Inside Ollie's Bargain Outlet: Creating a Culture of Learning and Growth

As Ollie's Bargain Outlet continues its rapid expansion across the United States, learning and development plays a critical role in preparing leaders at every level to succeed. In this episode of Powered by Learning, Navia Lee, Senior Manager of Training at Ollie's Bargain Outlet shares how her team supports more than 670 stores through leadership development, scalable training programs, and a growing culture of learning.

 Show Notes:  Navia Lee from Ollie's Bargain Outlet share how their leaders build capabilities in team members. Her insights include these key points. 

•  Leadership development happens in everyday moments. One of Ollie's key leadership messages is "Build riders, not dependents." The focus is on helping leaders move beyond simply providing answers and instead develop critical thinking, judgment, and capability in others.
• Training must be practical, scalable, and immediately applicable. With hundreds of stores and rapid growth, Ollie's prioritizes learning experiences that can be used right away. Content is intentionally concise, focused, and designed for real-world retail environments.
• Ollie's University is creating consistency across the organization. The company's new learning management system provides foundational training, role-based learning pathways, reporting capabilities, and sustainment tools that reinforce learning long after formal training events conclude.
• The most effective leadership programs prioritize application over presentation. Programs like Rising Stars have evolved from presentation-heavy sessions to blended learning experiences that combine self-paced learning, real-world assignments, peer discussions, and facilitated debriefs.
• AI is helping a lean L&D team move faster and smarter. Navia's team uses AI to streamline course development, create engaging content featuring Ollie's brand characters, analyze survey feedback, and increase efficiency—all while maintaining responsible governance and data security.

 Learn more about Ollie's Bargain Outlet

Powered by Learning earned Awards of Distinction in the Podcast/Audio and Business Podcast categories from The Communicator Awards and a Gold and Silver Davey Award. The podcast is also named to Feedspot's Top 40 L&D podcasts and Training Industry’s Ultimate L&D Podcast Guide.

Learn more about d'Vinci at www.dvinci.com.
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Transcript

Susan Cort: [00:00:00] As Ollie's Bargain Outlet continues its rapid growth, learning and development is helping employees at every level grow right along with it. 

Navia Lee: We want to meet that head-on and, and just make sure our, our folks are equipped and feeling confident in the influence they have as leadership in those everyday leadership moments, those small moments, right?

And, just creating that space and culture of learning and development. 

Susan Cort: That's Navia Lee, senior manager of training at Ollie's Bargain Outlet. Navia joins d'Vinci's Angeline Evans and me to share how Ollie's is developing future leaders, creating a culture of continuous learning, and leveraging AI to keep pace with extraordinary growth.

Next, on Powered by Learning. 

Announcer: Powered by Learning is brought to you by d'Vinci Interactive. d'Vinci's approach to learning is grounded in 30 years of innovation and [00:01:00] expertise. We use proven strategies and leading technology to develop solutions that empower learners to improve quality and boost performance.

Learn more at dvinci.com. 

Susan Cort: Joining me now are d'Vinci Client Solutions Consultant Angeline Evans and our guest, Navia Lee, senior manager of training at Ollie's Bargain Outlet. Thank you for joining us. 

Angeline Evans: Hi, Navia. 

Navia Lee: Hello. Thanks for having me. It's good to see you both again. 

Susan Cort: You too. We're excited to have this conversation with you today.

You know, some people who live in, uh, Central Pennsylvania, where Angeline and I are, might think of Ollie's as a, a store or two, but, uh, people here, and people certainly across the country listening, may not understand the size and scope of Ollie's Bargain Outlet. So explain to us a little bit about Ollie's Bargain Outlet, what it is, and how big it is, and then a little bit about your specific role.

Navia Lee: Absolutely. So I, too, was guilty before I joined Ollie's. Lived right here in central Pennsylvania, and I [00:02:00] didn't understand the breadth and scope of Ollie's. So we are, um, one of America's premier retailers. We, uh, specialize in salvage merchandise, excess goods and, you know, brand name goods at really discounted prices, right?

We offer this treasure hunt experience because the things that we have are always changing. If you see something you like, you better get it because once it's gone, it's gone. Um, but as far as the breadth and scope, we are based here in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. That's where our corporate office is, but we are now over 670 stores across 35, soon to be 36 states.

