Training expedites the path to retailing proficiency

Industrial and Commercial Training

ISSN: 0019-7858

Article publication date: 10 July 2009

210

Citation

(2009), "Training expedites the path to retailing proficiency", Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 41 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/ict.2009.03741eab.006

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2009, Emerald Group Publishing Limited


Training expedites the path to retailing proficiency

Article Type: Notes and news From: Industrial and Commercial Training, Volume 41, Issue 5

In the intensely competitive retail sector, where staff turnover can be as high as 76 per cent, employees need rapid and cost-effective access to high-quality training on how to use the expensive computer systems that help to meet the evolving merchandise and service expectations of today’s multi-channel shoppers.

BT Expedite helps retailers throughout the UK, Europe and North America to streamline their processes and optimise information.

“Our clients spend substantial amounts of money on software solutions and it’s our job to make sure that staff are competent to use them, not only to achieve cost efficiencies and support business growth, but also to deliver excellent customer service – that all-important differentiating factor”, said Sally Taylor, head of client training at BT Expedite.

With her team of senior training consultants and a large field training-delivery team, she is responsible for designing and delivering bespoke, blended training that meets the needs of clients ranging from WH Smith and Mothercare to Primark and Oasis.

“It is absolutely vital that we listen to and understand the specific challenges and issues faced by each client, because every retail environment and application of software is different”, Sally Taylor explained.

Ten years ago she completed the Training Foundation’s trainer-assessment program (TAP) certificate in training-delivery skills course. She has now decided that her team of senior consultants should also go through the TAP program.

She believes this is particularly important because of the high volumes of retail-staff throughput, the varied profile of training audience on any single course and their differing training needs, from the basics of knowing how to operate the till to quite complex stock and cash management and ordering.

A key challenge for BT Expedite is managing several major training programs simultaneously. “We could have three or four large roll-outs going on at the same time, involving thousands of retail staff with varying skills, needs and abilities”, Sally Taylor explained. “We know we have done a good job when we leave the store, but what happens if a large number of the retailer’s staff have moved on six months later?”.

Determined to leave a cost-effective and lasting training legacy for their clients beyond the in-store face-to-face training, Sally Taylor and her team set about creating an e-learning and communications tool. Virtual view and learn (VVL), incorporating personal learning room (PLR), enables staff to gain access to tailored training solutions online and at the point of sale, reducing ongoing training costs by as much as 55 per cent compared to traditional paper-based programs. The initiative won the Generic Solution of the Year category at the World of Learning awards.

Following the success of VVL and PLR, which today are deployed in 19 retailers, sitting on over 200,000 tills, across the UK, Europe and the USA, BT Expedite has launched BT Jigsaw. This enables a retailer to track staff absorption and collect evidence that legislation on topics such as health and safety, anti-discrimination and data protection has been understood.

These subjects are linked to overall competencies as part of a personal ten to 13 week induction program, which also has the capability to house National Vocational Qualification content for various retail subjects, which can be uniquely tracked and monitored by a store manager.

However, Sally Taylor firmly impresses on her clients that online learning will never completely replace the need for a qualified trainer for certain subjects.

“Effective training has got to be about a blended approach and I would say that TAP has given us the final piece for our blended solution”, she commented. “We have the retail expertise, the accredited training-delivery skills plus a comprehensive suite of e-learning solutions to underpin our training and, most importantly, ‘future proof’ our customers, so that they can focus on the business of retailing in the knowledge that staff training is in safe hands”.

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