Training Program Design for Zara SA Store Officers: HRM560

This project report outlines the design of a training program for store officers at Zara SA, addressing the identified need for improved customer service and communication skills. The program is tailored for the Australian market, targeting employees with less than three years of experience. The report details the program's objectives, scope, participant profile, and a comprehensive training plan, including a three-day schedule with various activities such as lectures, interactive sessions, and role-playing. It also highlights the resources needed for implementation and potential barriers. The training program is designed to incorporate principles of adult learning and social learning theory to maximize engagement and knowledge retention, with a focus on building rapport, professional conduct, and effective customer interactions. The evaluation of the program is also considered. The report emphasizes the importance of training in alignment with Zara SA's growth strategy and customer-centric business model.

Assessment 3: Training Program Design
HRM560 - TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
Name: Patrick I. Eledu Student ID:
11634386 4/29/19 HRM 560
Total Word Count = 2802 words

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Executive Summary
The report presents a proposed design for a training program for store officers of Zara SA
based on the training needs assessment done earlier. The said program would focus on
developing the essential skills needed as retail store operators for effective communication
and efficient customer service. The purpose and scope of the program are defined in the plan
as well as the resources required for implementation. The report also mentions the expected
learning outcomes from the program that can be used later for evaluation. Training program
are often met with some sort of resistance from the senior management and these possible
hurdles have been discussed as well.
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary 1
Introduction 4
About the Organization 4
Training Needs Identification……………………………………………….…………………4
Training Program……………………………………………..……………………………….5
Objectives and Scope 6
Participants 6
Training Plan 7
Resources Required 9
Possible barriers and assumptions………………………………………………………........10
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………12
References…………………………………………………………..…………………….….13
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1. Introduction
“The customer is at the heart of our business model,” claims one of the largest international
fashion organizations, Zara SA on its website ("Company-+ Info | ZARA India", n.d.) A
good retail store officer needs to possess several essential skills in order to provide efficient
customer service and contribute to Zara SA’s vision for growth and success. The training
needs assessment done for the team at Zara SA identified ‘attention to detail’ as one of the
skills that the store officers need to be trained on. Zara SA is looking at entering into new
markets and emerging economies. This also opens up the need to train the existing personnel
on required competencies for international business expansion. In that regard, the proposed
training program aims to train the store officers on an introductory soft skills program that
targets their communication skills and store presence.
2. About the Organization
Zara SA is an internationally renowned brand of fashion operating under the aegis of the
Inditex group. The business dealings of Zara SA involve design, production, sales and
distribution to their stores and partners across the globe. Based in Spain, this flagship brand
of Inditex group looks after over 2200 stores across the globe in over 90 countries. The brand
Zara cater to clothing for men, women, and children and is considered to be one of the most
chic and popular fashion choices.
3. Training Needs Identification for Zara SA
Most of the organizations today, realize the importance of developing their human capital
through training, and are willing to invest resources for the same. Tan and Newman (2013)
report that sales force training comprises a major chunk in the whole pie of the millions of
dollars spent by organizations annually on their learning and development efforts. The first
step to any successful training intervention is a concentrated effort to identify the existing
training gaps and determine if and how training can be the answer. The training needs
identification process involves understanding organization’s plan for growth, detailing the job
and competency requirements, and subsequently mapping the required employee
competencies against the existing ones through an in-depth study of the employee
interactions using various measures of performance management.
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For a customer centric business like that of Zara SA, the store officers become the face of the
organization and hence an incredible asset to the business. The training needs assessment
focussed on the store officers and their selling and customer service skills with the same
intent in mind. The assessment used ‘direct observation’ amongst other methods to identify
the gaps in the desired competencies of the store officers. For an international brand that
plans to venture into environment-friendly and ethical practices of manufacturing and
distribution, Zara SA needs certain essential competencies in all its employees. The store
officers, who form the first line of defence for the organization, customer service orientation
is one of the major competencies in demand. The training needs assessment revealed that
most store officers, while good at their job, needed to be trained on basic communication and
presentation skills along with a focus on certain specific aspects of their job demands such as
attention to detail, listening, conflict handling, and relationship building skills. The proposed
program has been designed keeping these requirements in mind. The key responsibilities of
store officers in the stores of the brand across the globe involve customer service, stock
management, sales, visual merchandizing, and accounting. This in turn, calls for skills in
customer service, relationship building, written and oral communication skills, presentation
skills, time management, impression management, and negotiation skills in the soft skills
repertoire along with functional skills of knowing product details, understanding company
sales and pricing policies, maintaining daily accounts and cash handlings, and stock
management.
