Columinate’s Manager on Contract and Interim General Manager services can be a game-changer for food co-ops and community-focused independent grocery retailers. Below, after an introduction, we highlight consultant Matt Hartz, now working as Interim Store Manager on contract with People’s Food Co-op.  

The opportunities for utilizing a Manager on Contract fall into two broad categories: new store openings, and an operational tune-up or turnaround.

New store openings, especially startups: Opening a new store requires different experiences and skills than managing a store that is up and running. Columinate consultants serving as managers on contract can build and work with the local team and other professional support to manage the store through store opening—then hand off to the client’s long-term general manager a few months after store opening.

Management transition coupled with an operational tune-up or turnaround: Often alongside a manager transition comes an opportunity to identify and implement changes to strengthen store performance. The return on investment of having a Manager on Contract stems from Improved systems, team empowerment and development, and an updated retail strategy. Columinate’s grocery retail experts assess and identify opportunities for improvement, and because they are in a position of responsibility as manager, they can build alignment and implement changes needed for better store performance.

For new stores, Columinate support can begin with a consultative relationship early in the process, during the organizing stage when the vision for the store is first being created. Once implementation begins, Columinate’s Management on Contract services include:

• project management during the store design and build-out process;

• management during pre-opening, when store systems are developed and implemented;

• management during the critical opening stage, when the best available resources should be deployed to ensure the community experiences an exciting store;

• finally, management during the first few months of the new store operations.

An ideal time to hand over management responsibilities to the long-term general manager is when the store, team, and systems are stable.

That timing for hand-over of management applies as well in a store turnaround. In a single-store operation, the Manager on Contract typically serves as an Interim General Manager (IGM). In a multi-store setting, the role could be IGM or Store Manager. Sometimes the position is named Interim Turnaround Manager, and in longer engagements the role could be Contract General Manager. The common thread is that the engagement includes management responsibilities and authority to get stuff done.

Utilizing Columinate Manager on Contract experts can also go hand in hand with our GM Development and Training program and our GM hiring and search support.

There are many examples of interim management assistance, and each has its own circumstances and challenges. Columinate’s group of talented grocery experts are passionate about co-ops, especially successful ones! For more information about having a Manager on Contract during a manager transition or when planning to open a new store, contact Mark Goehring.

Matt Hartz and People’s Food Co-op: Jumping Right In

As a long-time general manager, Matt Hartz felt the support and guidance of those who believed and invested in him. Mentorship and support of other leaders is often the unseen, but critical, work of the cooperative movement.

We can run grocery stores and collect retail and owner-engagement experiences. But what underpins and perpetuates purpose-based organizations such as co-ops? A commitment to the professional development of those with whom we surround ourselves. Helping other cooperative leaders grow and develop truly makes Hartz thrive, and it is his key focus in his new role at Columinate.

After nineteen years at the helm of New Pioneer Co-op, a three-store operation in eastern Iowa, Hartz reflected, “it was like running a small-size city! Leaders of a multi-enterprise business must focus on operations, IT, team member development, community engagement, and much more.” He found it to be an incredibly enriching experience and doesn’t hesitate to recall the positive influence of leaders he met.

“As a brand new GM, I was so green. I knew I didn’t know things, but I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I cherish the insights that a colleague two decades ahead of me freely shared.”

Over the last seven or so years, the changing competitive landscape and broader economic conditions have profoundly impacted many food co-ops. Hartz and his team navigated those conditions at New Pi. He admits that as a leader, there were times he’d try to do others’ work for them or be overly prescriptive. “As I gained experience, I learned that the best thing is to work with people who know different things than I do, and to remove barriers for them to do and be their best. It is important to give advice, help illuminate what the possibilities could be, and enable others’ success—instead of doing work for them.”

Many of the same challenges and opportunities experienced by general managers are part of everyday happenings at Columinate. Hartz’s focuses as a consultant are interim contract management, assisting with business turnarounds, and leadership coaching. He’ll also assist with business and strategic planning. After joining Columinate at the end of 2022, within weeks Hartz was on the ground with his first client engagement: People’s Food Co-op in LaCrosse and Rochester.

“Helping develop and grow others is the most dynamic thing in my career. Others believed in me and invested in me, and now I feel an obligation to pass that on to others.” He later added, “I arrived at PFC’s Rochester location to temporarily take over leadership of the location. There were operational and cultural challenges, but PFC has so many strengths as well as caring and committed organizational leadership. All the elements needed for a store turnaround were already present. My focus has been on nurturing the team we already had in place and enabling their success.”

Liz Haywood, general manager at People’s Food Co-op, commented on the positive impact Hartz has had there: “We found ourselves in need of a turnaround in both performance and store culture. The right store leader would be someone with operational experience and able to build a high-functioning team, when many team members were not even aware of their own potential. Matt’s leadership has paved a way for long-term success while achieving many wins along the way.”  Haywood enthused, “Matt has so many talents to share with the co-op community.”