So constantly growing. 

Susan Cort: That's amazing. That's a lot of good stuff cheap- It's a lot of good stuff cheap ... all across the country. 

Navia Lee: Way to put that in there, absolutely. 

Susan Cort: And, and s- talk a little bit about your role, s- at Ollie's Bargain Outlet. 

Navia Lee: Absolutely. So my role is a little multifaceted. So I do manage training here for all of the company, so that is our corporate or our support center [00:03:00] is what we like to call it, our corporate office.

That's our distribution centers, and that's, of course, our field as well of all of our stores, but I also manage the culture component, right? They're closely tied together, so ensuring that we're driving the culture, how we interact with one another, how we, um, make our decisions and make sure all of that is rooted in our core values.

Angeline Evans: And when we last spoke, you were sharing that you recently led the content and flow for Ollie's annual spring meeting. Tell us about that. 

Navia Lee: Ah, yes. So I would have to say that that... I've, I've been here almost seven years now, and this year's meeting has to be the most rewarding, one of the most rewarding, and I would say challenging, rewarding and challenging projects that I've worked on here at Ollie's.

So what that is, is we bring in our leadership teams across the fields, uh, some from our support center here, and we bring them [00:04:00] all into Hershey, Pennsylvania, and it's all about alignment and how we're gonna move forward in the year. And this year, um, and let me just back up and say, it's big for us because that's our once-a-year opportunity to get everybody together.

Let's start there. 

Angeline Evans: Right. 

Navia Lee: But this year we took a different approach, and we moved away from the, the broad one-size-fits-all approach, and we really focused in on tailored sessions. Um, we had sessions that were for our new folks that just joined Ollie's within the past year, so they know why we're different and what success looks like here.

We had sessions for our district team leaders and above. Um, beyond that, I would say what made this year special as well is that we tied everything to practical leadership behaviors that were rooted in how we execute, and we leaned heavily on application and engagement. We didn't want folks to sit through just presentations, right?

Angeline Evans: [00:05:00] Yeah. 

Susan Cort: So who attended this session? I'm trying to imagine. I can't... Obviously, not everybody from every store across the country came. So what was the purpose of it, and who was really the audience? 

Navia Lee: Yeah. So it's all of our store team leaders. It is all of our district team leaders, our district loss prevention managers, our regional team leaders.

We had our buyers from the support center. And then, um, from there, it's just a lot of key partners from the support center go in as well And it's all about alignment. What are our key focuses? You know, what do we need to do to execute properly? So we had sessions rooted in how to build your bench, right?

How to build your bench, how to execute effectively merchandising, how to leverage our, you know, our loyalty program and things like that to increase sales in our store, how to protect our business, so. 

Angeline Evans: That's wonderful. And is there any... So after that, you know, gathering, is there any follow-up or what actions [00:06:00] do leaders take with them after they leave?

Navia Lee: I love that. Um, absolutely. So that is a major shift this year as well, because we were finding before everyone would jo- enjoy the experience, everyone would be all in, but we had to really focus on w- how do we sustain this afterward. That's where it gets a little tricky. So starting from the beginning, when we were designing these sessions, we were looking at and building out the sustainment plan.

So we now have our new LMS, which is Ollie's University. That's a key, uh, part of that, which is, you know, some of the sessions have courses that they can take as follow-up or courses that they can utilize for their team when they go back to support the learning. We have, of course, a lot of the learning happens in those everyday moments as well with the, the leadership walks and the coaching that happens afterward.

So just a heavy focus on that. Co- uh, you know, sending out all of the lesson materials to everyone as well, so full [00:07:00] transparency there. Here's the, here's the presentation, here are the facilitator notes, here's all of it. Um, and just following up through our communication tools as well. 

Angeline Evans: Sounds like an extremely impactful event.

And gosh, just hearing how many stores you have, I can't imagine it's just daunting, right, to think on how much you have to equip all of these different people to run the stores s- successfully and consistently and with, with the right skills. Aside from this annual event, how are you approaching leadership development at Ollie's?

