NISPA continued to create opportunities for sharing ideas, challenge and successes with the Shop Managers of our member schools at our first bi-annual Shop Managers Workshop for this school year. Once again, this round table conversation was held virtually and took place on the 24th of November 2021. There were 21 attendees and 17 schools represented at this event. As we continue to modify the best way for this group to come together and share information, for this Workshop we had small groups come together to discuss various topics and then regroup to collectively share highlights from the breakout sessions.
The event started with a poll focusing on interest in forming a WhatsApp group, our Marketplace Trade Show, Roundtable Workshops, and joining a NISPA Marketplace subcommittee. Then in two session everyone discussed some key questions.
- How was your back-to-school fitting and selling season, including the successes and challenges?
- How was your move to online sales over the course of last year and this year to date?
- How are you coping with the extra time/work/inventory management with online sales being available 24-7?
- Did your school store remain open longer this past summer compared with pre-COVID years and what are the expectations for store hours for parents and students moving forward? Do you envisage a return to pre-COVID summer hours or is there now an expectation of being open longer during summer?
As always the conversations were in-depth, insightful and varied. One of the many key points that came to light was how much harder all the Shop Managers have been working, and mostly without additional support, since offering online options to their student and parent bodies. You are all the quiet superheroes of your school’s community.Thank you to all those who attended or sent in their comments to the questions raised for this Workshop. Thank you also to those who indicated in a poll held early in the Workshop, their desire to be involved in various sub-committees alongside NISPA executives. We will reach out to you in the new year to get started on those tasks.