Elearning! Fall 2007 - (Page 28) outwiththeold vey in order to encourage buy in and participation. The team’s goal was a participation rate of 75 percent; the actual participation rate was 97 percent. The time and effort invested in these competency statements had benefits that extended beyond training. The finalized competency statements were adopted by various HR units and used for merchant recruiting and hiring, onboarding processes and performance appraisals. Merchant >> >> >> >> >> Curriculum The team established goals of designing, developing and implementing a progressive learning process. BUILDING THE CURRICULUM The team’s assessment revealed that training was most desperately needed in the areas of: >> skills for financial analysis, >> developing and implementing strategies, >> formulating alternative solutions and >> negotiation. Combining those conclusions with business imperatives to accelerate top line sales and improve margin percentages, the team established goals of designing, developing and implementing a progressive learning process to build competence in a shorter period of time. The Saks’ training organization had introduced e-learning in 2003 and 2004 by targeting sales associates and focusing on completion of sales transactions. The elearning training eliminated travel costs, decreased training time from eight classroom hours to less than three hours of computer-based training, and reduced the transaction times of those completing the training by an average of 23 seconds. Successfully using these methods on Level 400: Communication and negotiation Level 300: Financial planning and analysis Level 200: Business analysis Level 100: Merchandise management Foundational Skills Exceeding Expectations New e-learning courses were launched in early 2006 by the new Saks University. Through the company’s LMS, employees can register for courses and organize their development plans. The training group can automatically position required courses on an employee’s development plan and track completions. Nearly 600 employees took courses in the first month. According to feedback and anecdotes from supervisors and managers, those taking the training are applying new knowledge and skills to their jobs, using course tools used as daily resources; incorporating the language of the curriculum into their daily business lives; demonstrating themselves to be more business savvy; and being invited to higher-level planning meetings. There is overall agreement that assistant buyers view their job accountabilities at a higher level, because the curriculum has helped define what merchants need to demonstrate on the job and how they can influence business results. Through the use of technology, defined competencies and consistent curriculum, Saks, Inc. has significantly improved its merchant training. Merchants are up to speed in 6 to 12 months, versus the industry average of 24 months. This year, Saks anticipates exceeding its goal for promoting from within. “This training is an example of Saks’ commitment to promoting people from within the organization,” says Paul Shore, senior vice president of human resources for Saks. “It’s in the interest of our people to help them become fully capable, competent and promotion-ready. And it’s also to the advantage of our customers and our business.” 28 Fall 2007 Elearning!
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.