Navia Lee: Yeah. So we do that in many different ways. Because we're just building out our LMS, Ollie's University, a lot of it is on the job training, right? Mm-hmm. We do have our, call it our premier, to get a little fancy there, our premier development pathway or, or program that we have is called the Rising Stars, and that's for store team leaders who wanna become district team leaders. And it is a nine-month program. They go through that, [00:08:00] and that's one way we go about it. But outside of that, it is really utilizing our folks in the field, leaning heavily on our leaders, our district team leaders in the field, and how they coach.

Starting at the top and, and making sure that they are coaching their folks. And one of the major themes for the spring meeting, for example, was a theme we want to carry on throughout the year, which is build riders, not dependents, because we, we linked it to a Western theme, right? Building riders, not dependents.

We have a lot of folks that are really, really great operators, right? They are promoted because they know how to execute at a high level. We wanna make sure that that's paired up with that equally important skill set, which is building that capability in others. 

Angeline Evans: Absolutely. 

Susan Cort: That also probably motivates people to have the ability to think of themselves in that leadership role, regardless of what their position is.

Navia Lee: Absolutely. Absolutely. But it's also something that, you know, it can be a challenge. [00:09:00] You know, when you are a good operator, when you're good at executing, when you know everything, it's so easy for you to rely on that, right, and just give the answers. And just creating that space for them to understand you don't have to know everything.

Matter of fact, you know, create multipliers here. Build that thinking and that judgment in others, and that, that takes... You know, we're in a fast retail environment. It's literally us saying, "Slow down a little bit and look for those moments where it's safe to develop," you know, uh, instead of direct. It's easy in retail to direct.

And when we do have to direct, when it's necessary to protect the business, it's ensuring that we have to come back, ensuring that we come back and develop, right? 

Angeline Evans: As an L&D leader, how have, what have you learned about helping these leaders become better coaches and trainers? 'Cause that's a learning experience, too, in itself, and I'm sure you have some words of wisdom there.

Navia Lee: And I'm still learning, and I'd take any words- ... of wisdom there. 

Susan Cort: Well, first I would tell you to listen to [00:10:00] Powered by Learning, Navia. You'll learn a lot. 

Navia Lee: Absolutely. Right. You've got me sold. But it is just that. Um, it's, it's- It's recognizing that there are those two skill sets. Being a good operator and being a great coach and developer, they're both equally important, but it's, it's helping folks make that transition then, right?

From being that excellent operator to being that developer of people. Developing everyone in your sphere and helping them to develop others as well. Creating that as a culture and making sure folks understand it's not in big moments, it's in those everyday leadership moments that you're creating that.

So that's what I've learned and that's what we are working, working on across the board within myself, within all of our folks in leadership, whether by title or just in what we do every day, right? Everyone can be a [00:11:00] leader. 

Angeline Evans: Yeah. That's great. And Ollie's, I mean, you guys have a lean, a lean training team.

Uh-huh. So talk to me, let's shift gears a little bit. Talk to me about how, what this experience has been like building the foundation for Ollie's University. So rolling out an online, you know, training footprint is a big deal. How are you deciding what gets prioritized first and- 

Navia Lee: Yes ... 

Angeline Evans: talk to me a little bit more about that.

Navia Lee: All right. So when I joined Ollie's, I was a team of one. I am now a team of three. So you talk about growth there in a short period of time. Yeah. You know, we're doing amazing things here with a very lean team. And, um, I would say just being lean in general is going to make prioritization key, right? So we, you know, we have our business partners, we partner to decide, you know, what are we seeing?

What's impacting the field? What could create the biggest ripple effect, um, as far as what we want? Everything that we create has to be scalable, right? Mm-hmm. [00:12:00] So if we're using something for one particular group, we have to make some tweaks and, and see how we can make it apply to other groups here as well.

And then we don't wanna just create content for content's sake, right? We wanna make sure- Mm-hmm ... that it is gonna have the impact. It will be, uh, consumable, it can be applicable. And beyond that, because we're in a retail space, we have to make sure everything is short. 

Angeline Evans: Yeah. 

Navia Lee: You know, we have to chunk it out, and we have to make sure, again, that they can use it right away.

