Training in the Retail Trade in Spain. Report for the FORCE Programme

DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 372 243 CE 066 854

AUTHOR Mendez-Vigo, Marisa TITLE Training in the Retail Trade in Spain. Report for the FORCE Programme. Retail Sector. INSTITUTION European Centre for the Development or Vocational Training, Berlin (Germany). REPORT NO ISBN-92-826-7498-3 PUB DATE 94 NOTE 95p. AVAILABLE FROMUNIPUB, 4661-F Assembly Drive, Lanham, MD 20706-4391 (Catalogue No. HX-80-93-945-EN-C). PUB TYPE Reports Research/Technical (143)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC04 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Case Studies; *Distributive Education; Educational Practices; *Educational Trends; Employment Patterns; Employment Practices; Financial Support; Foreign Countries; *Industrial Training; Needs Assessment; Personnel Management; Postsecondary Education; Program Costs; Program Development; *Program Effectiveness; *Retailing; *Training Methods; Training ObjecLives IDENTIFIERS *Spain

ABSTRACT A study examined training in the retail trade in Spain. Employment, work, and training patterns in Spain's retail sector were researched, and case studies of five retail firms were conducted. Two retailers were too small to afford their own training organization but had formulated personnel policies providing for training. The third case was a firm whose general policy had traditionally linked staff training with total quality and the strategies used to achieve it, and the remaining two cases were large organizations that allocate substantial sums to staff training. Training was generally beginning to be regarded as an important element in firm restructuring and/or expansion. In all cases, training policies/programs were planned by top management or jointly by management and personnel department. Only wie firm had conducted a systematic training needs assessment. At all five firms, all categories of employees involved in selling had access to training. Quality of training varied greatly from firm to firm; however, training quality and funds allocated for training were increasing in all five firms. The two largest firms received direct subsidies, two firms financed their own training program, and the smallest firm used an outside organization that received funds. (Contains 52 tables/figures.) (MN)

********************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * from the original document. * *********************************************************************** F FORMATION CONTINUE EN EUROPE Europoan Commission

RETAIL SECTOR

1111 4400023900053

U.S. DEPARTMENT Of EDUCATION iMc 04 Educahonal Rosearch and Imotovsment "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS E ATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY CENTER (ERIC) Mrs document has teen rfprOduCed SS received born the person Of otgemzetron Originating it 0 Minor changes have men made to imptovrif rsproduCtiOn quality

Point II Of view 0 opinions stated in this doCu. mint 1:10 not neCOSSafily ropreeent TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES OE RI Position or WIC), INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)."

BEST COPY AVAILABLE RETAIL SECTOR

TRAININGIN THE RETAIL TRADE IN SPAIN REPORT FOR THE FORCE PROGRAMME

drawn up by Marisa Mendez-Vigo CIREM (Centre d'Iniciatives i Recerques Europeesa la Mediterrgnia).

1992

First edition, Berlin 1994 Published by: CEDEFOP European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, Jean Monnet House, Bundesallee 22, D-10717 Berlin Fax 49-30 + 88 41 22 22 Tel. 49-30 + 88 41 20Telex 18 41 63 eucen d The Centre was established by Regulation (EEC) No 337/75 of the Council of the European Communities

3 Cataloguing data car be found at the end of this publication.

Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the EuropeanCommunities, 1994

ISBN 92-826-7498-3

ECSC-EC-EAEC, BrusselsLuxembourg, 1994

Articles and texts appearing in this document may benlroduced freely in whole or in part providing their source is mentioned. Printed in Germany 4 FORCE

Formation continue en Europe Commission of the European Communities TASK FORCE Human Resources, Education, Training and Youth Rue de la Loi, 200; 8-1049 Bruxelles

THE IDEA FORCE The future economic strength and the potential for social progress of the European Commuciity depends on a consistent impovenient in the competence and qualifications of its 132.000.000 labour force. Better continuing vocational training is one of the essential conditions for the success of the Single Market 1993. The European Commission is determined to support and give fresh impetus to the efforts which companies throughout the Community are making to improve continuing training. FORCE is the European Community's action programme for the development of continuing vocational training. It is focusJed on companies, especially on small and medium-sized companies. It involves trainers ard training bodies, employer and union reprasentatives - everyone concerned with improving the competence of the labour force.

WHAT DOES FORCE OFFER? FORCE promotes working partnerships ,in continuing training between companies, training bodies, public authorities ana social partners. These will include: supporting continuing training innovation through a European transnational network, an exchange programme, transnational and transfrontier pilot projects and projects concerned with the evolution of qualifications; assuring closer policy cip-operation between Member States by evolving a common statistical means of analysing what is being done in terms of continuing training, through regular analysis of relevant contractual policy and collective agreements, and through inquir- ies into sectoral needs; supporting the establishment of regional consortia and yansnational continuing training partnerships which specialise in transferring exemplary good practice to economically weak regions. JOINING You can take part in the FORCE network and apply for financial assistance to join its innovation and transfer exchanrs and projects if you are: a large, medium-sized or small company, a training body working with industry or commerce, an employer or trade union body, a training or human resource expert or manager. Through FORCE you can help improve continuing training in your company, sector or local labour market. At the same time you can help make an investment in the improvement and availability of continuing trainingin effect in the working and producing of the future of the European Community.

3 CEDEFOP

European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training Jean Monnet House, Bundesallee 22, D-10717 Berlin

Institutional status

CEDEFOP is an autonomous body, independent of the departments of the Commission of the European Communities, but its task and activities are closely integrated with those of the Commission, to which the Centre contributes its technical and scientific E.xpertise.

Working guidelines for the Centre are laid down by its Management Board, whose members represent the EC Commission (3), trade unions (12) employers' organizations (12) and governments (12). The Management Board decides on the Work Programme, draws up and approves budgets and adopts the Annual Report.

The members of the Management doard are appointed by the organizations they represent and remain in office for two years. The chairmanship of the Board changes each year.

Institutional tasks Information: In the field of vocational training, information is one of the Centre's vital tasks. Its documentation service and a constantly updated bibliographical database receive information from a network of national correspondents, and the information is then made available to a very wide audience, in part via highly sophisticated computerized channels. Its carefully planned publishing policy also ensures that the Centre's voice is heard on major issues in the field of vocational training. It produces its own regular publications (»Vocational Training«, »CEDEFOP flash« and »CEDEFOP flash special«) and occasional publications such as research reports, monographs and manuals.

Research: CEDEFOP, as a centre for the promotion and coordination of research within the Community, provides support in the form of information, expertise and encouragement for the planning and implementation of vocational training initiatives in Member States. In so doing it serves as a focus for innovation.

Consultation: CEDEFOP, as an organization supporting the Commission, has the task af promoting a concerted approach to vocational training problems. It takes every opportunity to promote and encourage training.

6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This study was coaled out in the framework of the Those involved were: European Retail Trade Sector Study, within the EC FORCE programme, and conducted by a CentralAugustin Benavent. Union General de Trabaja- Team made up mainly of member centres ofdares (UGT). 'EURONET Work & Education' under the responsibility of the CIREM Foundation in Barcelona. JoaquimDeulofeu Aymar. ConfederaciOn de Comercio de Cato The Central Team was composed of Olivier Bertrand (Cereq,Paris),Oriol Homs (Cirem,Jose Antonio Garcia de Castro.AsociaciOn Barcelona), Wilfried Kurse (S.F.S.Dortmund), Nacional de Medianas y Grandes Empresas de Marisa Mendez-Vigo (Cirem,Barcelona) and Distribución (ANGED). Harry van den Tillaart (ITS, Nijmegen), in closeDolores GarciaDotor.lnstitutoNacional de collaboration with Tina Bertzeletou from CEDEFOP lndustria (IN1). (Berlin). Jose Luis Marrero. Ministerio de Industria, Turismo Theproject team wouldliketothankthe y Comercio. companies who gave access for research, and whose staff provided the information and helpFrancisco Martin Carmona. Union Genercl de which enabled us to write the case studies. We Trabajadores (UGT). very much appreciate the time and effort invested so generously. Fernando Medina GOmez. Comisiones Oberas (CC00). We would alsoliketo thank the employers' organizations and trade unions, and their repre-Javier MillOn Astray. ConfederaciOn Española de sentatives, who contributed to the research by Comercio. making suggestions for case studies, attending meetings and commenting on the draft report. Javier Sobrino. Conselleria de Comerc, Industria i Turismo. Generalitat de Catalunya. Teresa Udina. ConfederaciOn Española Coopera- tivas de Consumidores.

