A checkout supervisor would most likely have both training methods and their job is more important than a checkout operator, and involves more skill, but not as important as a manager and does not need as much skill as a manager at Sainsbury’s. A manager at Sainsbury’s would receive a combination of both methods as their job is very important and Sainsbury’s relies on it being done well. An advantage of this is that managers can get the best training possible and can do their job to the best of their ability, however this is quite expensive and can cost Sainsbury’s quite a lot of money.
Moreover, by using both methods of training, it benefits both staff and Sainsbury’s in many ways as it means that the staff at Sainsbury’s feel safer, happier and more confident in their job, and can lead to less absences so that Sainsbury’s can become more efficient and make more of a profit. It can benefit Sainsbury’s as it means that if staff are trained well the store is run more smoothly and effectively, and Sainsbury’s can achieve their aims and objectives.
Also, it means that Sainsbury’s staff can be trained better than their competition, meaning that Sainsbury’s can gain more customers and therefore beat their rivals – shown in an article from The Independent – (http://www. independant. co. uk/news/business/sainsburys-secret-training-1090849. html) saying “A company spokesperson declared “We do spend a lot of time and effort on training. ” And “In effort to now lose more ground to its main rival Tesco, Sainsbury’s is sending hundreds of employees to a mystery business school” showing the effort Sainsbury’s makes to train staff.
In conclusion, I believe Sainsbury’s is efficient in training their staff, and to an extent are very successful in their training, as it improves the skills and techniques used by staff and makes customers happy. Also, Sainsbury’s do different types of training to meet each employees needs, and the stores needs, and can make their store run more efficiently. However, as shown in the article by the Independent, Sainsbury’s are still struggling to keep up with their rival Tesco, and a reason behind this could be to do with the way in which they train staff.
Another quote to support this theory is from , which says “The ideas and tips by Oliver in the companies adverts over the coming weeks are being sampled by all 153,000 Sainsbury’s staff so they can experience them first-hand and share their knowledge and ideas with customers”, and “more than 1000 managers from stores and central teams, including the board, are all going through a 2-day training course to change the way we run the business”, which show that Sainsbury’s are aware of the faults within the business’ training scheme, and are trying to change by using new campaigns to attract more customers, and are further training staff to make their business more effective and improve and enhance the way their stores work.
A further way for Sainsbury’s to improve their training strategy, is that they could find out how their rivals train staff and do the same, to make sure they aren’t behind or that their staff aren’t being under-trained, and Sainsbury’s could have conferences with all their staff to discuss the training methods and see if they can come up with any more efficient methods. This would benefit Sainsbury’s as it would mean that they can improve their training methods and gain more ground against rivals, which would mean they can get a bigger market share and make a larger profit. Question 4 – Identify and explain the factors which motivate people at work. Judge whether Sainsbury’s are successful in motivating their employees. This should include reference to flexible working. Motivation is the process of being desired (through monetary or non-monetary methods) to work harder. The more motivation provided, the harder staff will work.
Motivation is very important to the success of Sainsbury’s; as if the staff are motivated it will allow Sainsbury’s to achieve their yearly aims and objectives. As Abraham Maslow’s theory of motivation shows (pictured below left) the hierarchy of needs is often portrayed in the shape of a pyramid, with the largest and most fundamental levels of needs at the bottom, and the need for self-actualization at the top. Sainsbury’s uses this to motivate staff into feeling more secure and wanting to work harder, so that the store can meet its needs and their employees are happy. Moreover, what I spoke to the manager of Sainsbury’s, he said “The motivational needs of staff is of up most importance, as it means that the store can run smoothly, calmly and to the best of everyone’s ability.
” This shows how Sainsbury’s consider staff motivation to be important, and motivate their staff in ways to suit the staff and help them work harder. Staff can be motivated through monetary and non- monetary methods. Examples of these include non- monetary methods such as pension schemes, healthcare, childcare, additional training and additional responsibility, and monetary methods such as additional pay, bonuses and commission to motivate staff. The problems with monetary methods, however, are that is means higher costs for Sainsbury’s, and that if the store target is not met and staff cannot be paid the extra money, they will be de-motivated and not want to work.
