Training Program for Woolworths: Enhancing Skills and Performance

This report details a training program designed for Woolworths to address challenges in customer delivery. It outlines the importance of training and development needs, identifies participants from various in-store teams, and explains the benefits of skill acquisition. The program plan incorporates learning theories, objectives, a schedule of activities, and methods of delivery, including technology-centered learning, simulators, and office training. It also covers necessary resources, possible barriers, and feedback mechanisms to ensure the program's success. The goal is to enhance employee performance, boost morale, and improve overall customer service delivery.

Running head: WOOLWORTH TRAINING PROGRAM 1
Woolworth Training Program
Name
Institution

TRAINING PROGRAM DESIGN 2
Executive Summary
This is a report on Woolworths aimed at developing a training program to address its
challenges in customer delivery. The report aims at providing a training design targeting issues
such as work life management, organizational skills, stress management, conflict management,
performance management, customer service, workplace technology and presentation skills. It
discusses the participants, program plan, resources and possible barriers to the training program.

TRAINING PROGRAM DESIGN 3
Table of Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................2
Table of Contents.............................................................................................................................3
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Organization overview.....................................................................................................................4
The importance of training and development needs........................................................................5
The participants...............................................................................................................................7
Benefits to the participants of the knowledge and skill set acquisition.......................................8
Program Plan...................................................................................................................................9
Objectives....................................................................................................................................9
Learning theories.........................................................................................................................9
Goal setting theory...................................................................................................................9
Need theory..............................................................................................................................9
Maslow’s Theory...................................................................................................................10
Methods of Delivery..................................................................................................................10
Technology-centered learning...............................................................................................10
Simulators..............................................................................................................................11
Office training........................................................................................................................11
Coaching Services.................................................................................................................11
Instructions to trainers...........................................................................................................11
Feedback................................................................................................................................12
Resources needed...........................................................................................................................12
Possible barriers.............................................................................................................................13
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................13

TRAINING PROGRAM DESIGN 4
Introduction
This report is centered skill set and development programs that are needed to enhance
Woolworth gaps that were assessed in assessment 2. Therefore, a training design program is
structured to address the skills gap by discussing various aspects of the training plan and how it
is developed to address the skills and knowledge required to improve the position of the
institution.
Organization overview
Woolworth business model is built on integrity and it aims to deliver the best
convenience, productivity and quality for their customers. The organization has over 3000 stores
and it has employed more than 201,000 who contribute in serving over 29 million customers
(About Us, n.d.). The business is trusted by its stakeholders who include local farmers and
manufactures. The goal of the company is to ensure that consumers rank their products first
across all their products. In order to realize this objective, the company focuses its strategies on
their team as well as the culture of the organization.
The company is linked, personalized and enhanced convenient shopping experience.
Besides, Woolworths differentiates itself from other players through their food customer
proposition. The business has also enhanced innovation in drinks and unlocked value in their
portfolio (Thomas, Nelson & Silverman, 2018). In essence, the business has been committed to
creating a retail team dedicated on addressing consumer concerns among other stakeholder such
as staff members and the suppliers. Also, the organization maximizes the potential of various
programs such as the voice of the customer program which helps the company to access
feedback from their consumers (Ayers & Odegaard, 2017).
In this regard, the team is able to work round the clock to ensure that it improves their
offer and shopping experience. The company does well through a culture committing to hard
work and integrity. Woolworth boasts of their humble culture which helps to acknowledge core
skill set of the company. Majority of the employees who started the company from shop floor
today lead the company as a result of promotion to senior leadership positions in the institution.
This implies that its principles are linked to each and every aspect of the operation. The business
model allows the customers to control operations of the business. This is because every aspect of
the business exist with the aim of improving customer experience (About Us, n.d.).