Angeline Evans: With a retail space, I mean, many folks don't have their cell phones on them or might not have... I mean, do they have a laptop or access to something in the break room? How do they take training? 

Navia Lee: So currently, our training, uh, for the most part happens on the sales floor, so at a register point of sale.

So that comes with its own challenges right now because, uh, no matter what, we could have the signage up to say training in progress. If a [00:13:00] customer sees you there, they want you accessible to them. 

Angeline Evans: Right. 

Navia Lee: So there is, uh, there are decisions that have to be made on is this a great time to train? What are the best times?

When do we see heavy customer flow? When is it safe to absolutely train? Or maybe it's a situation where you have to pause the learning. That's a great thing about having Ollie's University. You can actually pause the learning and come back. But beyond all of that, just keeping it short enough that we hit all of the key elements and give them the foundation for them to go and do the in-the-job, on-the-job learning and see and apply themselves 

Susan Cort: Have you gotten any feedback from the associates, uh, who have taken the training in store or, uh, in other locations?

And what, what have they fed back to you? 

Navia Lee: Yeah. So we've got... Especially when we... The first couple of sessions or, um, courses that we put out there, we got amazing feedback, right? Because the alignment was there. This is alignment that they're seeking. We're talking about [00:14:00] everyone getting the same foundational information, whether it's our freight process, which is different from everyone else's, and then they can see that and immediately know what to do.

The knowledge isn't coming from any one person, and they can go ahead and apply it. So we get that great feedback. But there is definitely the feedback on, it is tough sometimes to try to learn when a, any customer can come up to you and, and want your attention in that moment. So we're working through that.

This is where we are, and those are the, you know, the joys and the, the woes of a company like us that is growing so fast, right? We're growing at, this year I believe we're at, gonna be growing to 75, adding 75 additional stores where we're moving so quickly. 

Susan Cort: Well, thinking back to what you said about your in-person meeting and how rewarding it was, I wonder if it's, it was extra rewarding because of the challenges, and maybe Ollie's University- Yeah

will be the same way. Absolutely. It has to feel really satisfying [00:15:00] when- Absolutely ... you're able to launch. 

Navia Lee: So we're, we're already super happy with, um, how Ollie's University is helping us to move learning forward with the consistency that it's providing, and just the ability to flip the learning a little bit, right?

Go, you know, before when, uh, a new hire or a new team leader came into training, they had to rely on a person or persons to be able to really give them information or re- rely on workbooks. But here now, it doesn't slow down productivity in the store, right? They can go ahead and take the learning, and then they can, um, help with production act- actually as they're learning.

Angeline Evans: We talked a lot about, you know, leadership development. When we talk about these store associates that are taking training on the floor, I mean, of course there's foundational training that I'm sure is assigned to everybody, but you talked about leadership, you know, looking for those opportunities to develop capabilities.

Do they then assign training, or are there any pathways that, you know, really [00:16:00] ambitious new associates can follow? 

Navia Lee: They can. So we do, um, Ollie's is very quirky, you know, with our characters and our cartoons and so forth. We do send out something every month, which is our Ollie's training menu, and it lists out the core, you know, those tried and true dishes…

the courses we have out there. You know, what's hot, what's coming, any updates we have to the Ollie's University listing is there. And at any point, any district team leader, regional leader, store team leader can go and assign trainings to their folks. If they feel that someone is struggling in a particular area, maybe it's signing folks up for a loyalty program, they could have them retrain as well.

So they can assign the training, they can pull reporting, and there are courses that are automatically assigned as well. So we have those foundational things you mentioned that are just automatically assigned to every new person out there. And then we also have pathways that are specific Based on [00:17:00] your role or, or for example, the Rising Stars development program, there are specific courses for them as well. 

Angeline Evans: And are the formats, I probably we probably should have asked this question earlier, but for the formats, I know Ollie's University would be all online training. If they are taking something in the Rising Stars program or something specific, are you having regional workshops, or is it also online?

Like talk to me about your modalities- 

Navia Lee: Yeah ... a little bit. Absolutely. So I can share how we do that, and that has shifted tremendously, um, in all the ways that I love. So the Rising Stars program used to be live. They used to come into the support center three times a year for two days... and we'd just present and have presenters come down.

