore. The team can be proactive and support in a way they couldn’t before.”
– Justina Griffin, Manager of Store Operations at L.L.Bean
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