TRAINING PROGRAM DESIGN 5
The organization customer emphasizes on the need to put their people before their
business. This implies that they collaborate with various stakeholders such as customers, team
members, manufacturers and producers to create conditions that favor the company’s objectives.
Also, the business relies on partner relationships that work. The relationship build in trust is
characterized by simple ideas such as fairness, source locally and collaboration. In order to
demonstrate the level of trust between the company and its stakeholders, more than 80 per cent
of their suppliers have been their partners for more than a decade. Furthermore, the relationship
is characterized by freedom to speak up since feedback is crucial in assisting the company to
influence decision making (About Us, n.d.). Woolworths received an award for being the first
Australian company to introduce management complaints for third party.
The institution is committed to building a strong and sustainable partnership with their
suppliers through equitable contracts (About Us, n.d.). The company conducted an extensive
assessment and determined that the products they stock are the products that the consumers trust
and are on demand. Similarly, the company offers a variety of products to contribute in
satisfying choice and preference of their customers. The company offers a variety of essentials
form of home appliances with the correct size and sold at favorable prices.
It has a Macro range that focuses on organic and natural products by ensuring that their
animals are farmed under the required standard to support sustainability in farming practices.
Gold range is a product that has been specially created and assist customers to create magical
moments with their loved ones (Carey, Parker & Scrinis, 2017). The corporate governance of the
company considers code of conduct, continuous policy, group risk management, securities
trading policy, diversity and safety needs in its quest to develop a culture that is committed to
satisfying consumer needs (Hançerlioğulları, Şen & Aktunç, 2016).
The importance of training and development needs
Training offers an institution the opportunity to expand knowledge and skills of their
workforce. However, most employers often find training and development programs an
expensive exercise. Moreover, the employees miss out on work during the knowledge acquisition
programs. Despite the negative attribute associated to knowledge and skills acquisition, it plays a
critical part in offering both the company and employees opportunities to maximize on cost and
time to improve the performance of the organization (Adekiya & Ibrahim, 2016).

TRAINING PROGRAM DESIGN 6
Furthermore, training and development needs aim at addressing employees weaknesses.
Majority of employees tend to have some form of weakness in their job skills. In this context, the
training and development program contributes in allowing one to strengthen their areas of
weaknesses as well as improving their areas of strength. Training and development improves
employees’ level of knowledge in order to standardize skills in the workplace. Essentially, it
contributes in reducing weak links among people who largely rely on other people’s contribution
to be able to complete their task (Seidle, Fernandez & Perry, 2016). In addition, it contributes to
developing a knowledgeable staff whereby an employee is capable of continuing off on where
another employee had left off.
Improved employee performance is another beneficial aspect of training and development
program. This implies that an employee who is trained will be capable of performing his jobs
better (Cohen, 2017). Some become more aware rules of safety measures of operating simple
responsibilities. Training and development may also contribute in boosting employees’
confidence with respect to a better insight with respect to the mandate of the organization. As a
result, a motivated employee tend to perform better at their responsibilities. Moreover,
continuous training helps employees to be on the forefront of understanding emerging
opportunities in the industry and be able to respond accordingly (Bell, Tannenbaum, Ford, Noe
& Kraiger, 2017). Competent employees also contribute to increasing competitive position in the
organization.
Targeted skills set and knowledge acquisition within an organization are aimed at
ensuring that employees have a similar knowledge base and background information. The
consistency is considered relevant in relation to policies and procedures governing operations in
an institution. As well, all employees need to understand and comprehend their duties and
responsibilities within an organization. This may include safety, prejudice, and executive task.
Staff members tend to enhance their exposure by ensuring they go through regular training
(Bailey, Price, Pyman & Parker, 2015).
The employees who can access these training programs have an increased opportunity
over employees in other firms who are left to evaluate training advantages on their own. The
investment made by a firm towards a skill set and knowledge acquisition program assists to
make the staff members feel valued. In addition, the staff members may gain access to training