These methods of motivation can be used to target certain staff and specifically make them work harder, for example, by giving a checkout operator more responsibility they will feel more useful and happier in their job, but by giving a manager more responsibility it could potentially de-motivate them and make them feel more stressed out, as their job is already full of responsibility. The motivation for a manager would most likely be a monetary motivation, to help them feel more comfortable in their job. Flexible working is very beneficial to Sainsbury’s, its when workers will work varied hours, which means that Sainsbury’s can have more skills within their store, it is also beneficial to Sainsbury’s as it means they can hire staff during busy periods, for example, Christmas when they are usually low staffed and have lots of customers, they can overcome these problems as they can hire more staff.
After speaking to a member of staff at Sainsbury’s, I believe that flexible working hours for staff is beneficial to the store as it helps them overcome problems during busy periods, and it means they have varied skills within the store which can help them meet their aims and objectives. A member of staff at Sainsbury’s said “Varied work hours help me a lot, as it means I can spend time with my kids, and work, and it means I’m less stressed out at work and feel happier there! ” Moreover, Sainsbury’s also uses appraisals to motivate staff and help staff stay focused. Appraisals are meetings between staff and management, which occur every six months – yearly, in a business.
Appraisals are usually about the work of the staff in the business, telling them how they are doing, what they are doing well, and not so well and yearly targets that they need to meet. Appraisals can be motivating for staff as it gives them goals that they want to achieve, and motivates them through telling them what they are doing well, and how they need to improve. Peter Drucker believed that management was very important for businesses, and if staff are treated well they will work harder as they are assets to be business, not problems, and will be more motivated if treated well. Appraisals are very helpful to Sainsbury’s as they give regular feedback which can help improve the way in which staff as Sainsbury’s work, and make Sainsbury’s more efficient.
This means that Sainsbury’s can make their stores more efficient and make a higher profit. Moreover, appraisals can set future goals for staff to achieve, and can motivate staff into working harder and feeling better and more secure in their job. Appraisals help to make sure that both Sainsbury’s and employees are meeting the terms of their contracts, and ensure this by showing them what employees need to improve, and what they are doing well. This helps Sainsbury’s to meet their aims and objectives as it encourages staff to work harder and do their jobs to the best of their ability, ensuring that customers are happy and likely to keep coming back and help Sainsbury’s make a profit and build a bigger market share.
To conclude, if appraisals are used often enough they can make sure that Sainsbury’s do well and can be a good way of communicating between staff about future goals and can help Sainsbury’s to identify who is working well and who is not doing their job as well as they can. Furthermore, appraisals keep staff motivated, which in my opinion is very important as it encourages staff to work as hard as they can and can potentially be the rise or fall of a business, as if staff are working well, customers are happy and keep returning, and more customers are attracted to the store, whereas if staff do not work well, the customers will shop at rival stores and Sainsbury’s could lose some of their market share. Moreover, a member of staff at Sainsbury’s, Sally, says “I have formal meeting with the deputy manager every 6 months to discuss the progress of both myself and the department.
I really like this opportunity because it gives me a chance to discuss any issues I have and also because the meetings are really positive, which makes me feel good about my job. We have spoken about training possibilities for the future if I wish to move up within the company. ” This shows how appraisals can make staff feel welcomed and more secure, which is important as it encourages staff to show up for work each day so there are less absentees. However, a member of staff at a Leamington branch named Gareth says “I have never had a proper appraisal really. I have informal chats with my supervisor on the checkouts if there is any problems etc. But we don’t discuss areas where I can improve or what opportunities are available for me.
To be honest though it doesn’t really bother me because this is only a part time job and I plan on going to university when I’ve finished. I know we have a HR manager that I met on my first day and she did some of the introduction training but I haven’t spoken to her since, but that’s probably because it’s a very big store with a lot of people. ” This shows how Sainsbury’s don’t always make appraisals as important as they should be, and shows that without appraisals staff can become de-motivated and not care about the job that they are doing, which means that that branch can lose lots of profit from unhappy customers and lack of efficiency, and Sainsbury’s can lose their good reputation.
