Making Retail Traineeships Work for You

February 23rd, 2011 – Daniel Ginsberg

Let’s get it out early. The funding is a massive bonus when training and development budgets are tight, or in some cases, non-existent. It could mean the difference between doing something or not doing something, or doing it for everyone versus a select few.

However, getting the funding is easy. Any retailer can partner with any Registered Training Organisation [RTO] to get a surplus of funding and deliver an underwhelming result. In fact, in my experience, this is more the norm than the exception. Everyone in a retailer, from CEO to casual on the shopfloor, gets a tainted view of the whole experience.

So, how does a retailer still get the funding but turn the whole traineeship model on its head to get long-term results for the individual AND also the organisation. Here are a few things to consider.

1. Be very clear about the purpose of the program. Is it to develop top talent or to develop a baseline capability across the organisation? At the manager level is it to develop people competencies and/or retail business competencies? At the team member level, are there specific KPI’s you want to focus on most? What’s the purpose and how will you then measure the success of the program for your organisation?
2. Before you launch into something, give some real consideration to what your long-term people development strategy is. There is no point ramping up your learning and development focus for the year only to drop back to very little the following year because of a lack of available funding.
3. Think about the duration of the program and link this to staff retention rates. There’s no point running a 15-month program for a retailer with more than 50% staff turnover. It’s a fine line between losing momentum in a program and overwhelming them with too much at once.
4. Wage to sales ratios are a hot topic right now. There are very few retailers that can afford to have their people off the shopfloor for any great length of time. So, work on the program rollout that gets the right balance of classroom training with more informal learning techniques such as online, mobile phone learning, Ipad learning, project work, 360-degree leadership assessments, in-store visits, etc. It’s 2011 – it’s time to get innovative!
5. The role of assessments are super important. This is when team members apply the learning to the workplace to verify that they can deliver on the expectation of the organisation. Therefore assessments must be challenging, relevant, simple and have a positive impact on the performance of the retailer. There’s no point lining a team members CV with a qualification if the retailer as an organisation did not improve.
6. It might sound insignificant to some, but how you language the program means a lot. Keep words like qualification, funding, accredited, traineeship as far away as possible and opt for something more relevant to the retailer. XYZ Management Development Program or something that I heard recently was naming the program after an influential leader from within the organisation.
7. Retail Traineeships only really work when the whole organisation understands it and is committed to making it work. This requires real buy-in from managers, starting at the top through to Regional/Area Managers. Get them involved. Invite them to co-create in the development and implementation of the program. The program needs mentors on the inside.
8. I’ve never quite understood retailers that want to differentiate themselves from the competition but use off the shelf training materials [customised by policy and procedure and language only] that other retailers also use. A successful retail traineeship starts with a blank piece of paper and one question from the RTO, “What would make for an exciting program for your people and a financially rewarding one for your shareholders?”
9. There are ways to reduce or eliminate administration for you as the retailer. The HR function normally takes responsibility for this and they don’t want to be burdened with managing paperwork. There are ways around this. Also, from a record keeping perspective, keep on top of your funding status on a monthly basis. Get the RTO onto this.
10. Culture fit with an RTO is everything. Do they dress the part? Does their energy match that of your organisation? Do they use the right language for your organisation? Have they spent time understanding your organisation to come across credible and partnered with your organisation, as opposed to an outsider trying to tell them what to do?