7 INTRODUCTION

The present report isport of the first FORCE The firms selected for case study in the various Programme ofsectoralsurveysinitiatedand countries were chosen on the basis of proposals commissioned by the European Community in made at meetings attended by employers' and order to gain more knowledge of continuing workers' representatives, the national coordina- training in the various member countries. tion units of the FORCE programmes and the research teams. A criterion fo, selection was the The study is in three parts. The first is a general existence of a continuing training programme in description of the retail sector, its structure, and the firm for more than one category of employees, employment and training policies, and is intended and on the programmes' transferability. to serve as the framework for the subsequent case studies the main purpose of this report. TheWhile studies were being carried out, frequent second part comprises the selected case studies, meetings were heldat variousnational and which put the emphasis on training policy and Community levels(researchers,centralteam, highlights programmes which could be of interest develop "monitoring group"), in order to monitor to other countries. The third part, embodying theactivities and evolve solutions to problems as they conclusions, considers the main aspects of thearose. Once the studies were complete the last continuing training situation in the retail sector. stage of finalizing and approving the reports for the various countries involved a meeting with the The content structure, length and methodology national coordination unit, union representatives used are common to the twelve national reports and researchers. and were decided upon by the central team directing the project and approved by workers' The Spanish survey was carried out during the and employers' organizations at European level. autumn/winter of 1992, after which it,o6s given to representatives and experts in the retail sector The first part of the report is based on the existing and to the firms selected, so that they could read it literature and statistics for the retail sector in each and make the necessary comments. The last country, as well as on a number of interviews meeting, held on 8 July 1992, was used to gather which enabledstatisticalshortcomingstobe the final comments and data, which have now compensated by qualitative factors. largely been incorporated in the final report.

Marisa Mendez-Vigo

August 1992

9 CONTENTS

PART 1 - SECTORAL CONTEXT 1. SCOPE AND DEFINITION OF THE RETAIL SECTOR 2. STRUCTURE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RETAIL TRADE IN SPAIN 2.1Historical development 2.2 The current situation 3. SOCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT 3.1 Legal framework 3.2 Labour legislation and the social partners 4. EMPLOYMENT 4.1 General trends and characteristics of employment 4.2 Labour force 4.3 Working hours 4.4 Working conditions 4.5 Recruitment and selection criteria 5. CHANGING CONDITIONS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR QUALIFICATIONS AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING 6. TRAINING POLICY 6.1 Government-sponsored training 6.2 Other forms of training 7. CONCLU5IONS

PART 2 - CASE STUDIES 8. Gerplex/ConfederaciOn del Comercio de Catalufia Eroski Cemasce Firm Xx Firm A

PART 3 - TRENDS 9. Concluding comments 10. Sources of information 11. Methodological note

9 PART 1:

1. Scope and definition of the retail sector

2. Structure and characteristics of the retail trade in Spain

3. Social and institutional context

4. Employment

5. Changing conditions and their implications for qualifications and vocational training

6. Training policy

7. Conclusions

10 SECTION 1- SCOPE AND DEFINITION OF THE RETAIL SECTOR

The Spanish National Classification of Economic Activities has the same categories for retail trade activity as does the European Community, and al'so includes the sale of cars and vehicles in general and the sale of fuels. The present report disregards these latter products and itinerant and door-to-door selling.

11 SECTION 2 - STRUCTURE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RETAIL TRADE IN SPAIN

The retail trade in Spain is currently in the throes ofThus between 1973 and 1983 44 hypermarkets change and rapid expansion which began in thewere opened on the Mediterranean coast and in mid-eighties and isstill under way. During theMadrid, only 4 of these being entirely Spanish- period 1981 -1987 gross added value in theowned. Between 1983 and 1992 125 stores with retail sector increased by 130%; in 1990 retailing large sales floors were opened, both in the major accounted for 12% of GDP and in 1991 for 14% cities and in their suburbs and in medium-sized of "the total employed population. cities throughout the country, with a far larger share being financed with Spanish capital. Thisprocessof changeisnotableforthe appearance of new generalized forms of distribu- We can, therefore, say that it was in the mid- tion which are a reaction to the political, social, eighties that the modernization of the retail trade economic and cultural development of the countryreally got under way again. There were several overthepast decade and theirimpact oncontributing factors, among them Spain's entry traditional forms of retailing, which are seekinginto the Common Market, the massive inflow of to survive in the face of new market conditions. foreign capital to the retail sector (Spain is the second most profitable country in the EC with a 2.1 Historkal development return on sales of 2.1% compared with an In the past the Spanish retail trade was typified by average of 0.5% for other countries) and the a large number of small family-run businesses, a spectacular sur6e in GDP and consumer spending large percentage of which sold food, while the during the three years from 1987 to 1989. (Table 1) number retailing equipment and services was very small. Premises tended to be very restricted in size. There were, in addition, a number of sociological This situation was aggravated by the large number changes that influenced the position of women, of shops servicing the population, which in 1988 made for a higher level of education and paved was still 18 per thousand. the way for a consumer movement, including a number of specific factors at urban and metropol- All these factors reflected the low level of incomes itan level.with an image-enhancing effect beyond and the underdeveloped consumer society. theirimmediateterritory.These includedthe decision to hold the Olympic Games in Barcelona During the phase of rapid development in the and the 1992 World Exhibition in Seville, which sixties and seventies, mass migration to the cities resultedina considerable amount of urban result-dina spectacular growth cf retailing modernization, a rise in property prices etc. and coupled with hesitant, restricted modernization, helped to accelerate the changes taking place in milestones of which were the opening of the first the retail trade. department store in 1956, the first supermarket in 1960 and the first hypermarket in 1973. 2.2 The current situation Theretailsectorcurrentlyhas a varietyof The start of modernization and its subsequent structures with traditional forms of selling, whether development was held up on the one hand by the or not modernised, existing side by side with the economic recession triggered by the oil price, andrapidly growing shopping centres and the well on the other by the difficulties involved in political established urban supermarkets, and hypermar- transitionandindustrialrestructuring,which kets. The marked segmentation of the market was together made the economic outlook uncertain. one of the prime consequences of changes in society and in the retail trade. All this does not mean, however, that there was no evolution in the retail trade, although the data Hypermarkets have played a fundamental role show the process proceeding at different paces. in the development of the retail trade; this reflects

Table 1 - Spanish economy 1985-1989

1985 1986 1987 1988 1989

Consumer spending 2.2 3.7 5.2 4.9 4.2

Public-sector consumption 4.6 5.1 9.0 4.5 4.0

Overall demand 2.9 6.0 8.1 7.0 5.5

GDP 2.3 3.3 5.2 5.0 4.5

Source: "Distribución Actualidad", February 1991 15 1? in the number of stores opened in recent years and (= thousand million). All kinds of products are sold their influence both on traditional.structures and on by independent stores in shopping centres but thecreationofjobs and trainingactivities. non-food products predominate. Hypermarkets have also been the focal point of foreign investment in the retail sector, and evenHowever a new strategy on the part of the today most stores belong to foreign firms, although hypermarkets seeking to avoid conflicts with small the share of Spanish capital is gradually increas-retailers and localauthoritiesistoestablish ing. shopping centres which combine hypermarkets

Table 2 - Forms of retailing

Department store: A retail outlet with different departments selling all kinds of products, including food. Sales floor in excess of 3,000 sq.m. located in urban centres.

Hypermarket: A retail outlet operating on a self-service basis with a minimum of 2,500sq.m. in a free- standing building. Hypermarkets sell all kinds of products, especially food, and are generally located on the outskirts of cities or in the suburbs with generous parking facilities. The term hypermarket also covers large specialist retail outlets that have emerged more recently.

Supermarket: A retail outlet operating on the self-service principle with a sales floor of between 120 and 2,500 sq.m., selling food, cleaning products and toiletries. Supermarkets are generally located in town centres.

Shopping centre: A group of retail outlets in the same building designed, built and run as a unit, the. location, sales area and type of store depending on the area served. Minimum sales floor is 1,000 sq..n. Shopping centres sell all types of articles but mainly non-food products.

Traditional shops: These .nclude specialist shops, which may be independent or operating on a franchise basis or owned by retail chain companies. The sales floor varies. They are located in towns and offer a smaller but very varied range of products. Also included under this heading are traditional small food shops with a sales floor of less than 120 sq.m. Generally speaking traditional stores do not operate on the self-service system.

Source: Prepared on the basis of data in specialist publications.

