As the system of the organization and control of work of consultants and animators of L'Oréal beauty advisors works

The system of the organization and control of work of consultants and animators of "L'Oréal beauty advisors" in divisions of L'Oréal company based on technologies of Microsoft.

The TerraLink company developed for L’Oréal a system for automation of process of the organization of work of consultants and sales representatives. The solution is intended for a time recording of employees and their distribution by outlets according to the calendar of working shifts. Also the card file in which all necessary data on each consultant are reflected was created.

The created system can solve different problems of management of the experts, promoters, consultants and sellers working is distributed in retail networks and offering services of the companies. It can be used not only in beauty industry as it was made by L'Oréal company, but also in other spheres, for example:

• For banks where armies of experts sell the credits, insurance and other financial services in retail;
• For the alcoholic industry where consultants/sommelier advise buyers on products;
• For the companies from the tobacco industry where promoters help to decide on the choice of the brand of cigarettes;
• Other areas.

Current situation:

In three leading divisions of L'Oréal company more than 800 consultants and sales representatives (animators) work. Coordinators of divisions had to create diagrams with information on working shifts in the MS Excel that was extremely inconvenient because on approval of diagrams and their reconciliation by employees a large number of time was spent. Moreover, to obtain complete and reliable information according to summary schedules it was impracticable.

It is connected with a large number of consultants in different divisions and frequent changes. Employees in divisions work with different diagrams, take information from different sources, work at different territories and represent different products, in passing passing different trainings which are appointed at different times by different trainers.

Solution

The divisions Luxury, Active Cosmetics and Products of broad demand which are busied with consultants became interested in creation of a single working system in which all data on consultants and their working schedule, the diagram of trainings with an opportunity to create them online for the month ahead would be stored and to automatically send this information on e-mail to all consultants.

The TerraLink company suggested to optimize this process due to creation of a system of automatic formation of diagrams and a time recording on the Microsoft SharePoint 2013 platform as most to the innovation and functional platform for implementation of similar tasks. Successful experience of implementation of a number of the tasks for other divisions which are carried out on the SharePoint MS platform using TerraLink company served as one more factor.

A system is necessary for management of 3 aspects:

• Diagram of changes and time recording;
• Distribution by outlets;
• Schedule of trainings.

During creation of a system before TerraLink there were following purposes:

• Create a management system for bases of consultants and sales representatives;
• Give the chance of formation of individual working schedules of consultants and animators in outlets;
• Provide fast process of formation of diagrams taking into account all available information on the number of consultants, load of points and the schedule of trainings.

Problems of a system:

• Formation of individual diagrams;
• Management of load of outlets and its distribution;
• Accounting of planned and actual targets of loading of consultants;
• Receiving up-to-date information about load of outlets and employees;
• Timely informing consultants on changes in working schedules (mailing by e-mail);
• Reporting for providing to partners (in retail chain stores).

Advantages of a system:

• Visualization of information display through use of different flowers;
• Interactivity: making changes and receiving confirmations/approval online;
• Speed of approval of working schedules, allows to avoid the collisions arising in case of changes and adding in them of new events;
• Accuracy of a time recording, providing transparency of all financial calculations of compensation;
• Security of outlets - information online on existence of necessary number of consultants on a point;
• Fast obtaining the different reporting for the management, users of a system and partners.

A system was implemented in three divisions:

• Division of Products of broad demand (Consumer Products Division) which works with the brands L'Oréal Paris, Maybelline NY, Garnier and Essie.
• Division of Active cosmetics (Active Cosmetics Division) which submits the Vichy, La Roche-Posay and SkinCeuticals brands.
• Helena Rubinstein, Clarisonic, Kiehl's, Urban Decay, Cacharel, Viktor & Rolf, Maison Martin Margiela.

Description of a system:

The TerraLink company created a system on the Microsoft SharePoint 2013 platform for management of consultants of base, their individual working schedules in outlets and load of points and also for accounting of planned and actual targets of loading of employees. Thanks to a system the plan automatically forms, and based on work in a month the actual indicators are calculated. Working schedules automatically go to consultants. Through a system they are also informed on changes in the schedule. On the basis of data the report which goes to partners on the set format forms.