Then we shifted after 2020 to virtual sessions, and it was still very, I felt, too presenter. Um, it wasn't as engaging as it should have been- Sure ... just to be totally honest with that. Um, now, um, as [00:18:00] we evolved, what we have them do after some orientations and things like that, we have our folks go ahead and complete learnings within Ollie's University on everything from how to lead effective meetings to time management, prioritization.

They go and apply. We have different pre-work or homework activities, and then we utilize those live session or in-person sessions to debrief, right? How did it go? What went well? What could have been even better? What are you going to do differently? They do the peer-to-peer learning. We can make that more workshop based.

So they are absolutely grounded in the experience and the application, whereas before it was just we don't want folks just presenting to our leaders and them answering a few questions here and there. We want them totally involved in the experience, and that's what it's become. 

Angeline Evans: Absolutely. So more like a flipped classroom approach, and you're level setting, and then you can have some really good meaningful discussions. 

Navia Lee: [00:19:00] Absolutely

Angeline Evans: …afterwards. You got it. I love it. So as Ollie's University continues to grow, what are you most excited about building next? 

Navia Lee: What am I most excited about? I would say, um, with the success, especially of the Rising Stars, I would say I'm most excited about the additional learning pathways that we're going to create.

There's definitely a desire for it. We get that, those requests all the time, and I think that's where I get most excited is seeing that grow and, and reach other roles and just have it fully built out now with our new tools in a, a complete Rise or Ollie's U- Leadership Institute program. 

Angeline Evans: And with how fast Ollie’s seems to be growing, I mean, there's certainly a lot of opportunity for growth with your employees, so that is exciting.

Navia Lee: Absolutely. But we wanna match that, right? We wanna to, to meet that head-on and, and just make sure our, our folks are equipped and feeling confident in the influence they have as leadership, [00:20:00] again, in those everyday leadership moments, those small moments, right? And just creating that space and culture of, of learning and development 

Susan Cort: I would bet too that you're building some brand ambassadors through your training programs, because you've got such a unique and fun brand.

Like, talk a little bit about how you infuse that into your L&D programs and, and how that helps reach and engage your learners. 

Navia Lee: Yes. So we absolutely do create brand ambassadors. Um, m- most folks, especially, I keep coming back to the Rising Stars because I'm so proud of what that has evolved to here. But a lot of the folks that we see raise their hand and seek out this program, or, I mean, as soon as the program starts, we are still...or, you know, the class is selected, we have folks that are saying, "Hey, I wanna be a part of this the following year." And it's usually because of the word of mouth, or their new leader has been through the program, and they're encouraging them to do it. But beyond that, Ollie's is so fun. [00:21:00] We're so quirky. We, um, you know, someone hit it perfectly when they say, "We take what we do seriously, but we don't take ourselves too seriously," and that comes through in the learning as well.

You're gonna see our characters there. Everything doesn't have to, uh, be perfect, so to speak. It's going to look and feel like Ollie's. You'll never get country club out of it . Yeah. It's going, it's gonna be- 

Susan Cort: You're not too buttoned up, 

Navia Lee: Yes. You're gonna be brought into it. Um, we absolutely utilize AI as well, so that helps us to do even more with our cartoon- 

Susan Cort: Mm-hmm

Navia Lee: and characters to really drive home our message and make it feel like Ollie's no matter what, and totally relevant to our folks. 

Susan Cort: Can you talk a little bit more about how you use AI in L&D? I mean, that's something we, we love to ask people all the time because we're all learning from each other in how to leverage it in a responsible way. Uh, what, what are you doing with AI at Ollie's Bargain Outlet? 

Navia Lee: We're doing so many things with it. Number one, we have the perfect opportunity to [00:22:00] use it because we have so many Ollie's cartoons- Mm-hmm ... right? That we can utilize, and they're not just one-dimensional now. We can make them, you know, move and talk, right?

Mm-hmm. In addition to that, it just speeds everything up in what we're finding. So when it comes to scripting out a course and just making sure we're not missing anything, you know, checking to see what would make that complete in, in terms of making sure AI's checking, checking us to make sure that the learning is complete, we're utilizing in that way.

