It is one thing to hire a c-store manager. It is something else entirely to train one.

In the multibillion-dollar world of c-stores, the store manager stands head over heels as that key person who keeps the machine running. Yet each store manager’s training can be anything from pedestrian to unpredictable.

“The store manager is the heart of the company,” said Jeff Kahler, CEO of Ready Training Online (RTO). “They can make or break a business.”

That’s why RTO created Gears to Your Career®, an online digital training program for c-store managers in training. The system offers a way to verify, guide and support a structured path for the store manager to learn new skills, said Tom Hart, director of business development at RTO.

“Today’s managers are running $2 million operations and have to deal with everything from regulatory issues to leading a team, from labor shortages to product shortages,” Hart said. “The store manager is the hardest working person in the store, but sometimes they just don’t have the skills to succeed.”

The online training program is designed to educate employees from “the day they’re hired until the day they retire,” said Kahler. According to Hart, the system is customized and can focus on anything from how to merchandise a new product to how to go out and write your own grocery order. The program then requires that the store manager meet certain milestones, such as passing online quizzes, that demonstrate a solid understanding of each section before moving on to the next one. Each milestone also includes a recap and a progress report on how the newly trained store manager is doing. Programs can stretch from 10 to 14 weeks but are flexible enough to adapt to the needs of any c-store.

“Gears to Your Career is really a philosophy for how we think about learning, training and supporting the manager. It’s a philosophy to implement tools and content that deliver insights to people on the team,” said Kahler.