Sales floors range from a minimum of 2,500 sq.m. selling food with a range of stores managed by to12,000 sq.m.and average 8,000 and local shopkeepers. 10,000 sq.m. In 1992 there were around 180 hypermarkets in Spain with a total sales floor of In 1990 the percentage of total sales accounted more than 1.5 million sq.m. The trend towards for by shopping centres was already in the region hypermarkets continues, although there may be of 4.1%. Shoppingcentreshave frequently some variation in location and size because of the provided a new alternative to traditional shops. shortage and high price of building land in big cities. However, there are signs of growth levelling Despite the success of the shopping centre concept out in the medium term, especially in some regionsor even because of it, some investors not familiar and autonomous communities. with the retail sector but conscious of its high profitability as a building investment have been When mentioning superstores we must not forgetopening shopping centres of uncertain viability. the growing number of specialist stores selling This explains the comparatively frequent failure of furn: e, DIY goods, and toys that apply the same some sh.laing centres created in the hope of philosophy as the hypermarkets and are generally short-terrn profit without a common strategy and foreign-financed. These are not very widespreadwithout any awareness of the shopping facilities and are mainly found on the outskirts of major needed by the people in the area concerned. cities. The third major element in the modernization of Shopping centres are another important phenom- the retail trade has been the urban neighbourhood enon invading the retail sector. 130 shopping supermarkets with a sales floor_of between 500 centres with a sales floor totalling1.3 million and 1,500 sq.m. run by Spanish or foreign- sq.m.have been openedsince1985 and owned chain store enterprises; these are expand- prospects are of another 100 over the next few ing very rapidly. Over the last three years the pace years, raising the total sales floor to 3 millionof takeovers,mergers,expansions,intakeof 16 sq.m. and involving investment of ESP 300 billion foreign capital etc. have become very common,

I 3 and in 1990 708 stores with a total sales floor of Cooperative stores are also in the process of a 392,179 sq.m. changed hands. general decline withfallingsales.The only exception is the successful cooperative activity in As a result only the first of the top five supermarket the Basque country, which is due to the long companies is Spanish-owned. This has 140 scores tradition of cooperative stores in that area. whereas the other four companies have inall 1,533 outlets and are mainly foreign-owned. Mail orderbusiness,whichonly beganin Spain about 10 years ago, amounted in 1990 These five leading firms increased their sales in to ESP 55 billion or 0.4% of total retail sales, with 1990 by a year-on-year 185%, mainly as a result spending per capita far lower than in the rest of of the expansion and increase in the number ofEurope (ESP 1,300 compared with ESP 15,000). sales outlets. Two foreign companies and one Spanish one account for over half this market and the foreign The sales figure of all supermarkets, most of which presence is steadily expanding. Growth in Spain are chain stores, rose by around 30% between of this type of selling is around 25% a year and it 1990 and 1991. is hoped that this will be maintained for some years yet. Recent years have also seen the emergence of the "hard discount" supermarkets owned by a French The number of stores, calculated on the basis of multinational company. figures for commercial licences given in Table 3 and bearing in mind the limitations explained in Department stores, which with the exception ofthe note on methods used, recorded a sharp Spain's leading company are suffering consider-increase between 1985 and 1990, with small ably from general developments in the retail trade shops far from under-represented. and competition from other forms of retailing reflecting in their loss of market share are nowThe sector showing lowest growth is food, which devising new strategies which in some casesincreased by 6.5% over the past five years involve,specializationandtheprovisionofcompared with a 20% increaseinthetotal services.The foreignpresence hereisverynumber of retaillicences. This slower growth significant but the most important of the major reflects the emergence of hypermarkets and the department store companies and tfie leading retail expansion of supermarkets. (Table 3) company is Spanish-owned.

Table 3 - Growth in the number of retail licences in the various retail sub-sectors

1980 1985 1990

1. Agricultural produce, food, beverages, tobacco 291,934 311,055

2. Textiles, clothing, footwear 119,584 146,881

3. Wood, cork, paper and graphic arts 58,349 72,918

4. Chemical products, toiletries etc. 58,904 68,177

5. Buildings, land, building materials, glass etc. 23,672 24,947

6. Minerals, metals, metal-working 33,590 42,512

7. Machinery and transport equipment 70,415 96,723

8. Non-classified 87,393 109,277

Total 713,752 753,342 906,777

N.B. The Classification of Economic Activities was modified in 1983. This means that the figures for sub- sectors in 1980 cannot be used because of their lack of comparability with those of subsequent years.

Source: Anuario del Mercado Espanol. Banco Espanol de Creclito, 1991. 17

'A 14 Most of the small food shops in Spain presented them match up to the different requirements of until recently a typical picture as follows: present-day consumers.

Over 50% have been in existence for over 15 A way out of the difficulties faced by small retailers years in the food sector has been to associate voluntarily Over 60% have a sales floor of less than in chains and to establish centralized purchasing 40 sq . m . organizations which today link more than 90% of Less than 5% use computers as a managementsmall businesses. The purchasing organizations tool andvoluntaryassociationshavecontributed Shopkeepers are on average aged 47 towards the restructuring of the retail sector with 75% of shopkeepers have only primary school- suchinnovations as cash and carrystores, ing and have learned their business through franchising, own-brand products and manage- experience ment training from the outset. However, the current policy of these organizations and their tendency to Source: La estructura del comercio catalan. Generalitat vertical integration by establishing direct retailing de Catalunya, 1989. channels of their own in competition with the supermarkets and hypermarkets (which no longer All these factors coupled with high production need the central purchasing organizations sc. costs have made it very difficult for this type ofmuch because of their enhanced negotiating retailing to survive in the face of competition from power withmanufacturers) may bring about the new types of store. The result has been,changes in the pattern of small retailers' associa- according to the Nielsen Report of 1990, that tions. 27% of traditional food shops closed down in the period 1980 1990 reducing the number from Non-food retailers, on the other hand, have 101,593 to 73,718. experienced spectacular growth since 1985 for a number of reasons. Apart fram the increase in The general trends described can be seen for the incomes and consumer spending to which we" food subsector in the market share of the differenthave already referred, there is the severe unem- types of retailing activity as shown in the following ployment of previous years, which led those table.Supermarkets and hypermarkets show affected to use the grants and subsidies available steady growth to the detriment of traditionalto them in order to set up small shops. In the shops. (Table 4) clothing and giftsectorsfor example, many women took advantage of the economic boom Another segment recording a similarloss ofand the surge in consumer spending for "image" market share are the traditional open markets purposes to set up their own businesses. which mainly sell fresh produce. The 800 markets still in existence, some with a tradition going back This growth has gone hand in hand with the several centuries, are feeling the wind of changeemergence of different types of retailing, one of because of the efforts being made by local which franchising has been a major factor for authorities to convert them into modern shoppingchange inthe structure of the non-food retail centres offering better facilities for parking, child-trade. The period between 1985 and 1990 minding, banking etc. more convenient openingbrought an increase of 153% in the number of hours, bargains and discounts, concentration and franchising firms, rising from the 77 existing in the diversification of goods on offer etc. so as to helpfirst year of the period to 205 by 1991. Although

Table 4 - Markel share - food sector

1987 1988 1989 1990

Traditional shops 53.28 51.88 49.24 48.87

Self-service stores 29.94 30.08 31.40 32.79 and supermarkets

Hypermarkets 3.46 4.52 5.78 7.27

Cooperatives 2.03 2.09 1.93 1.41

Others (markets etc.) 11.29 11.43 11.65 9.67

18 Source: Directorate General for Food Policy. Ministry of Commerce.

4 15 52 of these firms cannot be classified as retailers, For the time being, however, the retail sector still it is the retail trade which accounts for the greatest has a very large number of small firms. This is number of brand names and outlets 153 and reflected in the table below which lists the number 19,835 respectively. of retail stores on the basis of the number of employees. Firms with less than 20 employees Table 5 - Growth in retail associations and franchising account for 99.4% of the total figure and those run chains by a single person for 64%. These figures are extremely important when it comes to considering 1985 77 chains the matter of training in the retail trade and shows the comparative insignificance for the retail trade as a whole of training carried out by medium-sized 1988 155 chains and large firms. The fact that the figures were gathered in 1988 does not make them any the less 1991 205 chains relevant, since the large number of small firms continues to be the major feature of this sector. Source: Apuntes de Franchising, 1991 Table 6 - Retail firms by number of employees 1990/1991 Another important development within the traditional non-food retail sector is taking place within One person 291,893 the context of urban renewal. Growing activity and investment in the renewal of inner cities, 2 to 4 persons 136,719 whether or not of historical interest, has encouraged retailers to make wide-ranging changes to5 to 19 persons 23,738 their stores and these together with urbun reforms such as the creation of more pedestrian precincts, 20 or more persons 2,509 building renovation, improved services etc. have transformed decaying areas abandoned by the more dynamic retailersinto genuine shopping Total 454,858 centres again. Source:SurveyofDomesticRetailTrade, 1988. Initial successes in this field have resulted in efforts National Statistical Institute. by retailers'associations throughout Spain to encourage renovation of certain areas. This situation and the tendency it reveals is well The reaction of traditional shopkeepers, reinforced summed up by the Chairman of one of Spain's five by the organized campaigns in favour of neigh- largest supermarket chains:"In Spain the ten bourhood convenienceshops,avjabilityof largest retail firms only account for 37% of total subsidies for expansion, specialization and mod- sales compared with 75% in the case of the seven ernization of shops or to permit shopkeepers tomajor retailers in the United Kingdom or 60% in retire,plus a degree of protective legislation,the case of the six largest retailers in Holland. especiallyincertain autonomous communities Moreover, the sales of this group of Spanish with a strong business structure, would seem toretailers only represent 80% of total sales by the be bearing fruit and safeguarding the position of French Leclerc group". small retail outlets that are better structured, more specialized and able to offer a steadily improving Apart from foreign investment, the expansion of service. However, these improvements have notthe retail trade, the tendency of firms to join been achieved without some losses in this segment together in order to achieve optimum size, the of the retail trade, which has recently begun to emergence of new forms of retailing and the suffer from the size and competitiveness of largechanges that have taken place as retailers have firms and which is afraid that turnover will decline. sought to adapt are the fouumajor features typifying developments in the Spanish retail sector.