But just speed in general to help us to build out scripts before we go to recording anything and, um, just so many different ways there. But we're learning as we go as well. 

Angeline Evans: And with a team of three, I mean, you can... it's- The speed, I think, is probably just the most incredible use of it. 

Susan Cort: Yeah, that, that along with how quickly your company's growing.

Yes. You've gotta be really agile. So between the [00:23:00] size of your team and the size of the company's growth, it's probably... AI's probably a very good, good team member. 

Navia Lee: Right. Very good team member. Absolutely. I should have said we have a team of four. You hit the nail on the head. That is probably the best thing that happened to us.

And as far as using it responsibly, our company has taken advantage of the shift. Like, you have to be ahead of the curve or you're gonna be- Mm-hmm ... behind the curve when it comes to AI usage. So just making sure that we're utilizing the prescribed tools for Ollie so that we are not putting ourselves at risk in any way, which is easily done with so many options out there. So I would say that's probably the biggest thing, um, using Copilot or whatever we have within our firewall. 

Angeline Evans: That's a, that's a really good point, and and we've, we've had the opportunity to talk about that a few times on the podcast, but just really making sure, yeah, you're being smart about how you're using AI and not diving into every tool blindly.

'Cause there is so much out there. Every day there's a new, something new. [00:24:00] 

Navia Lee: Yes. There's a new tool. And you know, Ollie's is so special. We do things differently here. You know- Yeah ... we're a non-plan- planogrammed environment. We do so many things different, and I think that's our secret sauce. So we have to be responsible, and we can't just put information out there that could put that in jeopardy.

But we definitely want to utilize the tools to, to make sure that we're moving quickly. We actually, um, my training team, they're gonna be a part of a, a task force or committee coming up here to explore further how we can use AI to speed up the work and improve the quality of the work as well. 

Angeline Evans: And even just analyze data as you gather more feedback and engagement with Ollie's University.

I mean, that can be a huge time saver, but, and just very insightful. 

Navia Lee: Absolutely. So we do utilize it when it comes to surveys that we get back for the new hire experience to just help us. You know, what would've taken someone, you know, a, a [00:25:00] large chunk of the day to do to look for trends and patterns, AI can do for us in minutes, so.

Susan Cort: So you, you've got good training fast. How's that? Good training fast. 

Navia Lee: I like that. I like that. That might have to- be our brand.

Susan Cort: Be your department tagline. Yeah. 

Navia Lee: Absolutely. 

Angeline Evans: Well, this has been such an incredible conversation, Navia. Thank you so much for everything that you shared today. I m- I haven't been to an Ollie's store in a while, but now I wanna go and take my kids this weekend and do some shopping.

Susan Cort: I used to love taking my kids there. It, it, it is a treasure hunt. It is. It is a treasure hunt. 

Angeline Evans: Yeah. 

Navia Lee: It's a perfect place for, for kids, right? 

Angeline Evans: Yeah. Yep. 

Navia Lee: Yep. Where you know you can give them a couple of dollars, and they can come out- Yeah ... have a blast- Yes ... and leave with that good stuff cheap. 

Angeline Evans: Yep. 

Susan Cort: Set them loose in the toy department, the book department.

Navia Lee: The book department. 

Susan Cort: You'll, you'll be a hero. 

Navia Lee: You'll be a hero. But it has been a pleasure. Thank you for having me. I will certainly be following Powered by Learning. I have much to learn. There are so many... As we grow so quickly, I, I could [00:26:00] utilize all of the advice that I can get to make sure that our folks have what they need.

Susan Cort: Well, we all can, and that's what's- Absolutely ... so great, is just we can learn from each other. So we appreciate you coming and being a guest today and sharing your insights, and continued good luck to you at Ollie's Bargain Outlet. 

Navia Lee: Thank you so much. 

Susan Cort: My thanks to d'Vinci's Angeline Evans and our guest, Navia Lee, from Ollie's Bargain Outlet for joining me today.

If you have an idea for a topic or a guest, please reach out to us at poweredbylearning@dvinci.com. And don't forget, you can subscribe to Powered by Learning wherever you listen to your podcasts.