A review of the extant literature on the process and importance of training needs assessment
in retail sales training (Aragón-Sánchez, Barba-Aragón, & Sanz-Valle, 2003; Fisher, Gallino
& Netissine, 2018; Singh, Manrai & Manrai, 2015) reveals that the needs assessment should
focus on the organization, task and the person. Companies earlier used to roll out training
programs without doing an adequate assessment and hence could not receive expected
results. The needs identification for the proposed program was conducted by studying the
organizational plans for growth and expansion. Zara SA is a growing international brand that
has set eyes on international expansion. For this, as mentioned before, the front-end staff,
such as the store officers need to be adequately trained. In the final phase of the needs
assessment process, the store officers in 15 stores across Australia were identified for the
training program on ‘customer service skills,’ Zara opened in Australia in 2011 and hence
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the store officers there who have worked for less than three years in Zara are ideal candidates
for the said program.
4. Training Program
The modern usage of the principles of Andragogy or Adult Learning Theory (Knowles, 1980)
suggest the use of a variety of learning approaches for adult learners. The theory is relevant
for corporate training efforts since it deals with employees who fit the description of adult
learners. They are deemed to be actively involved in the learning process, keen to use their
practical experiences in their training programs, prefer multiple learning tactics, prefer
problem-centred training, and want learning with immediate relevance to their jobs. Keeping
that in mind, the proposed training program on ‘customer service orientation’ has been
designed using a mix of conceptual and practical elements, and different kinds of training
activities as well as training styles designed to cater to the store officers of Zara SA in
Australia.
4.1 Objectives and Scope of the Program
The ‘customer service orientation’ program aims at addressing the basic training needs of
the store officers. The program has the following objectives:
 To equip the participants to build a rapport with the customers and handle
transactions (such as inquiries, negotiations, loyalty program information,
grievances, etc) effectively with them
 To help participants understand how to dress, speak and conduct business in a
professional manner that is up to the expected norms of the organization
 To help the participants understand how they can create a positive experience for
the customers, and enhance their association with the Zara brand
 To avoid the pitfalls of ineffective customer interactions by sharing the learning
from experiences of peers
The scope of the program is limited to being an introductory course that can be later
incorporated into the employee induction program. The program is meant for newer
employees so that more experienced staff do not feel adequate or that their time is being
wasted on basic stuff. The program does not include specific sales techniques, rather a
holistic approach to customer service orientation. The program is presently being offered
only to the stores in Australia and can later be incorporated organization wide after a
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subsequent evaluation and review. The training needs assessment identified the basic
skills that were required for the store officers and the program is designed around that.
4.2 Participant profile
All employees working in the stores of Zara in Australia for less than 3 years in various
capacities of customer-centric roles such as salespeople, assistant store manager and store
manager need to undergo this training. The participants are not specifically targeted by
their individual profiles. This is rather a program mandatory for all employees that fit the
profile requirements.
4.3 Training plan
The training plan is briefly summarized in the document provided below outlining the key
aspects of the program.
TP001 - Customer Service Orientation Training
Overview A basic skills program to enhance the customer service skills of store
officers
Participant
profile
Any employee working in the front-end staff for less than 3 years
Duration 3 days
Course
Contents
Understanding Zara’s customer centric culture, knowing product
details and pricing policies, verbal and written communications skills,
presentation skills, dressing professionally, relationship building
skills, building rapport with the customers, closing the sale, after
sales and follow-up, and conflict resolution
Venue Training Centre (details will be mailed separately)
Trainer A team of internal training personnel
Training
Methods
A combination of lectures, interactive sessions, audio-visual aids,
storytelling, and games
Program details
For an introductory learning where the learners are being exposed to the subject for the
first time or have very limited prior understanding, theories of behaviourism and
constructivism are preferred. The instructions need to be sequential, told beforehand and
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with appropriate examples. The module would be needed to be broken down into simple
steps with achievable objectives. Constructivism is more appropriate when the learners
are at a little advanced level of understanding and/or have a basic knowledge of the tasks
at hand based on previous work experience.