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19 16 SECTION 3 SOCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT

3.1 Legal framework Licences for small businesses can be granted by Legislation governing wholesaling and retailing local authorities who are also empowered to activity in Spain isstill at the preliminary stage freeze the number of licences granted inthe because of the new political division into autono- interests of the community at large or the retail mous communities which have acquired responsi- sector itself. bility for their own business activity. As a general rule the laws of the autonomous A corpus of law exists at national level. Thiscommunities tend to favour small businesses by includes Decree Law2/85of30April1986, imposing restrictions as to working hours, by known as the Boyer Decree, which lifted restric-specifying methods for assessing the need for tions on shop opening hours applying in thoselarge retail centres or by granting subsidies and communities which still do not have their own loans for modernization. legislation. Itshould also be pointed out,however, that CommunitiessuchasValenica,theBasque because the autonomous laws have only recently country, Catalonia, Galicia and AragOn have abeen enforced, not all the above measures have law governing retailing while in others such as theas yet been fully covered by the regulations and in Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands and Andalu-some cases progress has been halted because of sia legislation is still being drafted. resistance from other bodies, whether public- sector institutions or employers' organizations. The legislation of the autonomous communities lays down opening hours and days, requirements This transitional situation and the k k of stable for the premises and the bodies responsible forlegislation possibly explains why permits for the granting licences at local or regional level. There establishment of superstores especially tend to be are no provisions governing training in the retaila matter for negotiation between the interested sector. parties and the competent authorities.

Generallyspeaking,openinghoursinmost Other legislation exists at national level, such as communities in which legislation already existsthe consumer protection law and the law on unfair or is at the discussion stage must not exceed60competition, as well as municipal by-laws and hours a week. Shops must close on Sunday, except regulations governing matters of hygiene, loca- in the case of Aragon and the Canary Islands tion, the physical characteristics of stores, pack- where there are no restrictions as to working aging of goods etc. hours. Exceptions are provided for in all cases subject to the appropriate permits. In areas where3.2 Labour legislation and the social no specific legislation exists, opening hours are,partners thankstothe Boyer Decree,notsubjectto Labour legislation specific to the retail trade is to restriction and shops may also open on Sundays be found in the retail regulations of1973and the and holidays. regulations governing employees of superstores of 1975. The Spanish Government has appealed against thelaws governingtheretailtradeinthe These regulations deal with matters such as the autonomous communities becauseit does not classificationofstaffaccordingtoseniority, regard the regulation of shop opening hours asfunction or qualification, as well as salaries, fallingwithintheirfieldof competence. On workinghours,holidays,dismissals,internal occasion and this is the case of the Basque regulations etc. However, these regulations are country, Valencia, Catalonia and Aragon the subordinate to the collective agreements. law governing the retail trade is supplemented by a law governing retail stores which, in order toThe collective agreements are negotiated for one protect traditional retailers deals particularly with or two years by the employees and employers or the opening of stores with a large sales floor. The their representatives and govern industrial rela- granting of licences for superstores may be the tionsand workingconditions(salaries,job responsibility of more than one administrative categories, trainingetc.). However, not every authority. sub-sector of theretail trade has a collective agreement. Municipal councils, which carry considerable weight whenit comes to granting superstoreCollective agreements may apply nationwide, at licences,generally require generous financial the level of autonomous communities, to provinces contributions from firms wishing to open storesor to individual companies. They may also apply on their territory. This money is used to improve the to sub-sectors and branches of the retail trade or urban environment and infrastructure and imple- specifictypesofretailoutlets,such asthe ment measures to encourage small businesses. agreement governing superstores.

-17 More than 300 collective agreements were signed Most workers belonging to trade unions tend to be for the retail sector in 1990 which gives some those employed by small businesses who feel the idea of the variety of situations to be found there need for advice. Union membership in the sector is and of the fragmentation and weakness of thevery low. unions and employer organizations. This is due to the fragmentation of the retail trade, diversity ofUnion representatives in retail firms monitor the forms of retailing and size of outlets, and the application of collective agreements, whose inter- predominance of stores run by a small staff. pretation is frequently subject to dispute with the result that a substantial number of cases are taken to the High Court every year. Sometimes the Table 7 - Collective agreements (wholesale and retail trade) agreements contain articles relating to training, as in the case of the agreement concerning large stores, which lays down that firms must each year Year Agreements Employees spend on training an amount higher than the covered previous year. However in all the cases studied the role of employee representatives was limited to 1981 244 306,417 that of observer.

1985 351 541,035 At the same time, "'according to our sources .of information, small retailers and shop owners, who 1990 388 745,702 still constitute the majority in the Spanish retail sector, do not consider themselves well represented by the traditional employers' associations. Source: Ministry of Labour Statistics, 1991. The above summary shows thevariety and The chief trade unions, UGT and CCOO, are notcomplexity of requirements and legislation in the well established in most of the large outlets, where retail trade, both by virtue of the geographical the professional trade unions (Fetico and FASGA) situation and of the type of retail outlet and the predominate with a membership of over 60%. sector or branch to which it belongs.

22 18 SECTION 4-EMPLOYMENT

4.1 General trends and characteristics ment and were therefore for a fixed term. This high of employment figure results from the large number of young The first fact to be borne in mind is that this sectorpeople and women with relatively low skills who has been a net creator of jobs since 1985 and that tend to be the two groups recruited on this basis. further growth is expected. This has resulted in a substantial inflow of employees, particularly un- There are no statistics to show the significance of skilled personnel seeking lower-grade jobs, with a fixed-term contracts in any form in the retail sector consequent increase in unemployment among the but the figures given in Table 9, which include the more skilled. However the unemployment figures retail sector, show that from 1988 to 1990 fixed- may also reflect the circumstances attached to theterm recruitment had risen to 50.6% compared increase in the number of employed use ofwith an increase in the wage-earning population fixed-term contracts and part-time work as well of 15%. From this we can deduce a greater as the high staff turnover plaguing the retail sector workforce instability. Less than 5% of the 218,200 for different reasons. (Table 8) new wage-earners in the "retail, catering, hotel and repair" sub-sectors during the three year The second important fact is that growth in the period mentioned were given contracts for an number of employed has resulted in growth in the indefinite term. (Table 9) number of wage-earners, the proportion of whom had risen to 49% of those employed in 1990Thus whereas in 1988 29.6% of wage earners compared with 40% in 1985 (see Table 8). Thiswere on a fixed-term contract, by 1990 the means that in percentage terms the weighting ofpercentage had risen to 38.9%. independent retailers hos declined, although in absolute numbers there was an increase of 8,000 No figures are published for the number of.fixed- between 1985 and 1990. term contracts in the retail sector alone. Although there is a tendency to employ people on such Important factors that have contributed to thecontracts, and indeed itis common practice in growth in the number of people employed in thelarger firms, part-time contracts in 1989 only retail trade are firstly the creation of superstoresaccounted for 8.3% of contracts for all sectors. and secondly the widespread use of fixed-term However, such contracts are those most frequently contracts resulting from the government's meas-used in the service sector, which accounts for ures to stimulate employment. 87.2% of the total number of such contracts. In the retail trade cashiers, sales assistants and shelf- In 1988, 66.6% of contracts in the service sectorfillers are the cateories most widely affected by resulted from these schemes to encourage employ- this type of contract.

Table 8 - Number of employed, unemployed and wage earners in the retail trade (average figures)

Year Employed Unemployed Wage-earners

1981 1,179,200 68,300 490,200

1985 1,131,600 132,100 459,100

1990 1,380,300 188,200 681,600

Source: Own calculations based on Ministry of Labour statistics

Table 9 - Breakdown of number of employed by type of employment (retail, catering, hotel and repair sectors)

Employed Wage-earners Short-term

1988 2,588,400 1,387,500 410,300

1990 2,805,500 1,605,700 618,200

Source: EPA National Statistical Institute, fourth quarter. 23

19 No figures are available for the job structure in the seek jobs in the retail and catering trades because retail trade. According to a study carried out by of their fewer qualifications. the Ministry of Commerce, hypermarket staff breaks down as 61.5% cashiers/sales assis- Despite the fact that they have been the main tants, 14.5% management andsupervisors, cause of the growthin employment and the 11.5% manual workers and 5.5% office staff. improved level of training in the retailsector, young people on "en formación" training con- Given the substantial growth in the number oftracts and women have in fact had very few wage-earners due to the increase in the number of opportunities to acquire retailing skills and have superstores, we may assume that the greatesttended to swell the ranks of the lowest-grade growth has been in the categories of cashiers/ workers while suffering the consequences of high sales assistants and male general assistants. staff turnover.

