M.T.A.

C
Menards Training and Communications

A PROPOSAL TO
CLIENT:MENARDS
KELSEY KNEPPER
CLIENT
October 16 2015

October 16 2015

MTAC
Menards Training And Communications
Background
Menards was founded in 1958, by John
Menard Jr. The company first started out
constructing pole buildings for area farmers at
low cost. Soon, the word spread out about
Menards construction. After constructing
many buildings, Menard quickly gathered that
customers were always inquiring about
purchasing lumber and building materials.
Realizing there was a need for an outlet
center for guest to purchase these materials,
Menard opened a lumber plant, which was
then known as Menards Cashway Lumber.
After so much success with the lumber plant,
he expanded it to offering steel roofing,
siding, and so on. By 1969 he had a very big
list of materials offered including doors,
decking, stone, hardware, and even state-ofthe-art countertops.
Today, there are over 200 stores over 14
states. Menards now carries products in
plumbing, electrical, hardware, wallcoverings,
floorcoverings, millwork, appliances and even
groceries. Proudly, Menards is recognized as
the top retail home center in the Midwest.

Room for Improvement

Menards is dedicated to service and quality.
Over the years Menards has stressed the
importance of putting guest first, and
providing them with the highest quality
products, at affordable prices.
Dubuque has been home to Menards
company for over 15 years. They currently
employee over 75 employees, and because
Menards in considered a retailer in homeimprovement, they contain the same
problems as many retailers.

One important aspect Dubuque Menards

struggles with internally is the high turnover
rate.

As a current Menards employee who has

worked with the Dubuque store for almost
3 years, I have witnessed first-hand, the
high turnover rate, and the problems that go
hand in hand. It seems as though we are
constantly hiring new employees because
most do not seem to stay very long. I feel that
Menards is a great place to work, offering
high school and college students above
minimum wage, schedule flexibility, and
holiday pay benefits. My main question is,
WHY are these employees not staying?
Answer: They do not stay employed long
because they dont feel comfortable or
knowledgeable about the stores products
and/or policies.
*Please see the box below to view Dubuque
Menards current ratings.

Dubuque Menards Current Ratings

273/285
currently rated 273rd store out of 285 stores
for turnover rate.
95.25 Employees stay for an average of 3
months with Menards
49/61
Rated 49th store out of 61 in our region for
turnover ratings.
19/19
Rated last in our market for turnover ratings.
Out of 19 stores in Iowa, Dubuque is doing
the worst.

October 16 2015

Welcoming MTAC
When hired with Menards, new employees go through an orientation process with the Human Recourse Coordinator.
This training
. is very important because employees are learning more about the store and the system we work under.
After Orientation, employees go meet their new department manager. They are shown the department and
immediately begin store training. Store training consists of worksheets and films to help the new employee better
understand Menards as a retailer.
My solution for the Dubuque Menards, is to implement an additional training program called MTAC, Menards
Training and Communications Program, to help new employees better understand their work and become
more comfortable with Menards as a store.
This involves additional training working directly with new hires, and spending more time with them one-onone to train them appropriately and help them gain a better understanding of Menards culture in general,
store policies and products specifically.

October 16 2015

Here to Help
What can we do?
It is no secret the Menards store in Dubuque needs to improve immensely. High turnover rates are
stressful for everyone in the store, including human resources, general managers, department
managers, all the way down to part-time employees. No one wants to spend extra time and effort
on a new employee, just to have them leave in a couple months.
Department Managers do not have enough time in their shift to sit down all day and help train their
new employees. They have other important daily tasks that need to be completed as well.
Here is where I come in.
My idea is to help department managers and human resources keep their employees longer by
helping with extra necessary training, to create strong, independent, knowledgeable employees,
who feel comfortable enough to stay for a longer period of time hired under Menards.
I will come in after every orientation Human Resource sets up, to spend time training new
employees and helping them get comfortable working our computer system and helping guest with
products.
The main goal is to decrease our turnover rates. I will do so by:
Helping with normal training (paperwork, worksheets, videos, etc.).
Giving second round tour of store and individual department.
Communicating with new employee and manager to set up their schedule and enter it into
the system.
Helping them set up their online team member portal.
Help them become more familiar with popular products around store.
Help them understand hardware terms.
Help them become familiar with policies and procedures of store.
Help them understand how to work System 5 (computer system).
Teach them proper ways to track and record inventory.
Encourage in-home training.

MTAC Implementation Goals

October 12: Have second meeting with general
managers and human resource coordinator to go over
scheduling and main tasks.
October 26: Meet with various department managers
and record their opinions on training and tasks to help
implement an effective training program.
November 1: Train 2 new employees using new
program.
November 9: Touch base with managers and HR.
November 19: Check back with trained employees
December 4: Train 2 more employees under
implemented system.
December 7: Meet with Managers for feedback and
results.

Results Reflection
Overall, I feel as though MTAC program was a success. Through the help of my
managers and human resources, I was able to train 6 new employees over a period of two
months. The employees that I helped train, were able to navigate their way around the
store easier, answer customer questions with more ease, and utilize our store computer
system more efficiently.
Although, our turnover rate still remains the highest out of all Iowa Menards stores,
my managers have seen an increase of knowledge between the employees that were
trained under MTAC compared to those who werent.
As a sales associate myself, I understand how important store competency and
product knowledge are while employed with Menards. Using these new training
techniques, has helped me learn more about the store as well.

Menards
Kelsey Knepper
MTAC Implementer
University of Dubuque
Communications & Marketing Student
563-590-4881
kjknepper@dbq.edu