A Brief RAI- BRISC-CARR Group Study of Training and Development Practices in Modern Retail Store Operations September 20, 2013

BRISC-CARR Group thanks participants from all major verticals for responding so quickly in this short - 3 week study! Along with sharing the highlights of the study we have taken the liberty of raising some questions. Some of the key messages from this study require further thought. We would like to follow this up with an in-depth research and look forward to your participation. Tanvi, Paresh, Lawrence: You guys sure are really connected with the Membership!! Thank You from Toronto!

Business Diversity of Respondents 3000 Stores 76,000 Personnel Apparel Beauty Electronics Fashion Footwear Grocery Hypermarket Jewelry Mobile and Telecom Pharmacies

Distribution of Stores (All Respondents) This study is therefore based on the experience and practice primarily at Major Metros Since the future growth of retail is outside metros, what needs to be done differently?

Turnover of Companies Turnover of Companies 60% of respondents have a turnover up to INR 500 crores

Human Resource Deployment Across All Respondents If non-store employees are excluded, the frontline accounts for about 85% of the Human Resource Deployed. What SUSTAINABLE innovations can be thought of to MAINTAIN a trained frontline pool?

The Main Criteria Used by Companies to Identify Training Needs of Front-line Employees ‘Feedback from Store Managers’ and ‘Store Performance Metrics’ are among the top criteria for most respondents Could giving importance to CAREER PLANNING data help in addressing the ATTRITION CHALLENGE at frontline?

Number of Hours of Training Mandatory for Employees Engaged in Store Operations Per Year At Frontline as well as Supervisory levels, most responding companies mandate hours of training per year. Some companies go more than 50 hours at both these levels Are training hours limited by constraints? What is DESIRABLE? What other SOLUTIONS are possible?

Training Decision Making Responsibility for Senior Level of Employees in Store Operations Corporate Human Resource Managers make training decisions for senior roles in most companies. There is clarity on who is the decision maker.

Training Decision Making Responsibility for Each Level of Employees in Store Operations At the frontline level, training decisions are taken across the company- Corporate HR, Regional HR, Store Managers or Store Operations leadership. Is this diversity by ‘design’ - with supporting tools and processes or yet to be streamlined? How does it impact efficacy and outcomes of training?

Training Providers For Store Operation Employees by Area of Training Most of the training for store employees is done by internal trainers. Overall the usage of internal trainers is two and half times that of external trainers. Is this an OPTIMAL use of internal resources? Are there other INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS?

Critical Criteria in Selecting an External Trainer for Front-line Employees Most companies consider the ‘Expertise’ of the external trainer as the main criterion Considering the growth in geographic spread, will locational convenience not become a contributor or barrier to selecting trainers soon? How will standardized training capacity across geographies be created?

Largest Training Challenge? Frontline employees present the biggest training challenge for most companies - not for all though What alternatives have been explored?

Challenges In Training Frontline Some Messages That Are REPEATED By Respondents Challenges In Training Frontline Some Messages That Are REPEATED By Respondents Training HIGH numbers TIME – Taking employees off the floor for training Geographically DISPERSED workspaces Standardization and consistency Language barriers Attrition Is there a readiness for trying NEW SOLUTIONS?

Annual Training Budget for Store Operations Expressed as a Percentage of Store Operation Payroll Up to 3% of store operations payroll is budgeted for annual training by 67% of companies. About 30% of companies spend even more. What is OPTIMAL? Any BENCHMARKS to be reviewed as the industry is evolving?

Employee Attrition at Different Levels in the Organization The attrition challenge for most companies lies at the frontline level. This is not a challenge for companies which are outsourcing frontline. A TRAINED worker is SUCCESSFUL and hence HAPPIER at work. Then why does outsourcing make a difference?

Skills and Competencies Least Sought While Recruiting Frontline ‘ Product Knowledge’, ‘Analytical Ability’, and ‘Knowledge about Retail’ are ranked the lowest and are considered the least important while recruiting frontline.

Skills and Competencies Most Sought While Recruiting Frontline Most respondents look for ‘Ability to Smile’, ‘Communication in English’ and ‘Learning Orientation’ while recruiting frontline

BRISC-CARR Group© Concluding Thoughts