This occupational pyramid in stores with a large The general educational level of employees in the number of employees makes for structural difficul- retail and similar sectors (see Table 10) has risen ties impeding internal promotion. Although for thesince 1980, although 50% of men and 45% of time being these difficulties are palliated by the women have received at most primary education - &pension of the retail sector generally, it is clearthat is, have attended school ,for at most 10 years. that thiswill be a major obstacle to greater professionalism and the acceptance of trairing The improvement in the general educational level by employees. is linked to the industrial crisis and the high rate of unemployment among young people, which has 4.2 Labour force resulted in the retail trade becoming a means of No data has been published on the age ofentry to the labour market for many people with employees in the retail trade but having consultedindustrial training or secondary education. various sources it is safe to say that the average age of those employed in the retail trade has4.3 Working hours dropped significantly because of the advent of a Spcin has a 40-hour working week. Shops may large number of young people over the last five open for a maximum of 60 hours a week in the years. autonomous communities. In those communities which are governed by the Boyer Decree, national Another notable feature of workforce development law or an autonomous law, shop opening hours is the growing number of female employees - are unrestricted. Shops open 6 days a week from both young women and older women who are Monday to Saturday. returning to work - who on various estimates currently represent about 60% of the retail trade However, as we have already pointed out, certain workforce. Older women returning to work tend to exceptions exist by virtue of geographical location

Table 10 - Educational level in the wholesa!e and retail trade and the repair sector broken down by sex (in per cent)

No Male Illiterate Primary Secondary Higher Univ. education

1980 0.8 7.1 64.2 23.7 2.0 2.1

1985 0.6 6.1 54.2 35.6 1.7 1.8

1990 0.3 6.3 41.3 47.2 3.0 2.1

No Female Illiterate Primary Secondary Higher Univ. education

1980 2.8 8.6 61.1 25.5 1.1 1.3

1985 1.8 8.2 51.7 35.4 1.5 1.5

1990 1.2 6.6 37.5 49.2 2.4 3.0

24 Source: Own calculations based on figures of National Statistical Institute. (tourist areas, special legislation), the time of year assistants in the retail trade) are 16% lower. The (Christmas, special events such as the Olympia jtuation is even worse in the case of women, who Games, sales) when shops may open on Sunday make up 'the majority of the workforce; their in order to provide a better service to consumers. wages are 22% lower than those of their male colleagues. Although traditionally shops are closed at lunch- time, there is a growing tendency to keep open Wages differ considerably with the duration of cootinuously because of the superstores. contracts. According to the latest figures available, fixed-term contracts in the service sector The greatest number of hours tends to be worked involve wage inequalities that can mean lower in traditional family-run shops where an effort is salariesinalljob categories of cis much as made to stay open for a maximum number of ESP 800,000 on annual average, compared with hours with few employees inthe interests of employees on permanent contracts. greater profitability and better service. This means that working weeks of over 40 hoursare As we have seen employment on fixed-term frequently found among small retailers and their contracts and being a woman t!-.e two main employees. causes of lower wagestypify the labour force in this sector. Because of the stricter adherence to The superstores cover opening hours with a variety regulations and a greater union presence, dis- of working hours and weeks. In general people advantages do not exist in the superstores. working split shifts have one free day a week as well as Sunday, while those working continuous The conditions of employment explain why young shifts tend to work the same hours for 6 days aworkers do not find the retail trade attractive. ihe week. absence of promotion prospects forstructural reasons, long, split working hours, job insecurity In most department stores working hours are fixed, and low salaries are the most serious problems but where there is a system of rotation they are here from the employees' point of view. Many laid down permanently by agreement or must be regard work in the retail sector as something to made known at least one week in advance. tide them over while they are waiting for something better to turn up. This is the case particularly Difficulties caused by working hours are more of those with better qualifications who have the noticeable among employees of small or medium- potential necessary to acquire skills and move into sized firms who always tend to work split shifts supervisory positions in large or medium-sized and often work more than 40 hours a week, which retail outlets. affects their leisure time. Employers claim that they have difficultiesin 4.4 Working conditions (Table 11) achieving a stable labour force. To quote one As table 11 shows, wages in tke retail sector are employer: "The turnover of one part of the staff is in the case of male white collar workers 25% as rapidas thatof goods".Difficultiesare lower than those of all sectors taken together and encountered particularly with store supervisory in the case of blue collar workers (male general staff.

Table 11 - Average earnings per hour worked (in ESP)

White collar Blue collar

1989

All sectors 1,115.6 746 711 520

Retailing 864 560 612 409

1990

All sectors 1,265 809 773 550

Retailing 961 631 679 443

Source: Salary survey, National Statistical Institute. 25 Faced withthedifficultyoffindingsuitable suitable people for posts as supervisors or store personnel for certain categories of. job, some managers etc. on the labour market, with the result firms have adopted a practice with regard tothat firms are obliged to recruit people leaving employment contracts that helps them achieveuniversity with a degree or diploma in any field their objectives. This is to offer contracts for an acquired after a 3-year course, who are then indefinite length of time ("permanent contracts") to given training by the firm itself. In the case of the employees who have already exceeded the legal lower job categories mention has already been limit of three years for temporary staff and whomade of the absence of attractions and the come up to the firm's requirements. However, fortendency to regard work in the retail trade as a the time being this practice is not very widespread temporary matter, so that employees cannot rely andisconfinedtolarge and medium-sizedon a suitably qualified workforce. companies. Traditional small retailersrecruit their staff by traditional methods, ranging from a notice in their 4.5 Recruitment and selection criteria shop to advertisements in local newspapers or Because of the rapid expansion in the retail sector word of mouth. Generally speaking they do not the type of jobs offered tend to be two-fold. On the make any demands as to training but put the one hand there is a requirement for unskilled emphasis more on neat appearance, personal labour (mainly young people and women) and on references and experience. the other for people with some training in retail selling, new technologies and management to The situation is very similar in the case of medium- cope with the sector's modernization. sized and larger firms, although the latter sometimes use the services of personnelselection As we have already pointed out, growth in the consultants.Again,littlestressisplaced on retail labour force has been the result of a sharp training, particularly theoretical training gained increase in the number of fixed-term contracts. The in centres such as those previously described, types of contract most frequently used have been although here much will depend on the prestige the following: attached to individual centres.

a) The "en forrnación" contract, which allowsFor shop managers or departmental managers temporary recruitment for up to a maximum of 3 previous experience in the sector is required, as is years for young people between the ages of 16some form of general education, though there are and 19 with a non-vocational primary education. no specific requirements as to qualification. There Inexchange forproviding some trainingin are other requirements such as personal refer- retailing, employers are granted a reduction ofences, motivation, morality or maturity. However, 90% in social security contributions when theyas already explained, given thedifficultyin have more than 25 employees or 100% if they finding staff with experience and qualifications in have fewer. On the other hand, trainee workersthe sector, employers are ready to recruit uni- employed under these contracts only receive a versity graduates in any field merely because they percentage of salary depending on the hoursare graduates and are presumed to be able to worked, 75% per 40 hours. learn quickly.

In the service sector 58.5% of fixed-term contracts For appointments to management posts or posi- are of the type mentioned and 90.4% of recruitstions in new stores employers do require degrees under the system are workers with only primary in economics or business studies. education. For jobs such as cashiers, male assistants and b) The "en prácticas" contricts are aimed at those sales assistants no specific knowledge, training, or who have completed their t econdary or officiallyeven more general experience in the retail sector recognized higher education. These contracts also is required, although this may sometimes be taken have a maximum term of 3 years and firms are into account. Instead other aspects such as being allowed a reduction in social security contributions keen to work, organizational talent,personal of 75%. Those employed under thiskind ofreferences or a certain age may be taken as contract tend to be slightly older and to have criteria. very different qualifications. This type of contract hasalsobeenusedintheservicesector, Superstoresareincreasinglymaking useof particularly in retailing, and as Table 15 shows, training schemes provided by the Instituto Nacio- it has contributed to the general improvement in nal de Empleo (National Institute of Employment) the educational level of employees in the sector. in order to select lower-grade employees from among the best students on the course. These Recruitment, especially for certain categories of schemes, which are state-subsidised, enable firms job, is becoming a problem for certain firms forto carry out initial training and selection of staff the reasons already mentioned. It is difficult to find under very advantageous conditions. 26 -22 SECTION 5-CHANGING CONDITIONS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR QUALIFICATIONS AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING

One of the factors contributing to change in the view training as an instrument for bringing about retail sector in Spain is the growing presence ofthe necessary changes, hence the interest multinationals which on their own or in association trainingpolicy,whichthoughstillsmall, is with Spanish firms account for over 25% of sales increasing because of the lack of trained staff in almost all the various branches, though mostly available on the labour market. in the food branch. The present situation looks unlikely to change in the short term but will beThe objectives and content oftrainingpro- strengthened by the existence of the European grammes, both on-the-job and off-the-job, high- single market because there is still room for growth light the need for well-trained staff in the field of it has already been stated that the profit/salesmanagement, company and store organization, ratio in the Spanish retail sector is the second-customer service, product knowledge and the use largest after Britain. of new technologies for both management and logistics. The multinationals moving into Spain are rapidly establishing themselves as leaders in the retail Computer technology, which presents a challenge sector. Thanks to their size, better management in training terms because of its rapid introduction, techniques,advancedtechnology and more has mainly impacted on three areas of organiza- efficient personnel management they are better tion store management, links with suppliers and equipped to meet the increasing demands of logistics and the training activities of firms and Spanish consumers. retail organizations over the past few years have been seeking especially to meet the demand here. The first effect of the need to be competitive in a market of increasing complexity is a restructuring Table 12 Annual increase in retail outlets equipped with of the retailsector and the modernization of scanners existing structures through mergers and takeovers, expansion, specialization etc. This reorganization 1983 1985 1990 and modernization calls for staff with an overall vision of the economy and of business, experts in distributive systems, in marketing, in store man- 29 94 2,974 agement, in team leadership, as well as people wit!) special knowledge of the market, the new In 1990, stores had an average of 4.4 scanners technologies being usedinretailing and the each. products concerned.

