Training program for DSG international: Proposing a project to establish staff training

Thèmes abordés

Training - program - DSG - international - employee - management - specialization - project - planning - objectives - Project life-cycle - procedure - recommendations - Dixons Store Group - FIVES

Résumé du document

DSG international, know as Dixons Store Group, is one of the largest consumer electronics retailers in Europe. For instance, the company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. The Group owns 1,300 stores and online stores, across 28 countries and employing 40,000 people. More than 100 million customers shop in-store and online every year.

Since 1937, when the first Dixons photographic studio opened in England, the Group has multiplied their acquisitions in order to dominate the market. Indeed, the company owns the major electrical retailing stores such as Dixons, Dixons Travel, Currys, Currys digital, PC World and Electro World and many other brands across Europe like Pixmania, Equanet and Advent Computers. Mail order on a massive scale was a key success factor for the company.

The company specializes in selling high technology consumer electronics products, including audio-video equipment, PCs, small and large domestic appliances, photographic equipment, communication products and related financial and after sales services. Moreover, the Group retails other products and services such as electrical products, spares, repairs, mobile services, online digital photo processing and childcare equipment.

In May 2008, the Chief Executive John Browett decided to put in place a plan to improve the financial performance of the firm and to focus the business on the customer. 20,000 employees have received the training program called FIVES. It consists in applying radical five points related to an analysis of their customers to redefine the priorities and understand exactly what the customer wants from them. The renewal and transformation of the business begins by the focus on the customer through delivering a combination of value, choice and service. The second step is to concentrate on the portfolio on winning positions. The third stage is to transform the business to expand the choices for the customers and improve the in-store buying experience. The fourth point is to penetrate in the internet market in order to develop a multi-channel retailing. The last step is to diminish the cost base by simplifying processes.

Extraits

[...] At this occasion, the staff is informed about internal firm changes during the morning and new products during the afternoon. Each department attends this learning cession at a special date every two months. Cost: Training will also require material and human resources and may require employees to be away from their posts while they learn. The advantage of the internal training is that it is cheaper than equivalent external courses. It is necessary to find a premise for training inside the store, i.e. [...]

[...] The second one is the planning phase, characterized by breaking down the project into smaller tasks, then we have the execution and controlling step, i.e. how the project plan is executed. Finally, the closure phase marks the completion of the project. Project initiation: In this first stage, we have to define the origin and the scope of the project. The source of this project comes from the growing competitiveness that every consumer retailers has to cope with. That is why, DSG International has to develop a competitive advantage: it can build up an internal training based on selling techniques to distance itself from its competitors (scope). [...]

[...] Definition and planning of the project 4. SMART objectives After having chosen the training program, we need to develop several goals that will enable us to success the project. Objectives should be SMART, i.e. specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-based. SMART goals seek to answer the question “Where do we want to Specific: The aim of the training plan is to improve the theoretical and practical knowledge of all vendors, according to the department where they work (computing, cooking & kitchen, gaming, photography, etc.). [...]

[...] In our case, in the one hand, we can put in place a test at the end of the week session which checks that the worker has assimilated the main training points. If the result is not satisfying, the employee should begin his job like an assistant during two months, until he take another test. If this time he fails, he will be fired of the company. In the other hand, the head office should control the sales level one year after the beginning of the training program. [...]

[...] The risk management consists in its identification and assessment in order to minimize it because it is essential to control the probability and/or the impact of unfortunate events on the project objectives. We can establish a risk management plan which proposes effective security controls for managing the risks. It should contain a schedule for checking implementation and responsible persons for those actions. Option appraisal DSG International needs to put in place a project about a new training program. Training is required to cover essential work-related skills, techniques and knowledge. The most effective way to increase people is to enable learning and personal development. [...]