Evaluating Soft Skills Training's Impact on Customer Handling at ASDA

This project presents a comprehensive study evaluating the significance of soft-skills training for employees in the retail sector, specifically focusing on ASDA in the United Kingdom. The research aims to understand how soft skills acquisition, such as communication, time management, and teamwork, can enhance customer handling abilities and thereby contribute to the firm's growth and profitability. The study, divided into five chapters, employs a secondary data collection process and qualitative analysis to investigate factors influencing soft skill acquisition and the impact of these skills on customer service and loyalty. The findings highlight the importance of organizational culture, teaching methods, and self-motivation in soft skill development. The project concludes with recommendations for integrating soft skill training programs, organizing workshops, and raising employee awareness to improve customer handling skills and ultimately boost ASDA's profitability. The project also includes an introduction, literature review, research methodology, findings and discussion, and conclusion and recommendations.

0Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
A STUDY TO EVALUATE THE IMPORTANCE OF SOFT-SKILLS TRAINING TO
THE EMPLOYEES AS ONE OF THE IMPORTANT FACTORS TO IMPROVE
CUSTOMER HANDLING SKILLS IN THE RETAIL SECTOR OF UNITED
KINGDOM: A CASE STUDY OF ASDA
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
ABSTRACT
The aim of this study is to understand the manner in which the acquisition of soft skills can
help the employees of a retail firm to improve their customer handling abilities and thereby
contribute in an effective manner towards the growth of the concerned firm. This is important
because of the fact that the majority of the business firms even in the present times primarily
focus on the development of the hard skills of their employees and thereby completely
relegate the acquisition of soft skills and the benefits that they offer to the background. This
becomes even more important because of the fact that the options or the choices that are
available to the contemporary customers had increased in an exponential manner and thereby
rather than merely focusing on the attributes of cost, quality and others they also take into
account the manner in which they are being offered services at the retail firms. It is on the
score of this aspect that the researcher had selected the topic “A study to evaluate the
importance of soft-skills training to the employees as one of the most important factors to
improve customer handling skills in the retail sector of United Kingdom, a case study of
ASDA” for the conduct of the study since the concerned firm in the recent times had faced a
significant decline in its profitability and also on the score of the fact that the different
training programs of the concerned firm primarily focus on the hard skill development of the
employees.
The researcher had divided the entire study into five chapter, namely, introduction, literature
review, research methodology, findings and discussion and conclusion and recommendations.
More importantly, for the effective completion of the study the researcher had taken the help
of secondary data collection process and qualitative analysis. As a matter of fact, the
researcher had found that organisational culture, self-motivation, teaching methods and others
are some of the major factors which affect the acquisition of soft skills by the employees of
an organisation. Furthermore, the researcher had also found the fact that the soft skills of the

2Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
employees are one of the most important factors which influences the customer handling
abilities of the employees of an organisation. As a matter of fact, it is seen that the effective
acquisition as well as usage of different kinds of soft skills helps the employees to not only
offer high-quality services to the customers but at the same time earn their loyalty or
satisfaction as well and this in turn can significantly enhance the profitability of the
concerned firm as well. Lastly, the researcher recommends the integration of soft skill
training within the training programs which are being offered by the firm Asda to the
employees, organisation of seminars or workshops, spreading awareness among the
employees regarding the benefits offered by soft skills so as to help the employees acquire
different kinds of soft skills which in turn would enable them to improve their customer
handling abilities.

3Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would firstly like to thank my professor for giving me the opportunity to complete my
dissertation on the topic “A study to evaluate the importance of soft-skills training to the
employees as one of the most important factors to improve customer handling skills in the
retail sector of United Kingdom, a case study of ASDA”. I would also like to thank my
supervisor Mr…………… for guiding me during each of the steps of the study and without
whom I would never have been able to complete my research work.
I would also thank my friends and family members for the constant support that they have
given me and also for constantly standing by my side.
Thank you,
……………………………………..
(Signature of the Researcher)

4Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................6
1.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................6
1.2 Background of the Study..................................................................................................7
1.3 Overview of the organisation ASDA...............................................................................7
1.4 Problem Statement...........................................................................................................8
1.5 Rationale of the Study......................................................................................................9
1.6 Research Aim.................................................................................................................10
1.7 Research Objectives.......................................................................................................10
1.8 Research Questions........................................................................................................10
1.9 Significance of the Study...............................................................................................11
1.10 Structure of the Dissertation.........................................................................................11
Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.......................................................................................13
2.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................13
2.2 Employee training in the Retail sector...........................................................................13
2.3 Importance of Soft skill Training Programs...................................................................15
2.4 Theories and models related to soft skill training programs..........................................17
2.5 Factors affecting the acquisition of soft skills................................................................19
2.5.1 Awareness and preference.......................................................................................19
2.5.2 Impact of society.....................................................................................................20
2.5.3 Teaching methods and classroom activities............................................................20
2.5.4 Observation and self-motivation.............................................................................20

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2.5.5 Infrastructure and technology.................................................................................21
2.6 Customer handling skills and its importance.................................................................21
2.7 Impact of soft skill training programs on customer handling skills of the employees. .23
2.8 Summary........................................................................................................................23
Chapter 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...........................................................................25
3.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................25
3.2 Research Philosophy......................................................................................................25
3.3 Research Approach........................................................................................................26
3.4 Research Design.............................................................................................................27
3.5 Data Collection Method.................................................................................................27
3.6 Data Analysis Method....................................................................................................28
3.7 Ethical Considerations...................................................................................................28
3.8 Research Limitations......................................................................................................28
3.9 Summary........................................................................................................................29
Chapter 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION...........................................................................30
4.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................30
4.2 Findings..........................................................................................................................30
4.3 Discussion of the Findings.............................................................................................35
4.4 Summary........................................................................................................................39
Chapter 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS...................................................41
5.1 Conclusion......................................................................................................................41

6Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
5.2 Linking with Objectives.................................................................................................42
5.3 Recommendations..........................................................................................................43
5.4 Future Scope of the Study..............................................................................................43
References................................................................................................................................45

7Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
In this chapter, the researcher offers an overview of the topic which is being researched,
namely, “A study to evaluate the importance of soft-skills training to the employees as one of
the most important factors to improve customer handling skills in the retail sector of United
Kingdom, a case study of ASDA”. Furthermore, the researcher also discusses the correlation
between the different soft skills trainings and the customer handling abilities of the
employees. More importantly, the researcher also outlines the different important facets of
the research work which is being conducted, namely, research aim, objectives, questions,
problem statement and others. Lastly, the chapter concludes with a brief discussion of the
entire structure of the dissertation itself.
As opined by Nickson et al. (2017), soft skills are the complimentary or additional skills
that the employees are required to possess so as effectively completely the different kinds of
job roles that they are being assigned to do within the framework of the diverse organisations.
In this regard, it needs to be said that some of the most important soft skills that the
contemporary employees are required to have are effective communication skills, technical
skills, time management abilities, positive attitude, team working abilities and others. The
different kinds of soft skills become important from the perspective of the retail industry
because of the direct interaction that the employees related to this are required to have with
the customers. More importantly, as suggested by Larivière et al. (2017), within the
framework of the contemporary retail industry it is seen that the prospects of the retail firms
greatly depend on the aspect of customer loyalty or customer satisfaction and this in turn is
directly related to the quality of services not only in terms of products or commodities but
also in terms of customer experience which is being offered to them. On the other hand, the

8Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
different soft skills of the employees significantly equip them to offer effective services to the
customers and also manage their concerns, complaints and others in an adequate manner.
1.2 Background of the Study
Faed et al. (2016) are of the viewpoint that the loyalty of the customers in the retail sector
depends greatly on the kind of customer handling skills which are being employed by the
workers or the employees who are related to these retail organisations. As opined by Hurrell
(2016), this is important not only from the perspective of the profitability of these
organisations but at the same time perspective of the long-term growth of these organisations.
The net result of this is that different organisations like Tesco, Asda, John Lewis and others
are increasingly focusing on different kinds of training programs for the improvement in the
manner in which the customers are being dealt with or for that matter in which an effective
relationship is being managed with them (Chakraborty, Gupta and Saha 2017). In this regard,
it needs to be said that along with the different kinds of trainings like on-job training,
advanced training and others different retail organisations are actively offering various kinds
of soft skill trainings to the workers like effective communication, emotional intelligence,
social intelligence and others (McFarlane, Giannikas and Lu 2016). More importantly,
Freiman et al. (2016) have articulated the viewpoint that the primary objective of the
organisations behind the conduct of these training programs is to improve the customer
handling abilities or skills of the workers which in turn is likely to enhance the loyalty of the
customers and thereby the revenue earned by them.
1.3 Overview of the organisation ASDA
The organisation Asda, founded in 1949 by Peter Asquith, Fred Asquith and Sir Noel
Stockdale, is a British supermarket retailer (Asda.com 2019). The organisation became a
subsidiary of the American supermarket chain Walmart in 1999 and between the years 2003
and 2014 was the 2nd largest supermarket of the UK in terms of the market share as well as

9Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
the annual revenue generated by it (Asda.com 2019). Furthermore, the organisation offers a
plethora of services or products to the customers starting from grocery products to financial
and mobile phone services (Asda.com 2019). More importantly, the organisation so as to
enhance the revenue earned by it is currently taking the help of the media slogan of “Save
Money. Live Better” (Asda.com 2019). In addition to these, it is seen that the organisation for
the attainment of a unique position in the retail industry of UK is currently taking the help of
the cost leadership strategy so as to gain competitive advantage over its rivals in the retail
business market of UK (Wood 2019). The organisation currently offers employment to more
than 170,000 individuals and the net revenue generated by it for the year 2016 was more than
21,666 million (Asda.com 2019). Moreover, for the effective performance of this large
workforce, the concerned firm offers different kinds of training programs to the employees so
that they are being able to offer adequate services to the customers and thereby help in the
enhancement of the profitability of the firm. However, the major problem arises because of
the fact that the majority of these training programs are intended to enhance the hard skills of
the employees and relatively little focus is being placed on the soft skills (The Independent
2019).
1.4 Problem Statement
The volume of sales registered by the organisation Asda for the year 2018 declined to an
all-time low percentage of -5.8% and the net result of this was that the profit earned by the
organisation declined by more than 10% for the same year (The Independent 2019). More
importantly, the organisation currently is facing a high rate of customer attrition which is
directly affecting the amount of revenue earned by it (Wood 2019). This can be explained on
the basis of the fact that the concerned firm relies primarily on different kinds of hard skill
training programs and relatively less emphasis is being placed on the soft skill development.
This in turn had significantly limited the ability of the employees to handle the complaints or

10Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
the concerns of the customers or sale products through understanding the needs of the
customers which in turn had contributed towards the decline in the revenue as well as the
volume of sale of the retail firm under discussion here. It is precisely here that the importance
of the notion of effective customer handling skills comes into play since it will enable the
organisation to retain the customers who are switching over to its rivals.
1.5 Rationale of the Study
According to Hurrell (2016), the number of options or choices that are available to the
contemporary customers had increased in a significantly manner because of the large number
of organisations which are operational in the retail sector of UK. The net result of this is that
the attribute of customer relationship management or customer handling had emerged as one
of the most important factors which influence the buying behaviour of the customers
(Freiman et al. 2016). Furthermore, it is seen that the financial prospects or the profitability of
an organisation depends greatly on the number of customers that it boasts of and thus the
different organisations are taking into effective consideration the entity of customer handling
skills (McFarlane, Giannikas and Lu 2016). In addition to this, it is seen that the aspect of
customer loyalty or satisfaction is an important one within the retail industry because of the
large number of options that are available to them and the customers develop loyalty towards
the firms not only on the basis of the quality of the products or services which are being
offered to them but also on the basis of customer experience (Daugherty, Bolumole and
Grawe 2018). More importantly, it is seen that the entity of customer experience is directly
related to the manner in which the customers are being treated at the retail stores, the way in
which their concerns or problems are being handled and others which in turn depends on the
customer handling abilities of the employees of the concerned firm (Wood 2019). Thus, the
researcher had conducted this study with the rationale that the improvement of the soft skills
of the workers or the employees can equip them to handle the different customers of the

11Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
organisation in a much better manner. More importantly, this is likely to help the
organisations to reduce the high rate of customer attrition that they facing which in turn is
directly affecting the amount of annual revenue earned by them. Thus, the researcher in this
study had tried to emphasise on the soft skill training programs as a way to improve the
customer handling abilities or skills of the workers related to the retail organisations.
1.6 Research Aim
The aim of this dissertation is to evaluate the importance of soft-skills training to the
employees to improve customer handling skills in the retail sector of United Kingdom, a case
study of ASDA.
1.7 Research Objectives
1. To evaluate the factors that helps to enhance the soft-skills of employees to improve
customer handling skills in the retail sector of United Kingdom
2. To understand the impact of improved soft-skills on customer handling in the retail
sector of United Kingdom
3. To recommend few ways to improve the soft-skills of employees that will improve
customer handling skills in the retail sector of United Kingdom
1.8 Research Questions
1. What are the factors which help in the enhancement of soft-skills of employees to
improve customer handling skills in the retail sector of United Kingdom?
2. What is the impact of improved soft-skills on customer handling in the retail sector of
United Kingdom?
3. What are the ways through which the soft-skills of employees can be improved that
will enhance customer handling skills in the retail sector of United Kingdom?

12Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
1.9 Significance of the Study
The research work will be an important one for the retail organisations like Asda,
Tesco, John Lewis and others which are facing the problem of high customer attrition rate at
the present moment. It is pertinent to note that the problem of high customer attrition rate is
adversely affecting the amount of revenue earned by them and thus this research work will
offer them a framework through the use of which these organisations will be able to mitigate
effects of the same. More importantly, in the past numerous research works have been
conducted on the concepts of customer handling abilities of the employees and also on the
importance of the different kinds of soft skills but very few research works have been
conducted on the manner in which the improvement of the soft skills of the workers can
enable the organisations to enhance the customer handling abilities of the workers or the
employees of these organisations. It is precisely here that this research work gains
prominence within the particular context of the UK retail industry.
1.10 Structure of the Dissertation
The entire research consists of five chapters, namely, introduction, literature review,
methodology, findings and discussion and conclusion and recommendations. In the second
chapter, namely, literature review, the researcher reviews the past literature related to the
concepts of customer handling and soft skills to find out the correlation between the two. In
the chapter methodology, the researcher articulates the data collection (secondary data
collection method) and the data analysis (qualitative data analysis method) processes along
with the other facets of the methodology which had been used by the researcher for the
effective conduct of the research. In the chapter findings and discussion, the researcher
analyses as well as discusses the data which had collected for the completion of the research
work. Finally, in the conclusion and recommendations chapter, the researcher summarises the
major findings of the research work and also proposes ways through the soft skills training

13Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
programs can be effectively utilised to improve the customer handling abilities of the
employees.
Figure 1: Structure of the Study
Source: (Created by the Author)
Chapter
1 Introduction
Chapter
2
Literature Review
Chapter
3 Research Methodology
Chapter
4 Findings and Discussion
Chapter 5 Conclusion and Recommendations

14Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
In this chapter, the researcher undertakes a critical analysis of the different theories as
well as models related to the soft skill training programs and also the impact that it has on the
customer handling abilities of the employees. Thus, it can be said that this chapter will shed
light on the theoretical aspects of the topic under discussion here so as to enable the
researcher to analyse the secondary data in an effective manner in the fourth chapter.
Lloyd and Payne (2016) are of the viewpoint that the prominence held by the concept
of effective customer handling can be explained on the basis of the fact that the manner in
which the customers are being managed by an organisation greatly decides the satisfaction
level of the customers and thereby the revenue earned by it. It is because of this that many
organisations related to the retail sector are increasingly focusing on this aspect so as to
improve their customer handling abilities and thereby offer themselves a better chance of
earning a higher amount of revenue. According to Kazis and Molina (2016), one of the best
ways through which the firms can attain this end is to offer different kinds of soft skill
training programs to the employees rather than primarily focusing on various kinds of hard
skill training programs. This chapter will shed light on the manner in which the various soft
skill training programs can be used by the organisations to improve the customer handling
abilities of their workers.
2.2 Employee training in the Retail sector
As opined by Davidson (2016), training can be defined as a form of teaching or the
process of developing in others or oneself any kind of knowledge or skills which are related
to some specific competencies. Larivière et al. (2017) are of the viewpoint that the primary
purpose of the various kinds of trainings which are being offered to the individuals is to

15Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
develop in them the capacity as well as capability so as to enhance their productivity and
performance. On the other hand, Jie et al. (2015) argue that the process of training is usually
associated with the transfer of skills or competencies which are likely to enable the
individuals to perform the job roles or tasks that are expected of them within an organisation
in the best possible manner. The concept of training becomes especially important in the
particular context of the retail industry which in the recent times had emerged as one of the
most important ones of the world and thereby cater to the interests of a very large customer
base. This becomes evident from the fact that the present growth rate of the retail industry is
7.9% and by the year 2020 the concerned industry is expected to reach $19.2 trillion
(Ons.gov.uk 2019). More importantly, it is seen that the industry offers employment to more
than 3.9 million people and in order to help these employees perform on par with the
expectations of the firms they are being offered different kinds of training programs
(Ons.gov.uk 2019).
Edeling and Pilz (2016) have noted that the organisations related to the retail industry
offer various kinds of trainings to the workers like on-job training, advanced training,
customer handling, soft skills and others. As noted by Rangnekar (2016), the majority of
these training programs focus on the professional development of the workers and the
acquisition of hard skills needed for the completion of their job. However, in the present
times it is seen that the firms realising the drawbacks of the hard skill training programs
offered are offering different kinds of soft skill training programs to the employees which
intend to enhance their communication skills, social skills, technical skills and others
(Davidson 2016). More importantly, as stated by Hurrell (2016), these skills go a long way in
helping the employees to convince the customers to opt for the products or services that they
are offering and also to maintain an effective relationship with them as well. On the other
hand, Malik and Venkatraman (2017) argue these training programs intend to offer the right

16Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
kind of tools to the individuals which in turn are likely to help them to perform as per the
expectation or the demand of the organisation and industry. Furthermore, the effective usage
of these skills also enables the employees to complete their job roles in an effective manner
and thereby reduce the work-stress felt by them and also enhance their job satisfaction as well
(Reegård 2016).
2.3 Importance of Soft skill Training Programs
Wesley, Jackson and Lee (2017) have articulated the viewpoint that the contemporary
business firms in order to cope up with the ever-changing needs or expectations of the
customers and also complete the diverse job roles are increasingly resorting to the usage of
the new kinds of training programs. In this regard, the soft skill training programs are an
important one which is being used by the different firms to enhance the social and other skills
of the employees. As opined by Ikeler (2016), the soft skills can be defined as the personal
attributes of an individual which enable them to interact harmoniously as well as effectively
with the other individuals. More importantly, the construct of soft skills encompasses a
plethora of skill sets like people skills, communication skills, social skills, personality or
character traits or attributes, emotional intelligence, social intelligence and others (Kazis and
Molina 2016). According to Prasad (2016), the major functions of the different kinds of soft
skills is to enable the individuals to navigate their environment in an effective manner, work
in a harmonious manner with others, perform as per the expectation of the firm that they are a
part of, achieve the strategic goals or objectives outlined for them through the complementary
usage of the other hard skills.
As per Nickson et al. (2017), the different kinds of soft skills not only compliment the
hard skills that an individual has but at the same time enable the individuals to complete their
job roles in an effective manner. More importantly, a study conducted by the Harvard
University revealed the fact that 80% of the success gained by the employees in the

17Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
workplace can be attributed to the soft skills that they have whereas only 20% can be
attributed to the hard skills (Burgess 2018). Furthermore, the prominence held by the concept
of soft skill can be explained on the basis of the fact that the workers in the different business
firms in the contemporary times are not only required to interact with the clients or the
customers but at the same time with their colleagues for the completion of diverse types of
tasks that had been allocated to them (Cachero-Martínez and Vázquez-Casielles 2017). Thus,
for the effective completion of these job roles the individuals are required to possess soft
skills and this is perhaps one of the major reasons why the different business firms are
increasingly offered various types of soft skill training programs to the employees for the
improvement of their performance. However, Daugherty, Bolumole and Grawe (2018) have
articulated the viewpoint that the soft skill training of the individuals should begin at the
educational institutions of the individuals itself as part of the vocational training that they are
required to undertake. In this regard, the Eastern Kentucky University had listed the
communication, team work, flexibility, integrity, interpersonal skills, positive attitude,
professionalism and others as the major soft skills that the individuals are required to have so
as to gain success in the professional world (Shooshtari, Stan and Clouse 2018). Presently,
different business firms keeping into consideration the benefits offered by the different soft
skills are not only arranging different kinds of workshops, training programs for the
enhancement of the communication skills, social skills, emotional intelligence and others
(Kadic-Maglajlic et al. 2017).
There are various benefits that the acquisition as well as the effective usage of the
different kinds of soft skills offers not only to the employees but at the same time to the
organisations as well. For example, it is seen that the soft skill of emotional intelligence not
only enables the employees to understand the emotions of their colleagues but at the same
time that of the customers as well (McFarlane, Giannikas and Lu 2016). This is important

18Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
from the perspective that it enables the workers to complete their job roles in an effective
manner through a better understanding of the emotions of their colleagues and also the
customers. On the other hand, the communication skills help the workers to not only cascade
information to their colleagues in an effective manner but also convey relevant information to
the customers as well as address their concerns as well (Faed et al. 2016). This in turn enables
the workers to handle the customers or the clients in a better manner and thereby establish
effective relationship with them. Furthermore, the soft skill of professionalism enables the
workers to not only maintain a professional working environment within the workplace but
also with the clients or the customers as well (Lee, Wang and Trappey 2015).
Burgess (2018) argues that the customers or the clients usually like to opt for the
services or products offered by an organisation whose workers or employees are professional
and also conduct business in a professional manner. In addition to these benefits, it is seen
that the effective usage of the different kinds of soft skills enables the workers to complete
the job roles or the tasks allocated to them in an effective manner not only in terms of quality
but also in terms of the timely delivery of the services as well (Larivière et al. 2017). More
importantly, the effective usage of these soft skills enables the workers to adapt to the
increasingly dynamic workplaces in which they are required to work and also to gulf the
bridge between the theoretical concepts that are taught to them in the classrooms and the ones
that are being actually used in the professional world (Lloyd and Payne 2016). This is
important from the perspective of the different organisations because of the fact that it helps
the organisations to not only improve the quality of services offered by them to the customers
but at the same time maintain an effective relationship with them.
2.4 Theories and models related to soft skill training programs
Edeling and Pilz (2016) have articulated the viewpoint that the prominence held by
the concept of soft skill training programs becomes from the fact that in the recent times a

19Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
large number of theoretical models as well as frameworks have gained prominence which are
being used to offer soft skill training to the employees. In this regard, the ‘Design for Six
Sigma (DFSS) framework’ is one of the most important ones which is being extensively used
by the different organisations to offer soft skill training to the workers (Jie et al. 2015). This
is usually seen as a “stakeholders-driven exploratory embedded mixed-design research
approach” of soft skill training which comprises of five steps (Limbu et al. 2016). The five
steps of the framework are define, measure, analyse, design and finally verify (Davidson
2016). Thus, taking the help of this framework the organisations are required to first define
the soft skills that they are offering to the employees and also the likely benefits that it is
going to offer to the workers (Rangnekar 2016). Secondly, they are required to outline
various milestones for the effective measure of the rewards or the benefits that they have
been able to derive through the usage of this (Edeling and Pilz 2016). Thirdly, the rewards or
the benefits that have been derived need to be analysed in an objective manner taking into
effective consideration the cost and other factors (Limbu et al. 2016). Fourthly, on the basis
of the results of the analysis the organisations need to redesign these soft training programs
for long-term usage and finally verification is also conducted regarding the benefits offered
by these redesigned programs (Rangnekar 2016).
Wesley, Jackson and Lee (2017) are of the viewpoint that three of the most important
theories which influence the business firms to offer different kinds of soft skill training
programs to the employees are the control theory, attribution theory and the goal setting
theory. For example, taking the help of the control theory the different business firms are
offering the kind of soft skill training programs to the workers or the employees which are
likely to help them to attain an effective control over the performance of these workers and
also the different facets of their job roles completed by them (Ikeler 2016). On the other hand,
the attribution theory which consists of self-regulation and socially situated aspects of the

20Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
workers enables the organisations to develop different kinds of soft skills among the workers
like social intelligence, emotional intelligence and others (Reegård 2016). Lastly, the goal
setting helps the organisations to outline various performance related goals or objectives for
the workers and thereby offer relevant soft skill training programs to them for the effective
attainment of the same (Rangnekar 2016). In addition to these, it is seen that the HR
professionals also play a pivotal role in the development of soft skills of the workers by not
only enhancing the engagement level among them but at the same time through the
development of effective policies and also by offering the right kind of training programs
(Davidson 2016). More importantly, the modern-day HR professionals are required to work
in synchronicity with the management teams of the organisations so as to understand the
diversity of roles that they are required to perform within the organisation and thereby
develop effective hard and soft skills training programs for them.
2.5 Factors affecting the acquisition of soft skills
2.5.1 Awareness and preference
As opined by Prasad (2016), the acquisition as well as the effective usage of the
different kinds of soft skills by the individuals depends greatly on the awareness of these
individuals regarding the likely benefits or rewards that the concerned soft skills are going to
them. In this regard, it needs to be said that majority of the times it is seen that because of the
lack of awareness of the individuals they do not undertake soft skill training programs which
in turn affects the amount or the extent of success that they could have attained (Nickson et
al. 2017). Another important factors which significantly affects the acquisition of the
different kinds of soft skills is the preference of the individuals regarding them. For example,
it is seen that the human beings have a tendency to undertake the kind of activities which are
easy in nature and easily achievable (Kazis and Molina 2016). This is perhaps one of the
major reasons why the individuals often refrain from undertaking the kind of soft skill

21Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
training which although difficult in nature but can offer significant rewards or benefits to
them. On the basis of this it can be said that the entities of awareness and preference are
important ones which affect the acquisition of soft skill among the individuals.
2.5.2 Impact of society
Shooshtari, Stan and Clouse (2018) are of the viewpoint that the various soft skills
unlike the hard skills are not developed in a shorter period of time and requires a significant
amount of time for their acquisition. The individuals, their parents, teachers and others are
thus required to encourage as well as facilitate the acquisition of these soft skills on the part
of the individuals. However, in the majority of the cases it is seen that not enough
encouragement or motivation is given to the individuals for undertaking the acquisition of
soft skills and this is perhaps one of the major reasons why many individuals are not
enthusiastic regarding the acquisition of these skills (Kadic-Maglajlic et al. 2017). Thus, it
can be said that the kind of society or environment in which an individual dwell plays a key
role in the acquisition of the different kinds of soft skills.
2.5.3 Teaching methods and classroom activities
The teaching methods which are being used for inculcating the different kinds of soft
skills among the individuals influences the process of acquisition of these skills in a
significant manner. As a matter of fact, Burgess (2018) found that the collaborative as well as
informative kind of teaching method is the best one for the acquisition of the diverse kinds of
soft skills. In addition to these, the teachers or the instructors also need to adopt a humanistic
approach and take the help of different kinds of classroom activities like debating, elocution,
group activities and others for the effective development as well as the usage of the soft skills
(McFarlane, Giannikas and Lu 2016). However, in the majority of the cases it is seen that the
focus is merely on the theoretical perspective or the likely benefits or rewards that the usage

22Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
of the different kinds of soft skills are going to offer completely negating the practical
perspectives.
2.5.4 Observation and self-motivation
The vocational training institutions as well as the organisations which are offering soft
skill training programs need to monitor and observe the progress that the individuals or the
workers through the usage of the different kinds of soft skills (Faed et al. 2016). This usually
involves an assessment of the difficulties that the individuals are having towards the usage of
the soft skills, the manner in which these are being, the benefits or the rewards that they are
being able to get and others (Lee, Wang and Trappey 2015). In addition to these, the kind of
self-motivation that the individuals have towards the acquisition of these skills also
determines greatly the extent to which these will be acquired by them. On the other hand,
Kazis and Molina (2016) have noted that an individual who knows the benefits that he or she
can derive through the usage of a particular soft skill will be more motivated to acquire it and
this in turn affects the process of the acquisition of these soft skills.
2.5.5 Infrastructure and technology
The infrastructure and also the technology which is being used to offer various kinds
of soft skill training programs dictates greatly the acquisition of the soft skills by the workers
or the individuals. For example, it is seen that the learners find it very easy to understand
concepts or things when they are taught to them using visual representations and other similar
kinds of technology (Nickson et al. 2017). In addition to this, if the infrastructure or the
ambience of the classroom is a suitable one then it is more likely that the leaners will find it
easy to grasp the concepts or the things that are being taught to them in an effective manner
(Cachero-Martínez and Vázquez-Casielles 2017).

23Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
2.6 Customer handling skills and its importance
As opined by Lloyd and Payne (2016), the customer handling skills refers to the
abilities or the skills of the workers or employees which enable them to deal in an effective
manner with the customers or clients and also to resolve the issues that they are facing. Malik
and Venkatraman (2017) are of the opinion that there are many important skills like effective
communication, social intelligence, emotional intelligence, accountability, product
knowledge, problem solving skills and others which help the employees to handle the clients
or customers in an adequate manner. The prominence held by this concept within the cannon
of the contemporary business world can be explained on the basis of the fact that in the
present business world the number of choices or options that are available to the customers
have increased threefold (Jie et al. 2015). Thus, rather than merely focusing on the quality as
well as price of the products or services, the customers also take into effective consideration
the manner in which their complaints and queries are being handled by the employees and the
organisations and also the relationship that these employees and organisations share with
them. This is important from the perspective of the satisfaction as well as the loyalty of the
clients or the customers and thereby the profitability of the organisations as well (Davidson
2016). The net result of this is that the organisations not only look to hire the kind of
individuals who already possess these abilities or skills but at the same time offer various
kinds of training programs for the development of the same.
There are various benefits that the effective usage of the customer handling abilities
or skills offer not only to the organisations but also to the workers as well. Firstly, the
effective usage of the customer handling skills helps the workers to offer high quality
services to the customers and thereby earn their trust (Hurrell 2016). This is important from
the perspective that the majority of the organisations related to the retail sector are facing
high customer attrition and thus the usage of these skills are likely to enable the workers and

24Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
also the organisations to earn the trusts as well as the loyalty of the customers and thereby
reduce the high customer attrition rate that they are currently facing (Ikeler 2016). Secondly,
the effective usage of the customer handling skills is likely to help the employees and the
organisations to adequately address the complaints as well as the issues faced by the
customers or the clients (Daugherty, Bolumole and Grawe 2018). This is likely to enable the
organisations to significantly improve their market or brand image which in turn is likely to
help them to gain a larger customer base because of the fact that the contemporary customers
are very concerned regarding the brand or the market image of the organisations whose
products or services that they are opting for (Faed et al. 2016). This in turn will also enhance
the loyalty that the customers feel towards the organisations and thereby reduce the customer
attrition rate. Thirdly, the usage of these skills is likely to reduce the workload or stress faced
by the workers by helping them to achieve the targets that have been given to them in a much
better manner.
2.7 Impact of soft skill training programs on customer handling skills of the employees
McFarlane, Giannikas and Lu (2016) have articulated the viewpoint that the customer
handling abilities or the skills of the workers are largely dependent on the kind of soft skills
that they have or the kind of soft skills training programs that have been offered to them. For
example, it is seen that some of the most important skills that are needed by the workers to
effectively handle the different customers or clients are communication, problem solving,
social intelligence, emotional intelligence and others which as a matter of fact are the core
components of the soft skill training programs that are being offered to the employees or the
workers (Larivière et al. 2017). More importantly, it is seen that the different kinds of soft
skill training programs offer the right kind of opportunity to the workers to develop these soft
skills and they also offer a guide regarding the manner in which the workers can use them
(Edeling and Pilz 2016). Thus, it can be said that the different kinds of soft skill training

25Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
programs have a profound impact on the customer handling abilities or the skills of the
workers since they help the workers in the acquisition of these skills or abilities. Moreover, it
is seen that these soft skill training programs offer the right kind of tool to the workers to
adjust to the ever-changing needs of the customers and also the dynamicity that they exhibit
in terms of their behaviour because of the plethora of choices that are available to them.
2.8 Summary
In this chapter, the researcher shows the impact of the soft skill training programs on
the customer handling abilities or skills of the workers or the employees. It is with this
objective that the researcher took the help of different kinds of theoretical models and
concepts related to the entity of soft skills. More importantly, this discussion will facilitate
the understanding as well as interpretation of the secondary data which will be collected for
the effective completion of the research work.

26Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
Chapter 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
In this chapter, the research methodology which will be used for the completion of the
research has been stated by the researcher. According to Kumar (2019), research
methodology is a detailed organised or systematic approach which is being used for the
purpose of conducting academic research works and also for addressing the research
objectives that had been formulated by the researcher for the purpose of the research. Thus,
the researcher in this chapter will state the research approach, research philosophy, data
collection method, data analysis method and others that will be used for the effective
completion of the study.
3.2 Research Philosophy
As opined by Silverman (2016), research philosophy denotes the belief or the values
which outlines the manner or the style in which a particular researcher collects the data or
information as well as analyses them that is needed for the effective completion of the
research. Positivism, interpretivism and pragmatism are three of the most commonly research
philosophies commonly used by the researchers (Flick 2015). Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault
(2015) are of the viewpoint that the positivism philosophy enables the researchers to focus on
numerical data, figures, facts, observations, opinions and others and thereby does not support
assumptions. The resultant effect of this is that the researchers taking the help of this research
philosophy are required to formulate hypotheses at the beginning of the study and thereby test
the validity or the accuracy through the usage of facts, figures, observations and other kinds
of data (Smith 2015). In contrast to this, the interpretivism philosophy requires the
researchers to segregate the human behaviour from that of the social factors and thus the
researchers taking the help of this philosophy had to depend on different kinds of

27Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
observations, interviews and others (Walliman 2017). More importantly, one of the most
important aspects of this research philosophy is the fact that it is based on the concept of
meaning as well as the correlation between the researcher and the topic that had been selected
for analysis. On the other hand, Quinlan et al. (2019) have noted that the pragmatism
philosophy helps the researchers to analyse the topic that they have selected for research from
different point-of-views because of the fact that one single idea or viewpoint cannot answer
the research questions or objectives in an effective manner. Thus, the researcher for the
conduct of the study under discussion here had selected the pragmatism philosophy because
of the fact that it enable the researcher to analyse the concepts of soft skill training and
customer handling abilities of the employees from different perspectives or viewpoints and
thereby answer the research questions in an effective manner.
3.3 Research Approach
According to Hair Jr. et al. (2015), inductive and deductive research approaches are
the two most commonly used research approaches by the different researchers for the
completion of their study. As a matter of fact, Sekaran and Bougie (2016) are of the
viewpoint that the researchers taking the help of the deductive approach are required to use
various theories, frameworks, models and others relevant to the topic that they selected and
on the basis of these undertake data analysis, hypotheses testing and others. This is primarily
done to test the validity of the hypotheses or the theories that had been used for the
completion of the study. However, for the effective utilisation of the inductive research
approach the researchers for the purpose of answering the research questions or objectives are
required to use different kinds of information or data as well as analyse them through the use
of adequate tools so as to derive the required results (Bell, Bryman and Harley 2018). It is
pertinent to note that the researcher for the completion of this study had taken the help of
deductive research approach which will enable the researcher to take the help of past

28Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
literature as well as the theories, frameworks, models and others articulated in them for the
effective completion of the research.
3.4 Research Design
McCusker and Gunaydin (2015) have articulated the viewpoint that the descriptive,
explanatory and exploratory research designs are the three commonly used research designs
by the different researchers. In this regard, it needs to be said that the researchers taking the
help of the exploratory design highlight or outline the background of the research questions
or the problem statement that they have selected for research (Smith 2015). According to
Flick (2015), the exploratory research design is the one in which the researchers are required
to find the root cause or the factors which have directly contributed towards the problem
statement or the research questions which is being analysed. On the other hand, the usage of
the descriptive research design helps the researchers to relate the findings of the study with
the objectives that had been formulated at the very beginning of the study for the effective
conduct of the study (Silverman 2016). The researcher for the completion of the research
work under discussion here had taken the help of the descriptive research design because of
the fact that it will the researcher to link the findings derived from the different secondary
sources of information with the research objectives which were formulated at the very
beginning of the study.
3.5 Data Collection Method
Secondary data collection method and the primary data collection method are the two
most commonly used data collection methods by the researchers (Walliman 2017). Bell,
Bryman and Harley (2018) have stated that the researchers through the usage of the primary
data collection method have the opportunity to collect first-hand or primary data for the
completion of the research. In this regard, it needs to be said that the researchers have the
option to use different kinds of tools for the collection of primary data like survey,

29Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
questionnaires, interviews and others (Hair Jr. et al. 2015). In contrast to this, the researchers
through the usage of the secondary collection method have the opportunity to collect
secondary data like newspaper articles, news releases, peer-reviewed articles and others so as
to get the required amount of data or information needed for the effective completion of the
research (McCusker and Gunaydin 2015). The researcher for the completion of this research
had taken the help of secondary data collection method since it will enable the researcher to
collection information regarding the soft skill training program of Asda and the manner in
which it had influenced the customer handling abilities of the employees and thereby answer
the research questions in an effective manner.
3.6 Data Analysis Method
Quantitative data analysis method (used for the analysis of primary data) and
qualitative data analysis method (used for the analysis of secondary data) are the two most
commonly data analysis methods used by the different researchers (Bell, Bryman and Harley
2018). In this regard, it needs to be said that the researcher for the analysis of the secondary
data that had been collection for the purpose of the research will take the help of the process
of qualitative data analysis method.
3.7 Ethical Considerations
The researcher intends to complete the study as per the ethical guidelines of
conducting academic research and thereby due respect has been given to the authors as well
as the scholars whose works are used so as to avoid plagiarism. This will also enhance the
quality as well as the originality of the research as well.
3.8 Research Limitations
The researcher had relied only on secondary data sources for the completion of the
research whose validity cannot always be determined because of resource and time

30Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
constraints. Thus, it is likely that if the researcher had taken the help of primary data sources
then the quality as well as the accuracy of the study could have been enhanced in a significant
manner. This as a matter of fact is the major limitation of the study under discussion here.
3.9 Summary
To sum up, in this chapter, the researcher had outlined the detailed research
methodology and its different aspects which had been used for the completion of the entire
research work. This chapter will be followed by the chapter ‘findings and discussion’.

31Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
Chapter 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Introduction
In this chapter, the researcher intends to give an account of the secondary information
that had been collected regarding the training program of the retail firm Asda in the particular
context of the hard skill and soft skill training programs which are being offered to the
employees. The researcher also undertakes a discussion of these secondary information which
had been collected and tries to link with literature review of the concerned topic that was
conducted in the second chapter of the study.
4.2 Findings
Kate Fisher, the Senior Director of Talent and Capability of Asda, commenting on the
different kinds of training programs which are being given to the employees and the reasons
for the same states that “At Asda, we’ve a great range of training programmes to support our
colleagues to take their next step in their career journey” (Asda.com 2019). This becomes
especially important from the fact that the concerned firm currently had more than 170,000
employees thereby making it one of the largest recruiters of the nation of UK (Cipd.co.uk
2019). More importantly, the fact that the revenue of the concerned firm had declined by
more than 10% and the volume of sales of Asda had declined to an all-time low, that is, -
5.8% makes it even more imperative for the retail firm under discussion here to take into
account the aspect of employee training so as to deliver quality services to the employees
(Theguardian.com 2019). This is important because of the fact that this in turn will enable the
concerned firm to earn the loyalty as well as the satisfaction of the customers which in turn
will help them to boost the sales and thereby their profitability.
It is pertinent to note that apart from the decline in the profitability as well as the
decline in the sales volume there are other factors as well which had made it imperative for

32Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
the concerned firm to focus on the aspect of employee training and also the quality of
employee training which is being offered by the firm to them. As a matter of fact, talking
about the need to offer effective highly training to the employees, the official website of
Asda, Asda.com (2019), states that “We all know that the way we shop has changed, and at
Asda we want to make sure our colleagues have all the skills they need to offer our customers
the great service they expect in this new environment”. In this regard, it needs to be said that
the retail firm Asda in the present times had completely embraced the omni-channel business
model so as to offer both online and offline services to the customers along with the usage of
different kinds of technologies within the retail stores to improve the experiences of the
customers (Cipd.co.uk 2019). The primary intention of the firm under discussion here behind
the usage of the different kinds of innovative technologies within its stores is to positively
revolutionize the shopping experience of the customers and thereby earn a higher amount of
profitability (Asda.com 2019). However, this in turn poses a significant amount of problem
for the employees of the concerned firm because of the fact that they are finding it very
difficult to use them in an effective manner and thereby offer the customers the desired kind
of services. It is precisely here that the training programs offered by the firm under discussion
here becomes important.
The organisation Asda not only offers ‘state of the art’ training programs to their
employees but at the same time is known for the high-quality training programs which are
being offered to the employees of their organisation (Asda.com 2019). Kate Fisher,
commenting on the need of the different training programs which are being offered to the
employees says that “Our commitment to colleague development is clear: we’ll continue to
offer superb training programmes for our existing colleagues and those colleagues who would
like to be part of this rewarding industry” (Asda.com 2019). In this regard, it needs to be said
that the concerned firm over the years provides different kinds of training programs to the

33Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
employees so as to help them in the best possible manner to complete their diverse job roles.
Some of the most important training programs which are being offered to the employees of
the concerned firm are on-job training, advanced training and others (Corporate.asda.com
2019). For example, it is seen that the new employees which join the firm under discussion
here are being offered an on-job training so as to acquaint them with the job that they would
be doing and also to help them in the acquisition of the required kind of skill sets which will
help them to complete their work in an effective manner (Asda.com 2019). On the other
hand, regular advanced training programs are also being conducted by the concerned firm so
as to help the employees to acquire different kinds of advanced skills in synchronicity with
emerging trends within the business market and also the needs of the customers (Thomas
2019). More importantly, as part of this advanced training program of the concerned firm it is
seen that Asda offers the opportunity to the employees of their firm to undertake a “three-
year degree programme” so as to acquaint themselves with the management concepts that
they would be required to use during the course of their work and thereby help them to
complete their different job roles as well as to serve the customers in the best possible manner
(Virtual-college.co.uk. 2019). In this regard, commenting on this initiative of the concerned
firm, Hayley Tatum, executive people director at the retailer, says that “By providing the
opportunity to study for a degree, we hope that we can open more doors for our colleagues,
developing their skills for the future” (Theguardian.com 2019). As part of this advanced
training program of the concerned firm, Asda in the present times had formed active
collaboration with the different leading colleges and universities of the UK to form a ‘Virtual
College’ wherein the employees of the firm over the age of 25 years would be able to pursue
higher education and thereby contribute in an effective manner towards the growth or the
development of the concerned firm (Asda.com 2019).

34Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
According to Cipd.co.uk (2019), the concepts of creativity and innovative forms the
central fulcrums of the training programs which are being offered to the different employees
of the organisation Asda and are primarily intended to help the employees to improve their
customer handling skills. As a matter of fact, the decline in the profitability as well as sales
volume of the concerned firm clearly indicates the service quality of the services which are
being offered to the customers and also the manner in which they are being handled at the
different retail outlets of the concerned firm had substantially declined in the recent times
(Theguardian.com 2019). This can be attributed to various ineffective practices that the
concerned firm is following presently. In this regard, it needs to be said that the employees
are being given daily targets regarding the customers that they need to serve, they are even
being timed for the time that they take for handling each of the customers and others and this
in turn significantly reduces the quality of the services which are being given to the
customers at the different outlets of the firm under discussion here (Cipd.co.uk 2019).
Hayley Tatum, Senior Vice President for People and Stores, talking about the
problems faced by the employees to offer effective services to the customers and also about
their customer handling skills says that “The challenges are about helping our colleagues to
understand that delivering great service and meeting future business needs requires an
acceptance that the business must change and adapt quickly……” (Asda.com 2019). In this
regard, it needs to be said that the management team of the concerned firm is completely
aware of the fact that the changing business model of the firm, the aggressive targets which
are being given to the employees and others are some of the major challenges that the
employees face regarding the manner in which the employees deal with the customers and
handle their concerns or complaints (Theguardian.com 2019). More importantly, it is seen
that the ageing workforce of the concerned firm has also contributed towards the customer
handing problems that the firm in the present times had faced. For example, Cipd.co.uk

35Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
(2019) states that “In ASDA we’ve got more than five generations under one roof. We were
celebrating a gentleman’s 90th birthday the other day; he works for us 12 hours a week……
engaging with the colleague on an individual basis and not broad brushing. On some things
we might all be the same, but on others we might not be”. To overcome the challenges posed
by these, some of the most important questions that the firm under discussion here is
presently pondering are “how many colleagues we need, and what skills they will need to
develop. For example, what is the optimum level of service for our customers, and how many
customers should one colleague be serving at any one time? .....our colleagues are dealing
with different technology…We have to support them to continue to be happy and productive
in the future” (Asda.com 2019).
As per Trainingzone.co.uk (2019), one of the major weaknesses of the different
training programs which are being offered by the retail firm Asda to their employees is the
fact that the sole focus of these training programs is on the hard skills rather than on the soft
skills that in the present times had gained more prominence. It is true that the concerned firm
in the present times is intending to offer “National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) in retail
and Modern Apprenticeships” to the employees for the enhancement of the soft skills that
they have yet the concerned program has not been implemented as of now. More importantly,
it is seen that out of the more than 170,000 that the concerned firm has only 1000 employees
in the age bracket of 25-24 years of age would be selected for the concerned program
(Cipd.co.uk 2019). Another important soft skill development training program that the
concerned firm intends to launch in the near future is the “Learning and Skills Council”,
which is likely to cost Asda more than £500,000 for the first pilot batch (Theguardian.com).
However, at the same time it needs to be said that these programs would be launched by the
concerned firm after 2020 and presently the concerned firm is merely focusing on the
development of the hard skills of the employees just like the earlier times. The different on-

36Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
job trainings, advanced trainings, internships, degree courses and others offered by the
concerned firm belong to this category. It is pertinent to note that the primary focus of the
firm under discussion here on the different kinds of hard skills had significantly limited the
customer handling abilities and other skill sets of the employees and this in turn accounts for
the low perception of the customers regarding the services offered by the firm, the lack of
abilities of the employees to deal with the customers or for that matter resolve their concerns,
complaints, influence them to buy the products or services offered by the concerned firm and
others (Trainingzone.co.uk 2019). Thus, it can be said that among the plethora of measures
that the firm under discussion here needs to take for the enhancement of its profitability, sales
volume, improvement of relationship with the customers, improvement of customer handling
abilities of the employees and others, the effective development of the soft skills of the
employees of the firm would be one of the most important ones.
4.3 Discussion of the Findings
Authors like Davidson (2016), Larivière et al. (2017), Jie et al. (2015) and others in
the literature review section of this study have supported the viewpoint that one of their most
important needs or the requirements is adequate training which in turn would help them to
perform their job roles in an effective manner. More importantly, these authors agree with the
idea that the firms need to design or formulate the different kinds of training programs that
they are offering to the employees keeping into perspective the kind of work that they would
be handling or performing within the framework of the concerned organisation. In the
particular context of the retail firm Asda, the different kinds of secondary sources clearly
reveal that the concerned firm offers adequate training programs to their employees on the
basis of the work that they are required to perform within the mould of the firm. As a matter
of fact, the findings section of the study clearly revealed the fact that the concerned firm
offers basic on-job training, advanced trainings, internships, opportunity to pursue higher

37Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
education programs to the deserving employees and others to the employees (Asda.com
2019). Hayley Tatum, Senior Vice President for People and Stores, commenting on the
different kinds of training programs which are being offered to the employees, states that
these training programs are not only intended to help the employees to adjust to the changing
business model of the concerned firm but at the same time but at the same time intended to
help the concerned firm to overcome the decline in its sales volume and profitability
(Cipd.co.uk 2019).
The recent decline that the firm had faced in terms of its annual profitability and also
the sales volumes had made it all the more important for the concerned firm to take into
account the factor of customer handling skills of the employees. Authors like Lloyd and
Payne (2016), Malik and Venkatraman (2017), Daugherty, Bolumole and Grawe (2018),
Faed et al. (2016) and others in the literature review section of the concerned study have
articulated the viewpoint that the factor of customer handling abilities of the employees are
one of the most important aspects on which the entire financial profitability of the firms
greatly depends. However, as the findings section of the study clearly reveals that within the
firm Asda there are various factors which affect the customer handling abilities of the
employees. Some of the most important ones in this are the fact that the employees are given
daily targets regarding the number of customers that they need to deal with, for each of the
customers a particular time limit is being given to the employees in which they need to make
the sale and others (Trainingzone.co.uk 2019). This in turn significantly takes a toll on the
quality of services which are being delivered to the customers. As a matter of fact,
Daugherty, Bolumole and Grawe (2018) have suggested that because of the large number of
options that are available to the customers in terms of their shopping, the present customers
rather than primarily focusing on the aspects of cost, quality and others are also taking into
account the aspect of the nature of customer services or customer relationship management

38Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
techniques that are being followed by the employees of a particular organisation. In this
regard, it needs to be said that the aspect of customer handling skills of the employees is
important because of the fact that it is one of the most important factors which determines the
loyalty or the satisfaction of the customers towards a particular firm. Thus, it can be said that
the factor of customer handling skills is one of the most important which greatly determines
the sales volumes and thereby the profitability of the concerned firm. However, within the
organisation Asda it is seen that because of the above-mentioned reasons the employees are
not being able to offer the desired kind of services to the customers which in turn is presently
taking a negative toll on the sales volume as well as the profitability of the concerned firm.
Authors like McFarlane, Giannikas and Lu (2016), Edeling and Pilz (2016), Ikeler
(2016), Larivière et al. (2017) and others in the literature review section of the study have
suggested that one of the most important factors which determines the customer handling
abilities of the employees are the different kinds of training programs that are given to them.
In this regard, it needs to be said that the authors Edeling and Pilz (2016) suggest that the
training programs which are being given to the employees should not only take into account
the nature or the kind of work that the employees are required to perform within the
framework of a firm but at the same time should focus on both the hard skill and the soft skill
development of the employees. More importantly, a study conducted by Burgess (2018)
revealed the fact that 80% of the success gained by the employees in the workplace can be
attributed to the soft skills that they have whereas only 20% can be attributed to the hard
skills. This is perhaps one of the major reasons why the different business firms like Tesco,
Aldi and others are increasingly focusing on the developing of both the soft skills as well as
the hard skills of their employees so as to effectively develop their customer handling
abilities, the effectiveness or the efficiency with which they complete their work and others
(Larivière et al. 2017). In this context, it needs to be said that some of the most important soft

39Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
skills of the employees which the contemporary firms seek to develop are effective
communication, social skills, emotional intelligence, cultural intelligence, leadership abilities
and others (Ikeler 2016).
An analysis of the retail firm Asda in the findings section of the study in a succinct
manner reveals the fact that although the concerned firm offers adequate training to the
employees on the basis of their requirements and also the nature of the work that they are
required to perform yet at the same time it is seen that the primary focus of the firm is on the
development of the hard skills of the employees. More importantly, the concerned firm in the
present times releasing the importance of the different soft skills has formed various training
programs like “National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) in retail and Modern
Apprenticeships”, “Learning and Skills Council” and others yet they have not been
implemented in the present times and would be implemented after the year 2020
(Theguardian.com 2019). In this regard, it needs to be said that there are various factors
which hinder the acquisition of the different soft skills by the employees of Asda. Some of
the most important ones in this context are impact of the organisational culture of the
concerned firm, the teaching methods which are being used by the firm for offering training
to the employees, the awareness as well as the preference of the employees, the motivation
level, observation and others. As a matter of fact, it is seen that because of the over-reliance
of the firm on different hard skills, the employees of the concerned firm as well as its
management team does not appreciates the role played by the soft skills in the customer
handling abilities of the employees in the manner in which they need to and this in turn had
created the kind of organisational culture within the firm wherein preference is being given
only to the hard skills (Trainingzone.co.uk 2019). Furthermore, it is seen that because of the
daily targets, the time which is being allocated for dealing with individuals and others the

40Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
employees have very low level of motivation for the acquisition of different kinds of soft
skills which in turn are likely to improve their soft skills in a substantial manner.
McFarlane, Giannikas and Lu (2016) in the literature review section of the study has
clearly stated the viewpoint that the acquisition as well as the effective usage of the different
soft skills on the part of the employees is one of the most important factors which greatly
influences the kind of customer handling skills that they have. As a matter of fact, Edeling
and Pilz (2016) have pointed out that the different soft skills like effective communication,
social skills, emotional intelligence, cultural intelligence, leadership abilities and others
enable the employees to offer quality services to the customers not only in terms of the
manner in which they are being managed by the employees but at the same time in terms of
the resolution of their concerns, complaints and others. This becomes especially important
from the perspective of the fact that the sales volume and the profitability of Asda had gone
down in a significant manner in the present times and one of the major factors that had
contributed towards this is the ineffective customer handling practices that is being followed
by the employees in the different retail outlets of the concerned firm (Cipd.co.uk 2019). Thus,
it becomes important for the firm under discussion here to take into account the different
kinds of soft skills training programs along with the hard skills that it is already focusing on
for the various training programs that are being offered to the employees within the
concerned firm. This can be done through the organisation of different kinds of workshops,
training programs which will specifically focus on the soft skills development of the
employees particularly the ones that they are likely to require for offering effective as well as
quality services to the customers (Theguardian.com 2019). More importantly, taking into
account the aspect of soft skill development for the improvement of the customer handling
abilities of the employees for the services which are being offered to the customers will help

41Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
the concerned firm to earn the loyalty as well as the satisfaction of the customers and thereby
earn a higher amount of profitability.
4.4 Summary
To sum up, the majority of the training programs which are being offered by the retail
firm Asda focus on the aspect of the hard skill development of the employees and completely
disregard the aspect of soft skills development of the employees. This in turn along with other
factors had significantly contributed towards the decline of the customer handling skills or
abilities of the employees which in turn had contributed towards the decline of the sales
volume and the profitability of the concerned firm. Thus, it is likely that the firm under
discussion here by integrating the aspect of soft skill development of the employees within
the framework of the different training programs that it offers to the employees would be able
to improve the customer handling abilities of the employees which in turn is likely to help it
to improve its sales volume and thereby profitability.

42Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
Chapter 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Conclusion
In this chapter, the researcher will summarise the entire findings of the research and
also link the findings of the entire research work with the objectives that were formulated at
the outset of the concerned study. The researcher also offers different recommendations that
the firm Asda can use so as to facilitate the acquisition of the different kinds of soft skills by
the employees in order to improve their customer handling abilities and thereby to enhance
the profitability of the concerned firm.
The soft skills have gained a substantial amount of prominence of prominence within
the mould of the modern business world because of the different kinds of benefits that they
offer. As a matter of fact, the above study clearly reveals the fact that the different soft skills
are one of the most important factors which affect the customer handling abilities of the
employees which in turn greatly determines the loyalty as well as the satisfaction of the
customers and thereby the financial returns earned by the business firms. However, the study
reveals the fact that the majority of the firms like Asda even in the present times are primarily
focusing on the enhancement of the hard skills of the employees rather than the development
of the soft skills of their employees. This in turn is one of the major factors which had
reduced the quality of the services which are being offered to the customers in the different
stores of the retail firm and also the customer handling abilities of the employees. This in turn
had significantly reduced the sales volume of the concerned firm and thereby its profitability.
Thus, it becomes all the more important for the firm under discussion here to integrate the
soft skill development programs within the framework of the different kinds of training
programs that are being offered by the concerned firm to the employees.

43Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
5.2 Linking with Objectives
Objective 1: To evaluate the factors that helps to enhance the soft-skills of employees to
improve customer handling skills in the retail sector of United Kingdom
The study clearly reveals the fact that there are various factors affect the soft skill
acquisition of the different employees related to the UK retail firms like Asda like the
organisational culture which is predominant within the concerned firm, the teaching methods
that are being used, the self- motivation of the employees and others. In addition to these, the
nature or the kind of work that the employees are required to perform within the framework
of the business firms also significantly affects the acquisition of these skills by the employees
of the concerned firm.
Objective 2: To understand the impact of improved soft-skills on customer handling in
the retail sector of United Kingdom
The findings of the study in a succinct manner conveys the fact that the different soft
skills are one of the most important factors which affect the customer handling abilities of the
employees related to a particular firm. In this regard, it needs to be said that the different soft
skills enable the employees to address the different concerns or the complaints of the
customers, understand their key needs or requirements and thereby offer them the right kind
of products or services on the basis of needs and others. This is important from the
perspective that in the present times the number of options that are available to the customers
had increased in an exponential manner and thus rather than primarily focusing on the aspect
of cos, quality and others they also take into account the manner in which they are being
served at the different retail stores. More importantly, by effectively using the attribute of
customer handling skills the employees can the loyalty or the satisfaction level of the
customers and thereby the profitability of the firms.

44Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
Objective 3: To recommend few ways to improve the soft-skills of employees that will
improve customer handling skills in the retail sector of United Kingdom
There are various ways through which the UK retail firms like Asda and others can
improve the soft skills of their employees so as to improve their customer handling abilities
and thereby enhance the profitability of their firms. Some of the most important ones in this
regard are designing the training programs taking into account different soft skills along with
the hard skills, organisation of workshops wherein the employees would be able to acquire
various kinds of soft skills, making the employees aware of the importance of soft skills and
also the manner in which they can enable them to perform in a better manner and thereby
motivating them to acquire these skills and others.
5.3 Recommendations
Asda is present primarily focusing on the development of the hard skills of the
employees and thereby to effectively improve the customer handling abilities of the
employees it needs to integrate different soft skills development programs within the
framework of the training programs that it is already offering to the employees. Secondly, the
firm under discussion here in order to improve the soft skills of the employees and thereby
enhance their customer handling abilities the concerned firm can take the help of different
kinds of workshops or seminars wherein the employees would be made aware regarding the
benefits of the soft skills. This will in turn motivate them to acquire these skills and thereby
improve their customer handling abilities which in turn would help them to offer effective
services to the customers so as to enhance he profitability of the concerned firm.
5.4 Future Scope of the Study
The researcher because of time and resource constraints had mainly relied on
secondary data for the completion of the study. However, in future the scope of the research

45Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
or the study can be enhanced through the usage of primary data collected from the different
employees of Asda so as to effectively understand their soft skill training needs. This in turn
would not only enhance the credibility of the concerned research but at the same time would
make the concerned research a much more credible one as well.

46Running head: SOFT SKILL TRAINING AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
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