With that in mind, staffers need to know exactly where to look for answers. While it's natural for new employees to rely on the wisdom of more experienced ones, you don't want all that wisdom to walk out the door when someone quits. Develop a "knowledge base"; that is, a store of information with answers to common questions, methods for solving problems, and standards for resolving disputes. Your knowledge base can be as simple as a notebook where staffers or the store manager jots notes; a searchable text file on a computer; or a database.

Strategy #4: Empower Your Staff

In some cases, where there is no policy -- and occasionally in cases where the policy needs to be flexed -- you need to empower certain people to make decisions, use good judgment, and bend the rules. Ask them to document these special cases; you can provide a pad of paper forms, let them enter information into the computer, or simply leave you a voice mail. Depending on the size of your operation, you may want to designate one person per shift as chief problem-solver.