Training and Developement

When a retail chain needs to organise a training program for new employees, it must answer three main questions. What techniques will be used to teach skills and information? Where is the most ideal place to perform the tasks? And how can the information be analysed? It is worth taking into consideration the main audience of people who will be benefiting from the training. For example, new graduates, who may be going into full time work for the first time, will need an induction week, so that they can settle into the company and feel they have a secure place within the organisation. An induction week will also give the company a chance to assess the graduates’ performance, and decide whether or not they are right for the placement.


What to Include in an Induction Week

There are three important experiences that ought to be present in any induction week. These include simulation, discussions and practices, as well as lectures and talks.

Simulation such as short films could be used. By showing certain situations, employee relationships, and reasons why it’s a good company to work for, the graduates will gain a high opinion of the company, a better belief in the organisation, and improve their own levels of self respect in their job position.

Discussions and practices will enable new employees to discuss how to approach certain situations, and then perform role plays to practice the approaches. This will give them experiences to reflect on and use to their advantage at a later date. Also, it will help the group form team relationships, as role plays could be seen as a team building exercise.

Lectures and talks offer question and answer sessions between people from the company and graduates. The people answering questions should include a panel made up of workers and representatives from all levels of the organisation. By the panel containing such a wide variety of employees, the new workers will feel there is at least one person who can answer honestly, and share the questioner’s viewpoint. Not only will this give answers and knowledge, it will also improve the graduates trust in the company, as they will feel like they have networked, and therefore feel like an equal member of the organisation.


Best Places to Train

Dependant on the activity, each activity will have an ideal setting.
It would be good for some of the activities to take place in the other established stores of the retail chain. By gaining experience in a store while it’s being run, the new employees will be able to make observations and learn from what they see. Also a hands on approach to the job will be beneficial, as they will better learn routines.
The headquarters of the organisation or its meeting rooms would also be used. Some discussions and learning activities will be inappropriate for the shop floor, and so a more private environment may be more suitable. The graduates will be away from distractions, and therefore may be more focused on the topic or activity.


Evaluation of the Inductions Effectiveness

The organisation should make sure that the majority of results can be measured quantitatively. Quantitative results are easier to measure than qualitative results, because they are in the form of numbers and statistics. Therefore, comparisons between graduates cannot be bias, and are simple to make.

Line Managers must take the time to have a private discussion with each of the graduates. It is essential that both parties can feel confident that they will work well together, and so the manager must attempt to break down the walls which separate them, and get to know the individual a little better.

A report or grade sheet should be filled out privately by the graduates, explaining how the training process felt for them. This can then be used by the Human Resources department to edit future inductions. The reports will indicate what was beneficial to the induction process, and what was a waste of time and money.