The program is aimed at incorporating basic customer orientation skills amongst the
newer staff. Using the principles of adult learning (Knowles, 1980) and social learning
theory (Bandura, 1977), the program is designed to have a variety of methods to fulfil the
objectives. The participants are assumed to have worked for at least a few weeks on the
job and are thus well-versed with the job requirements. The participants of the programs
would be a mix of store officers from different stores and different managerial levels so
as to promote shared learning and collaboration. This would also ensure that at any point
of the training program, any store is not short-staffed and the work load gets uniformly
distributed amongst those who are not in the training program. Social learning theory
(Bandura, 1977) suggests that participants learn from observing their peers and
surroundings. Keeping that in mind, the training program would incorporate ‘shared
learning sessions’ on all three days where participants would be encouraged to narrate
their own experiences, good and bad, while dealing with customers. This would help in
breaking the ice between the participants, understanding how to approach difficult
situations, learning from others’ mistakes, generating alternate solutions, and engaging in
fruitful team interactions. The less experienced employees may also feel less nervous or
alone about not knowing the job thoroughly and may take respite in knowing that others
before them have erred and learnt on the job (Bell, Tannenbaum, Ford, Noe & Kraiger,
2017; Floridia & Hollinger, 2017).
The training is designed to be conducted over 3 days with appropriate breaks at relevant
intervals of 90 minutes. The plan for the first day of the program is detailed below:
Day 1
Time Particulars People Involved
9:00-9:30 Registration and Introduction
Welcome speech by functional
heads
Head of the L&D Function in
Australia
Head of the Sales team in Australia
Team of Trainers
Participants
Training coordinator
9:30-11:00 Session 1-Introduction to the
program; Understanding Zara’s
culture
Session trainer
Participants
Training coordinator
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Activity: Ice breaker
Video-Company video on culture
11:00-11:15 Break for Refreshments Trainer, Participants
Catering Team
Training coordinator
11:15-12:45 Session 2 – Explaining customer
service orientation; Dressing for
the part; Verbal and non-verbal
communication
Group Activity: Understanding
what customer service means to
every participant
Activity: Role play on sales
pitches
Session trainer
Participants
Training coordinator
12:45-13:45 Lunch Trainer, Participants
Catering Team
Training coordinator
13:45-15:15 Session 3-Building lasting
relationships
Activity: Sharing personal
experiences by participants
Session trainer
Participants
Training coordinator
15:15-15:45 Break for refreshments Trainer, Participants
Catering Team
Training coordinator
15:45-17:15 Session 4-Rapport building;
creating a positive experience for
the customers
Group Activity
Video on excellent customer
service
Session trainer
Participants
Training coordinator
It is important for the functional heads to start the program with a welcome note wherein
they address the group on the intended objectives and outcomes of the course. This will
help in quelling any doubts in the minds of the trainee about their involvement in the
process and curb any resistance to the learning process. A welcome by the senior
management also sends a message to the employees that they are valued by the
organization and that the organization has faith in the training that they would be
attending.
The program has been designed keeping in mind the different learning styles of the
participants. The course contents are more experiential rather than theoretical and hence
there are group activities, role plays and story telling sessions planned as well. Adult
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learners have a limited attention span and involving them in the training would ensure
their buy-in as well as satiate their need to incorporate their previous experience to the
present training situation (Knowles, 1980).