TRAINING PROGRAM DESIGN 7
that they may not have come across on their own. Generally, employees tend to feel more
satisfaction with their jobs when they feel appreciates and challenged through various training
programs.
The participants
The participants of this knowledge and skill set acquisition program will be team
members of Woolworth Company. For instance, In-store team member represent a group of
participants who manage operations within the stores. This class of participants will receive
training and development program with respect to customer service responsibilities. This is
because this group represent the overall reputation of the institution. Moreover, they play a
crucial role in assisting customers to evaluate satisfaction with respect to the services that are
offered. Also, these participants will receive training that is geared as assisting them to improve
skills in meeting and greeting customers in person and on phone. In essence, this team should
gain knowledge that enhances their skills in dealing and addressing customers concerns.
Customer service team members are also participants to the knowledge and skill set
acquisition program as they require to be trained on how to develop strategies to improve service
encounter. According to the organization, customers are the most important stakeholders to
Woolworth. As a result, the customer service team must be receive training and development on
all aspects that are related to enhancing a customer’s experience.
Nightfill is another group of participants that will receive the training and development
programs targeted on assisting members who work at night in Grocery and Dairy to learn how to
stock the supermarkets in a manner that is easy for the customers to navigate through products
with ease.
Crew member is another class that comprises all the workers in different departments. All
the workers must receive training that will assist them to collaborate together for purposes of
ensuring that they are able to maintain customer flow. This class of workers have to share the
common goal and vision of the business. They must also be inspired to work with others to
achieve the most of their responsibilities and ensure operations of the business are running
smoothly.

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Other participants that need to be included in the training program include the liquor
team, store team and retail team who need to be equipped with knowledge about the culture of
the organization in order to understand factors that contribute to their success and be able to align
these skills to the business strategy and increase customer service delivery.
Benefits to the participants of the knowledge and skill set acquisition
To begin with, the knowledge and skill set acquisition program that will be offered on the
participants will contribute in ensuring that there is improved employee performance (Ayeleke,
North, Wallis, Liang & Dunham, 2016). This is attested by the fact that staff members who are
trained are capable of performing their tasks with ease and efficiency. The training and
development is meant to enhance greater understanding of their responsibilities in the overall
objective of the institution in order to build confidence. As result, their overall productivity will
be enhanced and consequently benefit the institution in the long-run.
The knowledge and skill set acquisition will contribute in boosting employee satisfaction
and morale. This is because the development program is an investment on the workforce which
suggests that employees are valued thus the business invests in them by offering them an
opportunity to gain knowledge and skills (Saks, 2015).
The knowledge and skill set acquisition programs will also be significant in addressing
gaps in skills within the workplace as well as acknowledging areas of strength so as to be able to
assess the performance of the company. Training is meant to address challenges that hinder the
performance of an organization which can be viewed as a management strategy that is aimed at
pointing core aspects of the business model in order to enhance skills in this areas (Fletcher,
Alfes & Robinson, 2018).
Training and development on the participants will eventually increase productivity and
quality standards. This implies that the skill set and knowledge that will be learnt will go a long
way in increasing efficiency in the operations which will in turn improve the organizations
profitability position.
There is bound to be new ideas that are developed based on the ongoing training and
development of the staff members which encourages creativity. In addition, it implies that new

TRAINING PROGRAM DESIGN 9
ideas and concepts can be formulated as a direct result of the knowledge and training skills
offered through the training and development process.
Additionally, the skill set programs is likely to reduce cost associated. Since the training
and development will be an investment to the company, it will likely reduce the cost of
recruitment as a result of staff retention attributed to the knowledge and skill set acquisition.
Knowledge and development acts a critical part in enhancing a company’s reputation and
profile (Sundstrom, Lounsbury, Gibson & Huang, 2016). It also contributes in developing a
firms brand and make the company appealing to graduates leaving institutions of higher learning.
It also makes a firm more appealing to prospective new staff who require such opportunities to
increase their knowledge. The training is also expected to be relevant to the job description of
individuals and can be disseminated through various methods.
Program Plan
Objectives
To equip the workers with training and development in Management activities such as
work life management, stress management, conflict management and performance management.
To ensure that the workforce understands factors that influence customer service
delivery.
To ensure that the team gains knowledge on technology and its implication in the
workforce
To enable the team gain effective communication skills and presentation skills to carry
out their duties.
Learning theories
The learning theories that will be used for this training program include:
Goal setting theory
The concept suggests that characteristics stems from an individual need to act on some
information. The theory suggests that specific issues arising from improved productivity that
goals that are not challenging. In this context, learning can be provided with specific challenging

