Woolworths HRM: Training & Development Program Plan & Barriers

This report presents a comprehensive training and development program plan for Woolworths, focusing on addressing identified needs in communication, technology adoption, and accountability among employees. The plan incorporates cognitive learning theory and outlines specific program activities, schedules, and delivery methods. It details the resources required for successful implementation, including personnel, equipment, and budget considerations. Furthermore, the report acknowledges potential barriers to the program's success, such as lack of management support, employee perception, financial constraints, and conflicting priorities, and suggests strategies for mitigating these challenges. The aim is to enhance employee skills, improve organizational performance, and foster a more engaged and productive workforce within Woolworths.

Running head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Human resource Management
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

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Table of Contents
Assessment 3: Task 2.......................................................................................................................3
1. Organization................................................................................................................................3
1.1 Brief description........................................................................................................................3
1.2 The importance of training and development needs..................................................................4
2. Participant....................................................................................................................................5
2.1 Identify participants...................................................................................................................5
2.2 Explanation of the training needs..............................................................................................5
2.3 Benefits attained by the employees from the training program.................................................6
3. Program plan:...............................................................................................................................7
3.1 Detailed plan based on the choice of learning theory................................................................7
3.2 Program activities......................................................................................................................8
3.3 Schedule and planned activities.................................................................................................8
3.4 Method of delivery..................................................................................................................10
3.5 Instruction for the trainer.........................................................................................................11
3.6 Feedback..................................................................................................................................11
4. Resources required.....................................................................................................................11
4.1 Outline of the resources...........................................................................................................11
4.2 List of handout, power point and other materials for trainees.................................................12
4.3 Technology required................................................................................................................12
4.4 Locations and staffs.................................................................................................................13
4.5 Estimated budget.....................................................................................................................13
5. Possible barriers:........................................................................................................................13

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5.1 Management support...............................................................................................................14
5.2 Perception and participation....................................................................................................14
5.3 Finance.....................................................................................................................................14
5.4 Conflicting priorities................................................................................................................15
6. Conclusion:................................................................................................................................15
Reference List:...............................................................................................................................17

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Assessment 3: Task 2
1. Organization
1.1 Brief description
Woolworths’s supermarket is the Australia’s largest supermarket chain. The organization
performs their operational functionalities in 995 stores across the nation and has 15,000 team
members or employees performing the job roles of store keepers, support offices and support
offices (Woolworthsgroup.com.au 2018). Woolworths supermarkets have market share of
leading food and beverages retailers in the nation Australia and have almost 31% of market share
(Statista 2018).
Image: Leading food and beverage retailers in Australia
(Source: Statista 2018)

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The organization also have total employee base of 111,000 and have specialization in
selling groceries, sell health & beauty products, magazines, DVDs, pet and baby supplies,
household products and stationery items (Woolworthsgroup.com.au 2018).
1.2 The importance of training and development needs
Salas et al. (2012) depicted that in the workplace, the importance of training and
development needs is to generate awareness regarding the organizational objectives, addressing
the weakness and gaps among the working personnel, improving the employee performances,
maintaining the consistency of the worker’s ability and provide an opportunity to the employees
for aligning their competency with the company’s objectives. The training needs of improving
communication, developing technological awareness and enhancing the accountability and
responsibility was earlier identified in the employees of Woolworth’s Supermarket.
The importance of communication training allows the employee to listen to the customers
query and serve them with better assistance (Kulkarni, 2013). Keep (2014) furthermore depicted
that a greater sense of empathy can be developed, where one personnel can understand the
requirement of others and able to share their concerns freely. Communication training also
allows the employee to speak precisely about the problem to the managers and also suggest with
suitable alternatives.
Johnston and Marshall (2016) also stated that every organization now utilizes technology
to make their business operations faster and the employee need to know the functionalities of
those technologies to accomplish their desire job roles. Thus, technological training allows the
customers to enhance their knowledge regarding automation of the business functions and handle
more staffs with precise service.

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Training for enhancing the responsibility and accountability allow the employee to
develop an effective interpersonal relationship with others and develop the sense that they are the
main elements of the organization whose effort and association is require for the betterment of
the organization.
2. Participant
2.1 Identify participants
The participants of the training are the employees of the Woolworths Supermarket as
they face some problem while accomplishing their destined job roles. The concerned
organization have adopted some technological advancement like IoT, POS devices, RFID and
automated robots. Older employees faced issue to utilize these technologies; while the younger
employees do not have the knowledge about all these technology. Another problem is
communication gap among the working personnel which resulted in poor sense of responsibility
and accountability. The problem raised due to this gap is resulted in misaligned goals.
2.2 Explanation of the training needs
Woolworths Supermarket has implemented automation technology like POS devices,
IoT, RFID for products distribution and inventory management. The older employees of the
organization faces problem in understanding these technology to perform their job roles. Another
problem that is identified is that younger employees also do not know about all the technology
which leads to their versatility in workplace. All these aspects lower the rate of the productivity
and handling more customer which results in less profitability.

