Meet the Retail Owners Institute: eLearning for the Retail Professional

In today’s world, from the biggest companies to the mom-and-pop shops down the street,  finding employees with basic financial skills is a challenge. At OpenSesame, we’re pleased to feature a new set of elearning courses from the Retail Owners Institute that meets this need with humor and creative instruction.

ROI owners and retail experts Pat Johnson and Dick Outcalt are industry-recognized leaders in providing training, coaching and resources to the managers and owners of retail businesses. Johnson and Outcalt have a long history of working with clients including Hallmark and TrueValue to provide essential training and skills development to extended networks of retail managers. In early December Pat and Dick came to visit the OpenSesame offices in Portland, and we had a wonderful time discussing the challenges small businesses and networks of stand-alone dealers face in developing financial acumen.

Outcalt and Johnson have grappled with these challenges for decades, and they’ve developed a network of customers who rely on them to train their employees and managers in planning cash flow, inventory and annual profits - supporting better long-term decision making throughout the organization.  

In response to their customers’ demand for even more accessible training, Outcalt and Johnson have developed a curriculum of elearning courses in financial management, planning and inventory management. Each ROI course is more than just a course - it’s a kit that includes not only content and interactive scenarios but excellent executive calculators that provide ongoing resources to learners. Learners can use ROI calculators every day to develop financial plans, establish inventory turnover measures and reduce internal waste.

In addition to developing excellent content, ROI supports their learners with new resources on an ongoing basis. They share excellent short videos on YouTube and they host weekly webinars to discuss financial and management topics, with lots of time for Q&A so you can get their perspective on your challenges.

You can find all the great courses from the Retail Owners Institute on OpenSesame, and if you’re interested in trying a demo of the ROI courses, drop me a line! Finally, interested in getting to know the ROI team? Keep in touch with them on Twitter at @RetailOwners.