It is fair to say that the need for competitivenessTables 12 and 13 only show the increase in the has caused a sector of activity which paid little number of scanners and computer programs up to heed to this subject to reflect on the need for 1990, but the increase in the use of such systems is training within individual firms and the need to making rapid advances and current figures would mobilize sectoral institutions. Firms are starting to be much higher.

Table 13 Edi projects promoted by EAN associations

Users

Country Project Started 1990 1991

Belgium ICOM 1986 65 90

France Allegro 1989 210 430

Germany SEDAS 1985 510 710

italy EANCOM 1986 20 100

UK Tradacoms 1982 3000 6000

Spain AECOM 1988 15 100

Source: Spanish Association of Business Classifications, 1991.

.23 SECTION 6 - TRAINING POLICY

6.1 Government-sponsored training Although it will take years before the law is fully Up to 1990 vocational training could be obtained implemented, training modules relatingto the in Spain in three different ways, namely through retail trade are already under way in a number the educational system which offered vocational of government training centres at levels 2 and 3 training at two levels following on compulsory(auxiliary and technical). One example of a primary education, through the National Plan forprogramme designed by the autonomous govern- Vocational Training and Occupational Integration ment of the Generalitat de Catalunya is given (FIP), which was the responsibility of the Ministry below. of labour and was available to those both in and out of work, and through on-the-job training. The auxiliarylevel,involving 750 hoursof theoretical and practical instruction and at least Intheretailtradevocationaltrainingwas 200 hoursofpracticalexperience,enables invariably gained by learning through doing, students completing the course to perform such since neither government-sponsored training nortasks as the use of computerized equipment for FIP vocational training had any programmes forpurposes of calculation and management, custom- the distributive trades. er service, dealing with suppliers personally and by telephone,stock control,receptionduties, 1990 brought the promulgation of a new law on handling and delivering goods and dealing with the educational system which has wrought con- the relevant documentation, packaging and pack- siderable changes in the system as it existed and ing etc. particularly in vocational training. The technical level, which is somewhat longer in As this law is implemented and vocational training length (a minimum of 1000 hours), trains students courses are planned, the authorities are taking into in the organization and implementation of sales account the needs and evolution of the labour policy, in conducting market surveys and writing market, as well as the socio-economic areas in reports, the application of commercial, fiscal and which training centres are located, so as to ensure financialregulations, andinthe theory and the best possible match between the educational practice of purchasing, selling, transport, storage and productive systems. The fact that a number of etc. the autonomous communities are authorized to set up their own training courses is a further Courses at both levels involve compulsory prac- guorantee of better quality training. . tical training in firms a novelty in the Spanish educational system where the concept of colla- Vocational training at its three levels will in futureboration between the educational and business be organizedinthe form of modules which world is very new. together will provide a corpus of knowledge, abilities and skills required for practising a given occupation or profession. 6.2 Other forms of training The non-existence to date of vocational training These training modules may be regarded as a for the retail trade has given rise over the past few bridge linking the world of education with that ofyears to a proliferation of schemes to meet the work with "the dual purpose of absorbing younggrowing demand for better trained staff because people into the labour market and enabling thosethe expansion and modernization of the retail already in work to keep abreast of new develop-sector did noteasily permit training on the job. ments. As the following chart shows, access to the three levels may be either via the educational During the seventies, while the retail trade was system or via the labour market. setting out on the path of modernization, the InstituteforReform of Commercial Structures Most of the modules take the form of training (IRESCO), a body responsible to the Ministry of cycles lasting a year and with a minimum duration Commerce, played an important role by providing of 950 or 1,100 hours, at least 200 of which musta programme oftechnicalassistance which be practical work in firms. includedtrainingforownersofbusinesses, managers, and employees in commercial firms. The theoretical and practical content of theseDuring 1974 and 1975 the first two years of this coursesis adapted to the qualificationlevels programme, 1,179 such courses were organized specified by the EC. through Chambers of Commerce, companies and The new education law also aims to ensure a various organizations throughout the country. formal consistency, as well as one of content, between vocational courses offered under the new Subsequently,duringtheeighties,localand educational system and other continuing training regional authorities as well as private bodies programmes organized by firms,as well asestablished training centres, and trainingpro- programmes aimed at integrating or rehabili-grammes were run by the Chambers of Com- tating workers organized under at present merce, employers' organizations, the unions, craft 29 FIP vocational training schemes. guilds, universities, etc.

24 Table 14 - Chart - The new educational system (currently being introduced)

University third 24 cycle

23 A University second 8 22 cycle 0 21

20 University first cycle Vocational training 19 higher level

A 18 Post-compulsory Vocational training 17 secondary education medium level

14 Compulsory secondary education 13

9 Primary school

Nursery school 3 N.B.: The auxiliary technician and higher technician 2 qualifications can be obtained by passing an examination (Article 53.4)

0 : Entrance exam

Source: Diagram of the Spanish educational system ley ordenacion general systema educativo (logse) (Constitutional Law 1/1990 of October 3rd)

Some bodies, such as the craft guilds in a number retraining. Similarily, the Confederación de Co- of autonomous communities,have alonger mercio de Cato laic), a retail employers' associa- tradition of training their members. Thus the guildtion in the autonomous community of Catalonia, of confectioners and pork butchers have their own has designed a wide-ranging training programme 30 schools which provide both basic training and for its members and their employees. . 4 25 The Chambers of Commerce have also helped tomost of these institutions have not existed for very pioneer training in the retail sector by organizing long and there is no official syllabus to ensure that short courses and seminars for both small shop-training meets the qualification requirements, only keepers and their sales staff. some centres which maintain close links with the retail trade are recognized as efficient. Conscious of the importance of the retail trade in thelife and economy of bigcities and the competition from superstores on the outskirts of towns, a number of municipal authorities have1n-house training been putting considerable effortintotraining Training provided by the firms themselves tends to activities with a view to revitalizing the retail be confined to large or medium-sized firms, which trade in town centres. account for only a small percentage of the sector overall (some 0.5% of firms have more than 20 Similarly the universities, which traditionally had employees). In recent years a growing number of no contact with the retail trade, are starting to firms have displayed interest in training and have appreciateitsimportance andoffercourses gradually been introducing their own training leading to a master's degree in retailing. activities on an experimental basis.

