Introduction
If any skill, knowledge, or other aspects can be seen under a performance, it is referred to as a competency. Competency has an important role in the achievement of strategic goals and vision of an organization, thus helping to measure the behavior and actions of employees in an organization. Training is conducted in every country for one purpose or the other. Likewise, several training programs are conducted for developing the country; organizations also take efforts to develop competency-based human resource management for the success of the organization. For developing competency-based human resource management, the organization has to assess the needs of the organization and map according to these needs. (Simpson, and McKay).
General information
Purpose
The purpose of this training plan is to build potential human resources in Tesco in UK, thus creating well-educated and knowledgeable labor force in the organization. The rationale behind this training program is as follows:
- To impart marketing skills of the sales personnel in the organization, thus increasing the sales of the organization
- To improve the quality and productivity of human resources in the organization
- To prevent obsolescence among the individuals and to foster the initiative and creativity of the labor force
- To enhance the personal growth of individuals
Scope
By closely watching the Tesco markets across the countries in which it is operating, UK franchise shows a slash in the everyday prices in the stores because of other retailers. Wal-Mart’s Asda has been lowering its prices to promote the sales which helped them to grab market share of Tesco and Sainsbury. The total market share of three chains Aldi, Lidl and Netto is only about 8% whereas the share of Tesco is about 31%. Tesco operates in nearly 14 countries with 4,000 stores and about 440,000 employees. The proposed marketing skill training program can increase the sales of the organization making Tesco the number one in the market. (Tesco).
System overview
The strategy of Tesco: Tesco’s success strategy was launching as many shops as they can. In UK itself, they are operating around 2,000 shops. Its rival Sainsbury has only 600 shops. Tesco’s strategic move was to locate shops out of the cities. And the shops included a wide variety of product range, whatever the consumer wants. Tesco was the first retailer to enter into non-food items in 1970s. Tesco’s another winning strategy was making strategic alliances with the overseas players. (The Trolley War between Tesco and Walmart).
Training programs can be considered as a tool for motivating the employees. Training can be given in different situations according to the need of the organization. The reason for conducting the training can be different, but one thing which is significant is “to develop the training within the framework of a comprehensive, ongoing and consistent employee training program.” (Bodimer).
Project References
The websites of various organizations have been viewed for conducting the training program. They are as follows:
- Official Tesco website to get details about the company.
- Website of Practical Training for Professionals
- UNESCO – UNICEF CO-OPERATIVE PROGRAMME, ACTION TRAINING MODEL (ATM)
Acronyms and Abbreviations
ATM – Active Training Model
UK – United Kingdom
TERC – Training Evaluation Resources Committee
PTP – Practical Training for Professionals
General Training Prerequisites
There are so many general prerequisites of a training program. Mainly presentations of assignments, case studies, role play etc are included under the training session. So the organization should make the following arrangements for the successful conduct of the training.
- They should arrange in advance the trainers required for the program.
- The number of trainers should be decided based on the number of trainees who attend the training program.
- The organizers must make sure that, during the training period, facilities for food and water are provided.
- The place where training is conducted must have proper ventilation and enough light should be there inside the training room.
- Necessary permission from the concerned government authority should be obtained before conducting the training program.
- The organizers must make sure that the training starts according to the schedule itself so that timely completion is possible.
Training Approach
Training Requirements
The proposed training is mainly aimed to improve the marketing skills of the sales and marketing personnel. The skills which require improvement are as follows: selling skills, presentation skills, communication skills. The individual should be self-organized, polite, punctual, and energetic and also a good listener. From an analysis, it was found that, the sales and marketing personnel were lacking presentation and selling skills.
Roles and Responsibilities
The personnel required for the training program will be different according to the situation. The number, role and responsibilities of the personnel vary according to the training program. In this case, Human Resource Manager is responsible for identifying the drawbacks of the sales and marketing personnel. The personnel required for imparting the marketing skill to the employees can be the marketing manager. The marketing manager will have an idea about how to train the employees to acquire the specified skills.
From analyzing the organizations that provide training to the employees, it is seen that Practical Training for Professionals (PTP) is an organization that provides training services in UK. It was established in 1991 and “PTP delivers management training, sales training, customer care training, personal development training and finance & planning training. We deliver these courses in-house or on an ‘Open’ basis.” (Partial Training for Professional). The administrator coordinates the entire training program with the help of a support committee. Materials developer provides training materials for the training program.
