There were cheaper, easier ways to get the message across. They could have sent out a memo, headlining it "Company to Increase Commitment to Employee Education and Training," and left it at that. But that's not the way things are done at Scandinavian Design Inc. That's not enough "show-biz" for founder and president Bob Darvin, not enough "razzle-dazzle" for executive vice-president Judy George.
What they really needed, the pair agreed, was a vehicle -- some way to draw new attention to the company's existing education and training program and, more important, to generate enthusiasm for programs soon to be unveiled. Darvin and George mulled it over for most of last year. Then one of them -- they profess not to remember who -- came up with the idea of founding their own university.
Well, why not? There are hairdressing schools, they reasoned, so why not a school to teach retail furniture sales? McDonald's has Hamburger University, so why not Scandinavian Design University? A logo for the letterhead was all it took to make the school real -- that, and one of Scandinavian Design's Big Productions. "Stage directions, lighting, theatrics, excitement -- that's the way we do things," says George. Rolling her eyes skyward, she adds, "We're definitely Broadway!"
And so in January of this year, at hotels in New York; Mansfield, Mass.; and Secaucus, N.J., Scandinavian Design University was launched. There were red banners to wave, on which the letters "SDU" were emblazoned in white, and there were cheerleaders, borrowed from a Boston-area high school, waiting in the wings.
As their names were called, 200 of the company's 325 employees marched, one by one, across the three different stages to collect Certificates of Admission and photocopied pamphlets that passed for university catalogs. Some of them chuckled when they caught sight of the SDU seal on the front of each "catalog" and read of the five "colleges" that would make up the university. But the courses, incorporating dozens of topics from basic sales training to corporate strategic planning, were -- and are -- unmistakably serious stuff.
Isn't all of this expensive? "You bet it is," asserts George. "But we know we'll get every penny of it back, and then some."
Darvin agrees. "If we were losing money you'd say the things we do are crazy, but . . ."
But Scandinavian Design is not losing money. The Natick, Mass., company is the 22nd largest furniture retailer in the nation, and, according to the industry's annual ranking, it is growing faster than any other. In 1982, when competitors were closing stores and the industry as a whole reported a 21% drop in volume, Scandinavian Design opened 5 new stores and posted a 41% increase in sales, from $31.5 million to $44.5 million. The company expects to end 1983 with revenues of $60 million and a grand total of at least 30 stores: there are now 15 in New England under the name of Scandinavian Design, and 11 in New York and New Jersey called Scandinavian Gallery. But don't hold them to those numbers, Darvin and George protest. Other furniture retailers have asked to be acquired, and several conglomerates have suggested that Scandinavian Design license its name to them. All growth projections are subject to change.
It is that sense of almost unlimited growth potential that has Darvin and George so keen on the idea of employee education and training. "When you're growing this fast, you have to decentralize, yet you have to maintain your corporate culture," says Darvin. "We must develop a corps of middle managers who can make sure that the people in the newer stores in New York and New Jersey feel as involved as we do in New England. We've got to get others to believe what we believe."
"And how can we do that when we're losing contact with people?" George adds. "Until recently, Bob and I could personally teach and motivate our employees. But with this [growth] explosion, we can't touch people in the same way. We need to have a very formalized program," she says, gesturing to include the office, the building, the whole company, "to make sure all of this is nurtured and continued."
Paging through the SDU curriculum, one finds a program that is indeed formalized. Each group of employees has its own course of studies, and the list of topics covered reads like the management section of a business school library. The College of Business, for example, provides those in nonsales, support positions with training in customer service, responsive listening, and time management. Those eligible for the College of Management receive training in merchandising, inventory control, employee motivation, interviewing techniques, communication skills, and planning meetings. The executive staff attends the Graduate School of Retailing, with its courses in corporate strategic planning, organizational development, time management, and developing leadership skills.
And for those interested in academic training, there is the Continuing Education Program. Employees who take approved courses at accredited institutions may be reimbursed for up to 75% of their expenses for books and tuition, if they finish with a grade of B or better.
As with most universities, however, there are prerequisites. Salespeople, quite logically, have to take the basic sales-trainign course found within the College of Sales, and everybody -- from accountant to warehouse worker -- must complete orientation and product training.
There is a goal behind Darvin and George's careful structuring of SDU: Both believe they are building something that could become the model for education and training not only in the retail furniture industry, but in any industry. All it will take, they say, is time, talent, and lots of money.