However, the content of courses run by these Trainingin the large and medium-sized firms various organizations, as well as their duration,which do runtheir own coursesiscurrently teaching staff, continuity, methods and teaching experiencing radical changes similar to those of aids, vary considerably, makingitdifficultto the retail sector itself. New strategies conceived to assess their real impact. Moreover, because the cope with the need to modernize and expand and retail trade is so fragmented it is difficult to gain an to combat growing competition in some cases overview and determine the qualification and include training activity as an element fundamen- training requirements that would permit stores total for their future development. Firms are begin- cope with the current situation. ning to view training as one means for realising theircorporateobjectives and are therefore Those taking part in training courses are generally considering and planning their training require- people employed in the retail trade, though also mentsforthe mediumtolongerterm,are people out of work or young people looking for designing programmes and extending training to their first job. The educational level required to all categories of employees. qualify for such training courses also varies but in general is not very high, except in the case of the However, eveninthe few companies which master's qualification. Primary school education ororganize training courses, the lack of experience work experience are sufficient. in the field and of human resobrce management in general, plus the serious lack of qualified trainers, Virtually all the organizations are funded by public makes for inevitable shortcomings. institutions, particularly where courses ore open to theunemployed. Thefirmsorthetrainees Firms' objectives in organizing training activities themselves are required to make a contribution range from a simple desire to increase productivity towards expenses, depending on whether courses in the short term and to ensure a supply of are officially subsidised or not and to what extent. necessary supervisory staff to the wish to encourage the development of their staff generally, which Of the variety of courses on offer, the broadestwill in time generate a corporate culture. spectrum is aimed at middle management and executives; firms are increasingly training their Some big firms have set up their own training unskilled workers through in-house courses, evenschools open to all. Those attending courses from though courses are also officially provided for outside are usually unemployed people under 25. them. The training such firms give is largely subsidized by the lnstituto Nacional de Empleo (National The training schemes described are in the main Institute of Employment) and the firms select their utilised by small and medium-sized enterprises; new recruits from among the trainees. larger firms also use the universities and more prestigious cent:es, particularly for the training ofIn some regions of Spain smaller firms, which their executive staff. draw up training policies but do not have the resources to create the necessary facilities, rely on The value employers put on training activities the employers' organizations and guilds to train offered by the various institutions differs greatly their employees. Among the smaller foc.1 retailers and depends on how close a relationship thesethe guilds play an important role in imparting and institutions have with the sector (guilds, retailers' updating the relevant skills. associations, Chambers of Commerce) or their standing in the educational world (private institu-No reliable data is available concerning how tions or universities). Generally speaking, since much companies invest in training. 31 6 The above description cannot be applied without possible on the job and face to face with a reservation to the entire retail sector and even less'customer persists. The idea of selling as a skill is to Spain as a whole, which considered generally the concept most widespread among employees is taking its first steps in the training field. in the retail sector and that underlying the training most often given to those working in stores. On the Moreover, in the retail trade the conviction that other hand, product training, with a few laudable you learn to sell by selling and that this is only exceptions, is virtually non-existent.

32 , 2 SECTION 7 - CONCLUSIONS

It is still too early to talk of continuing training as However it must not be forgotten that the large an establis:,ed practice in the Spanish retail trade. majority of retail firms are one-man operations for The structure of the retail sector, which isstill whom training at present is out of the question dominated by small firms, a lack of a tradition ofeven if they were interested. The need for training training and the virtual absence of intermediateadapted to work:rig hours in the retail sector and bodies enjoying sufficient recognition and offering employees' educationallevelsisone ofthe specialized training suited to firms' needs, are priorities here. some of the factors contributing to this situation. In addition to firms' own training courses there - Only a very small group of firms have beenare a multitude of training courses available on carrying out training courses for any length ofthe market but varying considerably in terms of time, but the radical changes that the sector hascontent, quality and recognition. Some of them undergone over the last ten year's marked by keenare used by large and medium-sized enterprises competition, expansion and the ingress of employ- in order to train their executive staff and by smaller ees with no relevant qualifications is obliging thefirms to enable them to implement a general retail trade to alter this situation. training policy.

As a consequence, some large and medium-sized Different attitudes to training have been noted firms are beginning to implement policies in which among employees depending on its objectives, training is a key element. Others regard trainingthe expectations created and the employees' verypositively- an opinion whichreflects personal situation. Staff in jobs requiring fewer particularly in efforts being made to train middle skills do not appreciate training particularly unless management and executives - and generally it goes hand in hand with prospects of improved speaking, firms are displaying a growing interestworking conditions - promotion, higher wages in training matters. etc. - whether inside or outside the firm.

33 28 PART 2: P 4 8. Gerplex/Confederación del Comercio de Cata !alio

Eroski

Cemasce

Firm Xx

Firm A

29 SECTION 8 GERPLEX CONFEDERACION DEL COMERCIO DE CATALURA

1. Description of Gerplex than the housewives who had been the firm's Gerplex is a limited company (sociedad anOnima) traditional customers. Efforts were also made to with a capital of ECU 113,281.25. improve customer service, introduce higher quality goods and ensure that stocks were frequently This is a retail chain specializing in household renewed. goods, gifts, toys at Christmas and camping and beach equipment in summer. Growing competition from superstores offering the same range of articles and the small profit margins It is located in Barcelona and in the major cities ofwilich this permitted obliged Gerplex to expand Catalonia. and utilize the advantages of specialization and customer proximity in its strategy. It has therefore Most of its customers are young, middle-classopened 9 new stores over the past 6 years, women. bringing the current total to 13.

Reformed in 1981. The company's new policy required a rethinking of the human resources required and Gerplex began to invest in young people with management training while recruiting more workers to 1.1 The firm meet the need for expansion. Between 1986 and Gera lex was formed in 1955 as part of a group of 1991 the number of staff rose by 30%, chiefly in 4 general department stores and a centralthe categories of general assistants and sales purchasing .Init.It was legally constituted as a assistants/cashiers. Because of the situation in the firm in its own right. retail sector and of the firm itself at the time, the new staff taken on was very young and mainly The late seventies and early eighties bought a female with no specific trainingintheretail major economic crisis which forced many popular trade. stores to go bankrupt or to suspend payments. Oeiplex was affected. The reason for employing personnel of this kind despite the firm's actual needs was that the The firm had 75 employees. At this time the son of conditions of employment made for greater profit- the founder, who was 22 years old and had a ability. qualificationfrom abusiness schoolof high standing, bought a majority shareholding and At the same time, a switch to new types of selling decided to carry on with the business. with the large-scale introduction of self-service and consequent reduction in staff such as window- Over a period of 4 or 5 years he devoted himself dressers, obliged store personnel to diversify their to restructuring the firm. The first step, in 1982, activities. was to suspend payments. He combined the 5 firms in a single firm, taking the legal form Investment in technology was another of the firm's of a limited company (sociedad anónima) andmajor objectives,the aim beingtoimprove transformedthegeneralstoreintoastore administrative, financial purchasing and manage- specializing in household goods (domestic appli- ment in order to ensure that a maximum of ances, all types of household equipment, linen, informationcouldbe made availableina small items of furniture etc.) and gifts, with special minimum of time, while helping with the problem promotions at various times of the year. He also of personnel restructuring. A computer smem is carried out considerable restructuringof staffnow being installed that will link all stores and which involved persuading a majority of employ- scanners. Investment for purposes of management ees who were not strictly sales assistants to acceptand stock control to date is in the region of ESP 35 voluntary redundancy. He asked those who were million. left, mainly sales staff, for their understanding in the process of restructuring and for the wage The firmis, currently experiencing a marked freeze. change for the better with improved financial figures. Between 1986/87 and 1990/91 sales Afterthis period of restructuring and once arose by 160% whereas personnel costs rose by degree of financial stability has been achieved, only 123%. new objectives were formulated for the firm. These .af" involved a repositioning in terms of image and The firm has 13 stores and a warehouse. Five of type of consumer, expansion, obtaining better the stores are situated in the city of Barcelona and terms from suppliers, improving competitiveness, the other 8 in major towns of Catalonia. The rationalization of the staffing structure and invest-administration and management are located in ing in new technology. separate buildings.

The corporate image was rethought and stores Stores are always located in the centre of towns redesigned in order to attract a younger clientele in the case of Barcelona one is in the centre and 35

:3 0 the other 4 in densely populated areas of the city. 1.2 Human resources Sales floors range between 400 and 1,000 sq.m. Customers remain basically middle-class and 1.2.1 Personnel structure female with a certain tendency for the number ofThe workforce has increased in absolute terms younger, women customers to increase becauseof since 1986. However, since over the same period the new electronic products and gift articles on the number of stores has risen from 5 to 13, the offer. average number of employees per store fellfrom 13 to 7 between 1986 and 1991.

Stores operate on a self-service basis, except in the case of small domestic appliances which Table 1 Number of employees continue to be sold by traditional methods for reasons of safety and better customer service. Total Years Male Female Figures

The firm has the legal form of a limited company 1981 75 with a managing director who represents the shareholders and is himself the major shareholder. 1986 65 19 46 The organizational structure is as follows: 1987 77 21 56

1991 98 29 69 7 Managing director Financial director Sales director/ Personnel manager coordinator Throughout the period 1981 to 1988, Gerplex was experimenting with a change in personnel structure because some staff were lost when a Administration Branch managers number of men of over 25 and with some experience, qualifications and ambition left the firm at a time when its future was rather uncertain and could not meet their requirements in terms of assistants salary. While the departure of this group helped to trim the workforce,it also had the effect of reducing the general level of qualifications.

Sales assistants Cashiers Table 2 Age breakdown of staff General assistants

Years 25 25-50 +50 Total

Communication between branches and central 1986 32 28 5 65 management takes the form of a weekly meeting of all store managers with the managers at head 1987 43 29 5 77 office. At these meetings decisions are reached jointly on matters concerning the purchasing of 1991 59 33 6 98 new product lines,thereisan exchange of information about the progress of business, new requirements, products etc. Some of these meetings are attended by suppliers who present newThe reduction in the number of staff in relative products in a form of training concerning productsterms went hand in hand with a steady lowering of and future trends. the average age, which continued from 1981 for which we have no figures but which is very clear from 1986 onwards. Whereas in1986 These meetings serve as a channel of communica-49% ofstaff was under 25, by 1991the tion between the management and the variouspercentage had reached 60%. This trend was branches and vice-versa, and make for a better also paralleled by an increase in the proportion of understanding between the various managementwomen which began in the period 1981 1986, levels. There is also a store coordinator who visits since when the figure has remained at around the stores periodically. 70%.

