Developing Retail Managers for Halfords
Following a restructure of Store Management, Halfords recognised that people appointed into new roles may need some support to align their performance and behaviour to the new way of operating in stores. The plan was to provide training and development materials to underpin these new roles. The materials needed to allow Managers to tailor development to their own individual needs, rather than having to work through a pre-determined structured Programme. The materials would be available locally in stores and self-managed by Store and Sales Managers, with Line Manager support and sign-off.
Measuring success:
The development activity needed to result in:
- a clear differentiation between the roles of Store Manager and Sales Managers (Auto/Leisure and Bikehut), consolidating awareness and understanding of how the roles differ and the new expectations of each role
- an acceptance of, and reliance on, the materials by Store Management Teams as an accessible and flexible tool for improving performance
- ongoing performance improvement against Store and Department KPIs.
The TFA approach:
Having previously worked with TFA on a Store Management Development Programme, Halfords approached us to help them with the design and development of these modular development materials aligned to new Store Manager and Sales Manager roles.
The concept of a simple Toolkit format was developed to reflect that the solution is readily available to ‘fix’ development needs on an as-needed basis – just like any other ‘toolkit’ product stocked by Halfords. In this way the training was linked directly to the brand, whilst reinforcing the ongoing and flexible nature of the content.
Each of the Store Manager and Sales Manager (Auto/Leisure and Bikehut) Toolkits is broken-down into the 5 Halford’s management competencies, and a simple Training Needs Analysis process determines at which level a manager starts their development in line with experience, skills and knowledge, and career path. Learning within each Module is driven by Activity Cards that:
- set the scene and standards required (What good looks like)
- outline the purpose behind the learning (Why am I doing this?)
- list the objectives that the activity will meet (What will I learn?)
- list the resources required for the activity (What will I need?)
- describe the detail of the activity (Give it a go)
- provide space for personal notes/reflections (What have I learnt?)
- detail any safety issues and tasks that should be completed pre or post activity (Things to be aware of)
- suggest hints and tips to expand on the learning (Something else to try)
The materials were designed and produced within a two-month timeframe in readiness for a scheduled roll-out following completion of the restructuring exercise.
