Session Title: Retail & Learning Industry User Group

 

Session #: 110

 

Location: Coronado N

 

 

Session Format: Industry Session

 

Listen to a Preview PodCast

 

 

 

Engage in an interactive benchmarking dialogue with other colleagues from the Retail field in this special MyIndustry Learning User Group. We will compare notes about how "Learning is Changing", including:

 

• Turnover in a retail environment: challenges and solutions for learning design, development and implementation
• The spread of on-line shopping and its effects on the design of training, development and learning in retail organizations
• Additional retail learning challenges mentioned by participants: what are they and what can we do to solve them?

 

 

Led by:

 

Dorian Dandridge, Inter IKEA Systems B.V.   Dorian Dandridge was an independent training consultant for 23 years before being invited to work as a senior learning designer for Inter-IKEA Systems B.V., owner of the IKEA Home Furnishing retailing concept. He attempts to produce interactive curiosity-driven learning designs that can stimulate and interest mixed experience learners.

Jim Young, OfficeMax   James (Jim) Young currently leads the OfficeMax learning, design and development team and has 15 years in the education and learning field. He began his career as an educator in the public schools of Pennsylvania before transitioning to corporate training 12 years ago.  Prior to his work at OfficeMax, he held various positions in the learning organizations at McDonald’s Corporation and Sears.

 

 

 

Thank you to all of the participants who attended the Retail User Group Discussion. Our discussions yielded many thoughts to ponder for our industry. Specifically we discussed the impact of turnover in the retailing business and what the implications are for us as learning professionals. Some of our discussion delved into:

• How learning plays a role in bringing new members to our teams and how to show them what the possibilities are and what our organizations are about so they can actively participate in the culture of our organizations
• How learning plays a role in helping our "revolvling" workforce become more competent more quickly
• How the WOW factor plays a huge role in our learners and their ability for find learning accessible, fast, friendly, fun, passionate

 

We also mentioned things that are normally outside of the scope and control of our learning function. Namely:

• Hiring the right people for retail positions
• Rewarding and profiding incentives that matter to the workforce

 

Discussion around the topic "Reducing Turnover Through Training Design" elicited the following solutions:

• Give the learners value and a sense of belonging
• Reduce the speed to competency
• Wow! the learner
• Don't compromise quality of associates for quantity. Ex. Never throw a cashier on the front line without training because you have a spot to fill.
• Give value by setting up a mentor program.

   

 

 

Thank you to all who attended. I also invite those of you who have additional notes from the session to add to the Wiki.

 

Cheers,

James

 

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