HR Corner Training of fundamental importance by Charles Mak Expanding coffeehouse builds staff competence from the ground up Recruitment and staff retention are notoriously tough in the food and beverage (F&B) retail business. However, one F&B retailer is set to combat the prevailing talent crunch by focusing on catering for the very basic but most essential needs of its employees —l earning and development. Pacific Coffee Company believes that its teams of happy, dedicated professionals are the company's best assets. "As a responsible employer, we seek to create a comfortable environment not only for customers but also for staff," says Serina Chan, the company's director of corporate human resources. "This in turn helps to foster loyalty and facilitate professional growth." Of paramount importance is a well-built training infrastructure. "Today's employees expect to work and learn simultaneously in the workplace irrespective of industry experience and seniority," notes Cherie Lau, Pacific Coffee's training & development manager. After a half-day orientation from which new staff learn about the company's VMV (vision, missions and values) and operations, an array of training initiatives begin. In a bid to make the learning process practical, 80 per cent of the company's training is carried out on-the-job, with the remainder in a classroom setting. "Our operation is based on a clear yet sophisticated customer service counter concept. Therefore, skills in customer service, customer engagement and also coffee making are essential," Ms Chan explains. "In fact, a customer service mindset is not difficult to cultivate providing staff are nurtured in a caring environment where they themselves are treated as customers." Besides this, basic sales techniques and product training are also on the agenda. "We are the Hong Kong sole agent for Jura of Switzerland and Concordia coffee machines so our service staff are also our sales representatives," Ms Chan adds. A competent level of English proficiency is also expected of frontline staff since a large percentage of Pacific Coffee customers is non-Chinese speaking residents and tourists. As such, specific training for general English skills is incorporated into the company's training schedule. Supplementing this is a mixture of external training and field training organised by suppliers and the company's central kitchen. Service consistency is vital in the day-to-day operation of the 63-shop coffee shop chain. "This is why we also employ an external consultant to implement a quarterly mystery shopper programme to monitor our service standards and benchmark that of our competitors. Programme findings effectively help us identify and subsequently fill any training gaps," Ms Lau remarks. "Today's employees expect to work and learn simultaneously in the workplace irrespective of industry experience and seniority" By the book Through 16 years of change and challenge, Pacific Coffee, a Hong Kong Magazine's Readers Choice Award for "Coffee shop of the year" for seven consecutive years, continues to maintain a high level of service thanks in part to the clear and comprehensive training manual, which was compiled by the company's founder Thomas Neir, Ms Chan says. "To meet changing customer behaviour and expectations in the evolving market environment there are naturally continuous enhancements to the manual," Ms Lau stresses. "It serves as a guideline for staff. Our managers study it carefully because they are the safe keepers of our standards." The training manual is also a set text for promotion tests. "Supervisors-to-be are required to go through an oral test based on knowledge of the manual, while stepping-up managers sit an additional written exam which is also based on the training manual," Ms Lau details. "This helps the HR and training department to gauge their competence levels and capability as leaders; and at the same time identify future training needs." High-performing staff who have successfully taken the next step into managerial roles receive management training including leadership and above all, a cashiering programme designed to hone commercial skills and ensure strict compliance with standards and procedures set out for the company's centralised computer cashier system. Internal affairs Adhering to a policy of "promotion from within", eight of the current nine Pacific Coffee area managers started their careers in junior positions. "This explains our keen focus on basic training," Ms Lau notes. On a macro scale, the company takes pride in its stable workforce. Ms Chan expands, "Should certain staff opt for an alternative career, for example, in business development, sales and marketing or even human resources, we would help them look for a place within the company and complement it with appropriate training. As a matter of fact, we do more than encourage such cross-departmental moves because we don't want to lose a single member of our staff." A Pacific Coffee barista may advance to coffeehouse manager within two years. However, this career fast track requires far more than sheer technical skills. "Baristas must develop a great sense of job ownership and team spirit," Ms Chan remarks. "They must also be task-oriented, organised and have the capacity to care for their colleagues because eventually they will be given the responsibility to lead and train their own teams." Salient points * Policies focused on learning and development needs * Career moves complimented with appropriate training * Training manual safeguards service consistency Taken from Career Times 20 June 2008, p. C20 Your comments are welcome at [email protected]