TRAINING PROGRAM DESIGN 10
goals (Illeris, 2018). Learning orientation often relates to increasing competency while
performance orientation related to comparison with respect to performance (Golledge, 2017).
Need theory
Another theory that is crucial for this training and development is the need theory which
explains the value that an individual has on specific outcomes. This theory alludes that in order
to motivate workers, trainers need to identify the trainee’s needs and engage them on how the
coaching program will meet these demands (Anderson, 2016).
Maslow’s Theory
This theory suggests that humans tend to satisfy their needs based on the most immediate
needs to the furthest needs according to hierarchy. In this regard, this theory will support the
training process by indicating which needs need to be addressed before others (Goldie, 2016).
Planned activity Schedule
Work life management May –June 2019
Organizational Skills July
Stress Management July
Conflict Management July-August 2019
Performance Management August –September 2019
Customer Service September- October 2019
Workplace Technology October-November 2019
Presentation Skills November-December 2019
Figure 1. Table showing planned activities and schedule
Methods of Delivery
There are several methods of delivery that can be used to implement the knowledge and
skill set acquisition programs for Woolworth team members. Among the common delivery
methods that will be used include:

TRAINING PROGRAM DESIGN 11
Technology-centered learning
This form of learning will consider training needs in basic PC-based applications among
other relevant technology (Hawkridge, Newton & Hall, 2018). However, the forms of training
under this method are unlimited. The trainers also benefit from the exercise through
disseminating the knowledge to the workforce. In this regard Woolworth will discuss
technological aspects that contribute to customer delivery.
Simulators
Simulators will also be used in the training as it contributes in demonstrating the real
work experience. Majority of simulation programs are often considered to be expensive although
they play a critical role in enhancing real life experiences that are significant for decision
making.
Office training
This technique will also be used in delivering knowledge through the training and
development program (Dodson, Kitburi & Berge, 2015). Among on-the-job training activities
that will be addressed include utilizations of various sources of information within the
organization
Coaching Services
The organization will attract relevant stakeholders to provide coaching and mentoring
exercise through one-on-one engagement with the professionals. To realize this objective, the
organization will hire professional coaches and managers to offer speeches with respect to their
experiences (Torraco, 2016). Besides, they are also required to create an official coaching
program between executives and lower members of the organization. In addition, it is work on
implementing coaching and mentoring in order to encourage experience employees. Coaching
and mentoring offers employees with a chance to seek clarification, offer suggestions and
opinions. Other significant forms of delivery that will be used include learning tools and
techniques involving research and outdoor training methods (Leeman et al, 2015).
Instructions to trainers
The trainers must provide the participants with information before the training and
development program begins. They are also required to arrange of appropriate officials to
welcome the participants. Also, they are required to compile files for each participants and

TRAINING PROGRAM DESIGN 12
before the files are distributed they need to have a welcome letter, overview of activities detailed
schedule and registration form (Zaitseva, Larionova, Minervin, Yakimenko & Balitskaya, 2015).
Furthermore, the trainers are encouraged to plan for systematic activities, communicate with
participants and read the instructions to trainers carefully.
Feedback
Skills YES NO
Work life management
Organizational Skills
Stress Management
Conflict Management
Performance Management
Customer Service
Workplace Technology
Presentation Skills
Figure 2. Table showing evaluation form
Resources needed
The resources necessary for this knowledge and skill set acquisition include coaching and
mentoring professionals in the skill gap required. Investment capital from the organization that
will facilitate the training programs. Also, the training and development program will require
training materials and lecture halls where some of the training will be carried out. The program
will provide handouts, notes and PowerPoint on the gaps that have been identified in term of
relevancy (Jackson, 2015).
The technologies required for this training and development program include PC and
specific software application relevant to skills gaps required to be addressed. The location of the
training will be at the organizations learning and center which is structured to accommodate
various types of learning. The administration and staff members will be required to participate in
the training and supervise the progress.