Training and development are crucial parts of any successful business, as they ensure employees
perform well in their roles, stay motivated and are as productive as possible for the
business. This makes training and development beneficial for both the employee and employer.
There are several strategies an organisation can use to train and develop their employees.
Next were going to go through each strategy with examples from Sainsbury’s.
The first strategy is informal training, also known as on the job training. This type
of training takes place in the workplace and is often delivered by an experienced colleague, or at
larger organisations a dedicated trainer whose job is to train new and existing employees. On the job
training can involve shadowing another employee to see how they perform a specific task or role.
It can also be working on a new project or being mentored by a more senior member of staff. It is
designed to help you learn whilst on the job. On the job training ta Sainsbury’s starts as
soon as you join the organisation as you shadow an experienced colleague to learn the basics of
your job. Such as working the tills or stacking shelves. When you become more experienced in your
role, on the job training may involve working on a project set by your line manager. This could be to
come up with strategies to increase sales in the frozen foods section. If you are performing well
and looking to progress then on the job training may involve being mentored
by a supervisor or manager to help you gain knowledge of their role and to prepare you for a
possible promotion. This is designed to challenge an experienced employee in the hopes of improving
their skills, knowledge and performance. Another strategy used is formal or off
the job training. This type of training refers to official, structured training
run by an external provider, it often leads to a qualification or industry recognised award. An
apprenticeship is an example of this as the course content is delivered at a college or university
that is not part of the organisation you work for. E learning courses or attending a conference are
also common ways of off the job training and can be effective ways of upskilling employees.
Sainsbury’s offers level 2 to level 7 apprenticeships in a variety of their key
business areas, such as retail, digital, logistics and banking. By doing an apprenticeship with an
external provider in retail, the employee is gaining a better understanding of the industry
and the impact their role at Sainsbury’s has. This in turn makes them more engaged with
their work and more productive employees. Self-learning is another form of training,
and now with access to the internet it has never been easier to teach yourself a skill or gain
knowledge in a specific area. Self-learning is when employees teach themselves a skill
rather than being taught it by the organisation or formally by an external training provider. Free
sources of information such as YouTube and Google have made it easier than ever
to teach yourself a new skill or gain an understanding of a topic. People can teach
themselves how to code, video edit or improve soft skills such as communication and confidence.
Along with traditional methods such as books, self-learning is a very proactive approach to
your own career development and can make you a more valuable and skilled employee.
Ongoing training takes place continuously throughout an employee’s working life.
This type of training is designed to continuously improve the employee in their role and keep them
up to date with changes to systems and the introduction of new technology. It can be
used to develop new skills or refresh old ones. Sainsbury’s employees have ongoing training to
keep them safe in areas such as fire safety training and health and safety training. They
also have refresher training to keep them up to date with till operation and new ways of working.
Target setting and performance reviews are the final strategies we are going to cover.
Performance reviews also known as appraisals and are often used to determine whether targets have
been achieved and to also set new targets. They usually take place every 6 to 12 months and are
an opportunity for you to discuss with your line manger opportunities for training and
career progression. Appraisals help to manage an employee’s performance in a formal setting
as targets are put in place to rectify poor performance or to challenge high
performing individuals to achieve even more. Sainsburys uses appraisals and target setting to
both improve poor performance and challenge high performers. For example, employees are targeted
with a number of items they must scan per minute on the tills. If an employee is not hitting this
target then during their appraisal they can be set a formal target to improve their scan rate by 10%
or to a specific number per minute. This target along with some supportive measures and training
can be monitored to track whether the individual is improving. If the employee has improved by
their next appraisal this target can be set as achieved and new targets set. On the other hand,
a high performing individual may be set a more challenging target such as supervising the shift
once a week or to take a management course in preparation for a promotion. Both types
of target setting during appraisals are used to manage performance and increase efficiency.
The reason why companies like Sainsbury’s put such an emphasis on training and development is that it
can help motivate and retain employees, which means less time and money spent recruiting and
training new members of staff. Effective training and development also means a more motivated
and engaged workforce which is beneficial for both the employee and the employer.
Thanks for watching the video to the end and if you now know a little more about training and
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