Techniques and Tools
An innovative approach called Active Training Model can be used for the training program. “The Active Training Model (ATM) is an in-service training model. It is so-called because it demands action from trainees in the application of skills learned during training in their own work on return to their institutions.” (Bhola, 3). Under this model the skills learned throughout training are put to work without any announcement as part of the daily duties. The training is imparted on the basis of a written instructional material which can be referred to as a monograph that makes the workshop much easier.
Training Prerequisites
The training requires a well-developed plan and a program schedule. A detailed plan about the training courses and workshops should be developed at the starting point. The workshop section has to be planned to identify the timing and trainer. Other prerequisites can be referred to as the resources of training program. The organizers should have a detailed knowledge about the number of people who have to be trained, the trainers etc. The organizers should also arrange the funding requirements for conducting the training program. Also the building where the training program has to be conducted, equipment and suppliers of the training program have to be previously decided.
Schedule and Curriculum
The training program is for one month in which each week is earmarked for different training sessions. The schedule of the training program can be as follows:
- First week (Plenary session) – This has to be attended by all members of the program including the organizers, supporting staff, teachers, trainers, participants etc. The participants here are the sales and marketing personnel at Tesco
- Second week (Group work) – Here the participants are given group assignments and seminars on a common topic, i.e. how to conduct the sales?
- Third week (Individual tutoring) – Here the participants are divided into groups and each trainer is assigned a group. The trainer gives training to the participants individually which helps the trainer to understand the capabilities of the participants.
- Fourth week – Field visit to the stores or market is included to get the practical implications of the training program.
At the end of each day, time table for the next day should be given to the participants.
Lesson Plan
Barry J. Smith and Brian L. Delahaye, John Wiley and Sons say that, “A good lesson plan will help you stay on course, remind you of the techniques you want to use, show you how to get back on track if you deviate, help you to time the lesson and end on time, and indicate what visual aids you need and when to use them.” (Training Tip of the Month June 1998).
Tesco: Training Lesson Plan for improving the marketing skills
- Date of training:
- Estimated time for the training: One month
- Training subject: For improving the marketing skills
- Final objective: To increase the sales of the organization and improving the quality of the human resource in the organization.
- Number of employees attending the training program: 100 at a time
- No of training sessions: Four
- Materials required: Paper, and Flipchart, workbooks and Assessment sheet for the trainer, Notepad for the trainees, replica products for the role play, and actual products for the field visit, OHP etc
- Training location: In-house training i.e. arrangement made inside the organization
- Supplementary information: (Chaperone Training Lesson Plan).
Evaluation
The main aim of the training program is to improve the marketing skills of the sales and marketing personnel at Tesco. This training workshop is associated with an evaluation proposal. A committee called Training Evaluation Resources Committee (EERC) has been established for the evaluation program. The evaluation has to be conducted in a cycleway which can be referred to as a participative approach:
The trainees have been asked to attend the feedback meeting which has been conducted in three cycles each month after the training session. In each cycle, the trainees have to give their feedback about the sales conducted in each month. The participants were asked to give notes about the events that happened after the training. They were asked if they were able to acquire marketing skills and information from the training. Their behavior and attitude have been observed in the meeting by the organizers. In the end, the organizers can conclude the result of the training program if the sales report submitted by the company shows a positive feedback. It is also required that, the organizers should document the whole training program.
Works Cited
- Bhola, H.S. Action Training Model (ATM): An Innovative Approach to Training Literacy Workers. Notes Comments: Child Family Community: Unesco- Unicef Co- operative Programme. 1983.
- Bodimer, Jeffrey. Use Training and Development to motivate Staff: Building Your Employee Training and Development Program. About.com: Human Resources. 2009. Web.
- Chaperone Training Lesson Plan. 2009.
- Partial Training for Professional. PTP. 2009.
- Simpson, Suzanne., and McKay, Lorraine. Competency – Based Human Resource Management: Planning for Success. HRSG. 2009.
- Tesco. 2009. Web.
- The Trolley War between Tesco and Walmart. 2009.
- Training Tip of the Month June 1998: Designing a Training Lesson Plan. 2008.