System administrators can work with the following lists:

• Users
• Consultants and animators
• Outlets
• Regions
• Sectors
• Brands
• Events for consultants/animators
• Activities for points
• Agency.

All data are loaded from the MS Excel files and will automatically be transformed to tables. The possibility of loading of these data manually is also provided by the user.

Roles:

• Consultant or animator.
• The supervisor (the supervisor, RSM, the Area-manager) manages animators, creates reports on loading of points and the diagram of consultants and animators on outlets.
• The area director manages in a system activities in outlets and work of consultants: creates, changes and sends the working schedule, edits biographical particulars. Creates reports about loading of points and the summary schedule of consultants.
• The superuser (the system administrator within the division) has more expanded rights, than the area director, can create and adjust reference books, to appoint roles to users.

Database maintenance of consultants.

For each consultant in a system the personal card is created. Historical data are loaded into a system using the file in the MS Excel format, and further work and an institution of new consultants is performed via the interface. Personal data, such as full name, a photo and other similar information (passport data, data on a binding to the region, a point, the city, etc.) are limited to the system of access rights and are available only to the higher management.

Options of creation of diagrams.

There are several versions of the working schedule of the consultant: 2/2, 5/2 and individual. Depending on what working schedule is selected, a system automatically builds it. After all data on consultants are entered, the coordinator of division creates the working schedule of consultants in a system and begins to adjust it, to watch load of this or that point. In process it can add, change something operating time, breaks, to watch planned and actual loading.

Management of the diagram. On the diagram all consultants belonging to this division, days of the week and also a binding to outlet, the city and the head are displayed. Also there is a function of filtering on the consultant, on the sector, on the city, on outlet. Further the head begins work with this diagram, it can also edit it, for example, to add an additional event, to create a holiday or a compensatory leave, to add activity, such as trading day, work with clients, meeting. All these activities are displayed on the diagram for consultants and for descriptive reasons selected in different flowers.

After the diagram is created, also through a system it is approved by the higher management. After approval it is automatically sent to all consultants on e-mail in a body of the letter and in the form of the MS Excel file where the name of the consultant, outlet and his working hours is entered. The activity – or something else is also marked client day.

Plans for development of a System:

• Ability to manage actions for training and certification of consultants. Mailing of notifications, reminders and according to the schedule of trainings. Display of results of training in the consultant's card that will influence his bonuses.
• Management of the sales plan (plan/fact).
• Bonus calculation and compensations for consultants.
• Development of functionality of creation of the reporting – implementation and creation of own templates for simplification of work of managers with a system.

The detailed overview of implementational functionality of a system based on MS SharePoint 2013.

• Loading of handbook data:
• Reference book of outlets.
• The reference book of questionnaires of consultants and animators for single loading.

• Management of consultants of base:
• Creation of questionnaires of new consultants and animators.
• Editing questionnaires of the existing consultants and animators.
• Management of questionnaires of the left consultants and animators.
• Formation of printing questionnaires.

• Planning and time recording of consultants and animators:
• Creation and editing individual diagrams.
• Automatic formation of the summary schedule on the created individual diagrams, lists of activities in points.
• Accounting of planned and actual loading of consultants and animators.
• Management of the list of activities in outlets.

• Management of loading of outlets:
• Automatic formation of the summary schedule of loading of outlets on the created individual diagrams of consultants and animators, the list of activities in points.

• Management of parameters of the diagram of loading of outlet (activities, number of consultants and animators).

• Mailing of individual diagrams to consultants and animators (integration with an e-mail client).

• Formation of report forms:
• Formation of the preset report forms and and sending requests and questionnaires of consultants to retail networks.
• A possibility of fast printout from the system of all reports, diagrams and lists.
• Maintaining magazine of system events.
• Automatic formation of the list of system events.
• Types of registriuyemy events:

o Mailing accomplishment (individual diagram). o Management of the list of activities in points (events: adding of new activity, editing activity, removal of activity). o Loading of the list of outlets. o Management of questionnaires (events: creation of a new akneta, editing questionnaire).

• Administration:
• User account control.
• Management of the normative reference information.
• Management of the procedure of import of data (on consultants and outlets).