General Manager Development Program Instructor Spotlight: Audrey Griffin
Today, we are highlighting another one of our talented instructors of the General Manager Development Program, Audrey Griffin. Participants can still join Columinate’s General Manager Development Program for 2022. Through this program, new (or experienced) GMs develop the core grocery management skills they need to successfully lead their co-op. The program currently offers seven modules, covering topics ranging from financial metrics to marketing, all of which are taught by an experienced team of grocery retail experts. Audrey Griffin has been a Certified Public Accountant for nearly twenty years. Working primarily with cooperatives and nonprofit organizations, she offers services that include conducting assessments, delivering financial training for boards, preparing financial projects, and completing tax returns.
Mighty Community Markets: Tools for Small and Independent Grocers
“I’m on a mission to build strong stores.” —Jeanie Wells Having the right tools to succeed in retail is crucial if you want to survive—and it is doubly crucial if your store is at [...]
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: DEI Teams Can Set a Foundation for Success
Columinate Intercultural Facilitator Darin Short has worked with a range of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) committees, task forces, and teams across many sectors. Darin recently led a workshop, “Why Some Diversity Teams Succeed While Others Do Not” at the Thought Leadership conference in Elkhart, Indiana, in May. “No matter what setting you’re in, DEI is an emotional topic,” says Short. “We need to create safe spaces where people can express their emotions and can say exactly what they need to say with respect for the collective goal.”
General Manager Development Program Instructor Spotlight: Rebecca Torpie
The General Manager Development Program works with both new and experienced general managers (GMs) to develop the core grocery management skills they need to successfully lead their co-op. The program currently offers seven modules, all of which are taught by an experienced team of grocery retail experts. Throughout this summer, we'll be introducing each of the instructors in the program. Today, we are highlighting retail grocery marketing expert Rebecca Torpie.
What You Get by Subscribing to the Columinate Compensation Database
The Columinate Compensation Database is the fastest, easiest way to understand compensation practices at similarly sized stores and benchmark with your peers. Plus, National Co+op Grocers (NCG) members receive free access to the Columinate Compensation Database and Job Board as part of their membership.
Common Signs of Financial Distress for Co-ops
Businesses of all types encounter financial distress through many different factors such as rising supply costs, increased overhead, changing consumer demand, or inadequate capitalization. Here are four warning signs that every co-op board and management team should watch for to ensure that financial risks are recognized early and necessary changes are implemented quickly, allowing your co-op to achieve its goals:
General Manager Development Program Supports New and Veteran GMs
Managing a food co-op takes a large and varied set of skills, some of which even a highly talented general manager might need help developing. With an updated curriculum and a roster of talented instructors, the GM Development Program provides both new and veteran GMs with the support and the tools they need to successfully manage and lead their food co-op.
Ozark Natural Foods Strengthens Pricing Strategy with the Help of Jeanie Wells
In January of 2022, Columinate Organizational Development Consultant Jeanie Wells launched a four-part remote training program for Ozark Natural Foods in Fayetteville, Ark., to address how to manage price image during a volatile period of high food inflation with a relatively new management team.
What the Columinate Compensation Database Tells Us about Pay Ratios
"What is the ratio between the highest-paid and lowest-paid employees in food co-ops?" When evaluating the compensation of their general managers, boards of food co-ops often ask this question. And behind that lies another, sometimes unspoken, question: "What should that ratio be?"
“Why Some Diversity Teams Perform at a High Level While Others Do Not”
Intercultural Facilitator and Columinate consultant Darin Short is taking what he's learned working with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) teams to facilitate “Why Some Diverse Teams Perform at a High Level While Others Do Not” at the Thought Leadership Conference in South Bend, Ind. on May 19.