solutions Q:


savvy Responses collected by Duffy Weir


Qualities that I place in the “must-have” category are confidence, leadership skills, and the ability to deliver information promptly. The candidate should be articulate and able to think logically but also be flexible in decision-making. I also admire a person who can be compassionate and understanding yet able to give clear direction to reports as necessary. Lastly, in our crazy business, a candidate should have a good sense of humor otherwise it could be hard to get through holiday season.


—Coleen McNelis


Finding the right owner-operator is the key ingredient to the success of our brand. Through our extensive screening and interview process, we look for enthusiastic, hands-on operators who are willing to embrace our company’s retail system and brand values. To find good matches, we incorporate questions that identify why an operator wants to invest in our business. We look for a


120 Specialty Retail Report n Winter 2011 SpecialtyRetail.com


Coleen McNelis Vice President of Specialty Leasing Macerich macerich.com


What qualities should one look for when making a new hire?


candidate who doesn’t treat this as merely another financial investment, but who wants to be involved in a challenging retail business. If a candidate wants to work for himself or herself, that is a great find. We also look at the history and experience of a potential


operator. What types of business or jobs have they been involved with in the past? How have they handled adversity in these positions? Once we determine that the operator is the right fit and is committed to our program, training, mentoring and building trust with the operator will then be our job to ensure that both parties are successful.


—Mike Habib


We have two separate sets of staff in the store and hire somewhat differently for each. For the gifts, greeting cards, stationery section of the


store, our first impression of an applicant at the interview counts a lot. If someone strikes us instantly as open, friendly, pleasant, sincere, quick to smile, and energetic, that will be the first impression our customers will have of that person. We can


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