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Employees when are not able to share their concern, knowledge and achievements with
others, the workplace environment become inflexible (Jehanzeb and Bashir, 2013). In
Woolworths Supermarket also, employees do not communicate even they face problem for
accomplishing the assigned work responsibilities which results in poor outcome of the business
operations and dissatisfaction among the customers.
The training for enhancing accountability and responsibility is required as employee of
Woolworth Supermarket do not know their organizational goals and objectives. As a result the
organization face challenges like poor decision making of the employee in case they are provided
challenging roles on the job. The lack of knowledge among the personnel also leads to poor
performances which not only results in allocation of more resources but affects the profit of the
company.
2.3 Benefits attained by the employees from the training program
The benefit of the technological training is that the employee can utilize the modern
equipment introduced in the workplace more efficiently. Moreover, it also allows the employee
to attend more customers and enhance their productivity. The employee of Woolworths
Supermarkets will can also notice some gaps in the technology and operations accomplished by
the technology if they acquired proper training.
The prime benefits of the communication training are to enhance interpersonal
relationship among the employees. Woolworths Supermarkets employees are also able to
develop an enhanced workplace environment if they started sharing difficulties and knowledge
with the colleagues and team members. This will also develop a sense of trust among them and
allow them to work collaboratively to accomplish the organizational goals.

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The training for accountability and responsibility enhance the sense of being an important
asset for the organization. The leading roles offered to them also allow the employee to earn
opportunities to enhance their performance and achieve remarkable milestones for securing their
position with greater benefits. In addition to that, the employee of the Woolworths Supermarket
also learns to take effective decisions which can bring betterment to the company.
3. Program plan:
As already identified within the operation process of Woolworths the employees need to
receive effective training on three major areas that include communication skills, technological
skill and professional skill for understating organizational accountability and responsibility. In
this very specific part, the study would make a proper training plan and schedule along with
highlighting the learning theories.
3.1 Detailed plan based on the choice of learning theory
The learning theory which Woolworths would like to select for implementing the training
plan successfully includes cognitive theory. This theory believes that learning of an individual
occurs through internal processing of information. This theory has opposed the point of views of
two other learning concepts like constructive and behaviorism. It has been observed that
constructive theory believes in experience of learners. Bompa and Buzzichelli (2018) opined that
an individual person can enhance learning skill based on the experience gathered from the
professional field. However, cognitive theory has firmly opposed the point of view. By opposing
previous opinion of scholar,

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Hays and Singer (2012) have stated that organization should have proper internal process
based on which employees can enhance their personal as well as professional skill as per current
trend of market. Woolworths has planned that effective training and development session is the
most effective internal process that the business experts follow for enhancing skills and
competency level of the employees (Bezrukova, Jehn & Spell, 2012). While planning the
training program the human resource managers have identified major areas that include proper
program activities, time schedule of the program activities, methods that would be used for
providing training to the employees and specific instructions that trainers would have to follow.
3.2 Program activities
The program activities that would be selected for giving a training session to the
employees are as follows:
 Seeking permission to the upper management by making them understand about the need of
training session
 Hiring a professional trainer having minimum 10 years of experience in training field
 Arranging a training hall with all necessary accessibility of electric devices, internet
facilities, technological as well as physical equipments
 Collecting necessary feedback from the employees in order to know the effectiveness of this
program activity
3.3 Schedule and planned activities
Areas of training Planned activities Duration
Communication skill Human resource manager would 5 months

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have to hire a professional trainer
having minimum 10 years of
experience in training field.
Trainers need to collect
necessary feedback from the
employees in order to know the
effectiveness of this program
activity
Technological skill Human resource manager would
have to hire an IT expert having
minimum 15 years of experience
in training field. Trainers need to
collect necessary feedback from
the employees in order to know
the effectiveness of this program
activity
6 months
Responsibility and
accountability
On job training would be
provided and employees would
be instructed to lead a small
team. Trainers would guide them
on how to communication with
the team members as well as with
3 month

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the customers. If the customers
are not very satisfied with
services, trainers should instruct
on how to change strategies
instantly.
Table: Schedule and planned activities
(Source: As created by the author)
3.4 Method of delivery
As direct method is a one way communication that enables that trainer to give a lecture
about the issue, the professional trainer in the case of Woolworths would select interactive
method of delivery. In interactive method the trainer does not get the scope to make one way
communication (Harrison, 2012). The employees while receiving training can interact with the
trainer at the time of facing issues or in sharing any views. Woolworths have observed that in
using direct method the trainer does not get overview about the way of progress of the
employees. Employees do not interact with the trainers in this method. On the other hand, in
interactive method trainers can collect necessary feedback from the employees for gaining idea
whether they understand the method or not. Based on their feedback the trainer can change the
way of training method (Sung & Choi, 2014). Thus, in quest of communicating with the
employees properly the training program decides to use interactive method of delivery to involve
both trainers and employees equally.

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3.5 Instruction for the trainer
As instructed by the human resource manager the trainer would like to collect individual
feedback from every single employee in order to know their way of progress. In addition, the
trainers are instructed to maintain proper professional as well as behavioral approach on the work
floor so that employees do not get hesitated in interacting with the trainer at the time of training
session (Sajeev, Singha & Venkatasubramanian, 2012).
3.6 Feedback
Feedback will be collected from the employees in order to know whether they are getting
benefits and facilities from training session or not. Feedback may come as both positive and
negative. Based on the feedback collected from employees the human resource managers of
Woolworths would decided on how they would proceed for the next (Shek & Sun, 2013).
4. Resources required
4.1 Outline of the resources
In this very specific part an in-depth outline is provided about the required resources. The
resources required for this training are as follows:
 Human resource ( professional trainer and IT expert)
 Physical equipments (training hall, electricity, internet facilities, chairs and black boards and
AC)
 Financial resource
 Technological resources (computers, projectors)