4.4 Required resources
Physical resources
 A room in the training centre that can seat 15 participants in a round table setting
 An area for refreshments and lunch, outside the training room
 4 round tables for participants for lectures and group-based activities with a bowl
of candies in the middle
 A desk and podium for the trainer
Audio-Visual resources
 An over head projector, a desktop/laptop compatible with power point
presentation, a white screen, mouse and laser pointer
 Microphone for trainer; 2 extras for participants and backup
 Speakers for playing video files
Materials
 Blank A4 sized papers for discussion and group activities
 White board or black board
 Board markers/chalk and duster
 A set of 20 pens and pencils
 Worksheets for group activities
 Copies of worksheets and instructions related to training games
Food and beverages
 Tea, coffee, snacks, and lunch at appropriate break times
 Drinking water dispensers for participants as well as trainer
4.5 Evaluation
The four levels of evaluations suggested by Kirkpatrick (1959) include reaction, learning,
behaviour, and results. The first level of evaluation will be used for this particular
program by collecting the feedback for the training program at the end of the three days
through a structured questionnaire that would mainly gauge the participants’ reactions to
the contents, relevance and rigor of the program. The feedback regarding the trainers
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would also be undertaken in order to know which training style and learning approach is
more favourable. One the pilot of conducting these programs over 15 stores is completed,
the evaluation of this program can extend up to the other three levels to understand its
contribution to the organization over a long period of time.
5. Possible barriers and assumptions (Brown & McCracken, 2009)
5.1 Buy-in of Senior Management
The senior leadership of organizations may find it difficult to understand the
importance training their employees, especially when the rate of attrition is high. In
such cases, one of the major tasks of the HR function is to address this issue by
highlighting the expected contribution of the program as well as the gaps the training
would address and how that would affect the organizational goals. Another barrier
can be in the form of managerial resistance to training efforts. Managers are
accustomed to the way things are and hence may be unwilling or unresponsive to
change efforts (Tapli, 2001).
In the case of Zara SA, it is assumed that the leadership is on board with the training
efforts since the identification of training needs revealed that the organization is keen
on providing its employees with adequate skills to excel at their jobs.
5.2 Cost of training
Any practice of training and development involves a significant amount of investment
of financial resources. It also involves other costs such as loss of time at the job of
the trainees, loss of training costs if the trainee leaves the organization, workload
being divided amongst the team who did not attend the training program, and the cost
of providing refreshments and training support to the participants. Other costs to
consider include hiring trainers from outside or developing an internal team for better
acceptability. Similarly, investing in corporate learning centres, tools and equipment
for training, trainers’ training for upgradation, acceptability of internal employees v/s
that of external consultants, developing customized modules for all employees,
compensation for external trainers, loss of productivity, failure in transfer of training,
and acceptance of a newly trained employee amongst their peers.
5.3 Transfer of training
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The transfer of training refers to the opportunities provided to the trainees to use their
acquired knowledge on their jobs through external environmental stimuli in the form
of managerial encouragement, peer support, performance management and reward
systems, and an overall engaging organizational culture. The trainees’ enthusiasm
for practising the newly acquired skills may wane over time if the work environment
is not supportive to that end (Blume, Ford, Surface & Olenick, 2017; Ford, Baldwin &
Prasad, 2018).
In the case of Zara, if say, post the training program, when the store officers return to
their jobs, their bosses or peers make fun of them or do not allow them to use their
newly acquired rapport building skills, or taunt them for wanting to use classroom
principles on the field, it may cause the newly trained store officer to recoil and not
transfer the learning. This would amount to a tremendous waste of organizational
resources spent behind the training program.
5.4 Employee perception and attitude
The employees’ willingness to attend the program, learn from the discussions, and
apply the learning on their jobs are very crucial to the success of the program. Ford et
al., (2018) mention that the transfer of training is also affected by the employees’ self-
image and ability to apply the learning on the job. Employees may resist attending
the program if they perceive that the program is a corrective measure rather than a
reinforcement technique. The perceived value of the training program to their own
idea of employability and required skill sets would make a difference as well (Belling,
James & Ladkin, 2004)
A store manager who has been working for over 2 years in a store in Zara, may feel
that the company thinks he/she is an inadequate performer and is hence being sent for
the program. It would take concentrated effort by the Training function as well as the
line function to ensure that all employees understand the importance of the program,
its expected outcomes, and more importantly, its intent and scope.
6. Conclusion
The training program is proposed based on the training needs assessment conducted
previously. It is suggested as a pilot so as to get a buy-in for more such programs in the
future and create a favourable impression of training activities in the minds of the
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