36 Table 3 Occupational structure from store manager upwards carry salaries higher than the negotiated rate. Job Category 1991 1986 In 1991 the firm introduced a bonus scheme for store managers linked to the rise in sales at each Management 4 2 store. Office staff 9 4 Generally speaking overtime is not worked except perhaps by branch managers, but overtime is Branch and 14 8 called for during peak periods and especially store managers during the run-up to Christmas. This is remunerated at overtime rates. Assistant 13 7 managers The regulations governing working hours and contractsof employment are those foundin Sales assistants 28 23 employment legislation andinthecollective agreement for the retail sector as well as in the Cashiers 14 6 retail trade regulations which comprise the various laws and decrees passed for the retail sector over General 16 1 1 the past 20 years, including amendments intro- assistants duced by the Labour Statute of 1980. These regulations apply to the whole of Spanish territory Total 98 65 except for the autonomous communities which have their own laws governing the retail trade as does Catalonia.

There are specific regulations governing salaries Table 3 shows that the number of office and and job categories in the subsector to which the managerialstaffsubstantially increased froom firm belongs. These are found in the collective 1986 onwards whilethendmberofsales agreement applying in the autonomous commu- assistants decreased, cauiing the latter's weight- nity. However retailtrade employees do not ing in the total workforce to drop from 35% toregard this collective agreement as very benefi- 28% due to the restructuring that was put in hand. cial. On the other hand, there is a greater functional specialization and cashiers now account for aAlthough no figures are available for staff turn- larger share of the total workforce. over, a management representative commented thatstaffturnover keeps pace withproduct turnover. 1.2.2 Working conditions Shop opening hours are from 9.30 to 15.30 and from16.30to20.00 hours on weekdays,1.2.3 Qualification and recruitment includingSaturday.Stores are not open onOf the firm's 98 current employees, 26 have Monday morning, when the timeisused forpermanent contracts while the other 72 have training and other activities. Staff work a 40-hour fixed-termcontractsforperiodsof between week with one and a half days off. The holiday 3 months and a year, the majority being for 6 entitlement laid down by law is 30 days. months. A third of the total workforce, who are under 19, are employed on the basis of "en The wages of most employees are governed byformación" contracts while 10% are employed on collective agreement and monthly take-home paythe basis of "en prácticas" contracts. (15 payments)in a typical store ranges from ESP 61,000 for a male general assistantto Employment on a fixed-term contract basis can ESP 85,000 for an assistant store manager after only be for a maximum of 3 years. Previously once 20 years with thefirm.Thereisa seniorityan employee had reached this term the firm did allowance which is only paid to employees on not renew his contract but took on a new person in permanent contract and which amounts to 5% of order tobenefit from the advantages of "en basic salary every four years. A flat-rate travelling formación" and "en prácticas" contracts. How- allowance is paid to each employee. In 1991 this ever, the firm is now considering giving permanent was ESP 5,390 a month. There is no commission contracts to a number of employees why_ have on sales. passedthethree-yearlimitbut whom they consider worth keeping because of their abilities In recent years the firm has been taking on staff for and qualifications in order to form a fixed nucleus certain posts at salaries above those fixed by the at each store. This is a consequence of the firm's collective agreement and all posts of responsibility realization thatit was watchingitsbest sales 37

t. 32 assistants leave after the training period becauselarly if they are married, and this impedes their of its efforts to keep expenses down. access to promotion".

The "en formaciem" contracts for young peopleIn the firm under study a man starting as a low- under 19 have been widely used in the Spanish grade general assistant may rise to the position of retail sector because of the enormous advantages store manager after a period as assistant man- to the firm,first by virtue of the considerableager, and indeed this has been known. Yet a reductioninsocialsecurity contributions andwoman starting as a sales assistant cannot be secondly because very young people came into assured of the same career. While 70% of the lowest job categories and their wages wereemployees are women only 3% have positions very low. Gerplex has 33% of employees on such of responsibility at branch manager level and contracts. We shall comment later on the trainingcompany policy would seem to be against any given. improvement here.

In other job categories use has been made of the In recent years the company has tended to turn to "enprácticas"contracts(young people with the labour market in order to recruit staff in middle secondary or recognized higher education quali- or higher job categories (store manager, coordi, fications, who are therefore older) because these nator etc.). This practice, which is now being again permit substantial exemptions from social reviewed, was the cause of considerable frustra- security contributions. 10% of employees have this tion and disappointment for employees who had type of contract. been with the firm for many years and felt that they had made a considerable contribution to restruc- While considerable use is made of fixed-term turing the firmbut that the firm showed no contracts,the company has only two femaleconfidence in them, while giving more recent employees workingpart-time,oneofthem recruits better salaries and employment conditions because she has recently had a child.The than their own. company does not favour part-time working. This situation, combined with the low level of The various forms of employment have meont, salaries and the very slight differences between particularly in the first gi-oup, a selection practice the various job categories plus the lack of variation that tended to disregard qualifications and looked injob tasks, means that promotionisnot in instead for interest in the job, a neat appearanceprospect for the new generations of employees. and good personal references. 1.2.4 Comments Generally speaking store personnel (sales assis-The various factors outlined above show that the tants, cashiers and general assistants) have aproblems raised by both the firm and its employ- medium or low educational level, having at bestees in their industrial relations do not basically 12 years of schooling and very littleif anydiffer from those of the retail trade as a whole but commercial training at the time they are em-have here been aggravated by the process of ployed, although some have received training in restructuring. other sectors. The need for the firm to restructure, its practice of Branch managers have a medium or low educa-recruiting staff on fixed-term contracts, the use it tional level but tend to have experience in the makes of "en formación"contractsplusthe retail trade, which is more appreciated. Theoret-obstacles in the way of promotion, the low wages ical training does not exist in this sector but even if payable in the sector, long working hours and split someone has had theoretical trainingitis not working hours, the youth of the majority of tilt, staff considered important given the type of training and their lack of qualifications ensure that this available. Factors such as a sense of responsi-firm, like most others in the retail trade, has a low bility, maturity, honesty, the ability to organize etc. level of vocational skills and a high staff turnover are considered more important than any theoret-which makes it difficult for training to yield a ical knowledge or experience in stores having a return. different culture from Gerplex.

However, theoretical training is regarded as the 2. Training policy principalfactorforotheractivities and job categories (management and office work). 2.1 Training strategy Once the process of restructuring and putting the Career possibilities in the retail trade, particularly firm back on its feet had been completed in the for the great majority who are women, are rapidlysecond half of the eighties, the Gerplex manage- exhausted because of the few job categories ment, conscious of the process of modernization available to them. According to the firm "women taking place in the retail trade and in order to can hardly guarantee to be completely dedicated make itself more competitive, began to plan and 38 to their job in positions of responsibility, particu-provide training for its employees. The first trainingcourses, which were developed prior to are various criteria for selection, suchas employ- 1990, consisted basically ofcertain ees' particular needs, length employees attendingcourses on specific activities of service with the firm, workload ata given time etc. (merchandising, window dressing,human resources, financial management etc.) organized Attendance of courses isnot compulsory, but so far by government authoritiesorprivate bodies there have been nocases of anyone refusing to do connected to the retail trade, andof basic training so. courses for employees on "en formación"contracts. Thelatter courses were given by anThe trainingcourses are held during working instructor from outside the firm andwere of a hours in the case of cashiers,sales assistants and more general content mathematics, history etc. general assistants butnot in the case of branch manager,The latter Basic vocational training for are required to devote new recruits was and Monday mornings, which is still is carried outon the job by store managers their weekly free half-day,totraining and meetings with the and colleagues. Although suchon-the-job training management. These hoursare paid as overtime. has no formal framework,everyone assumes that it takes place and that the salesassistant and Employees, who are unusedto this type of training cashier learn by doing. About40% of the present in an area where the emphasisis very much on workforce have received their retailtraining within the firm. learning by doing,describe their aims and aspirations as far as training is concernedin very different ways: Toearn extra money to supplement A basic change took placein1990 when a low wage (branch managers),to get into the provision of training was extendedto the majority of staff, the exception being employer's good books,to acquire a certain those stores for which prestige within their immediate it has not yet been possibleto organize training environment, to gain knowledge that theycan make use of, to because of their location. Atthe same time, the firm itself began to plan open up possibilities of other jobs. However,only its own trainingpro- in very few cases do they think that gramme in collaboration with business training given organiza- them by their firm could positively tions such as the Confederation of influence their Commerce with career within that firm. the financialmeans to carry plans out. Up to now, therefore, employeeshave not seen If training is extendedto all categories of employ- any direct link between training and salariesor ees and a training programme is drawnup with the intention of adopting internal promotion. For thetime being the firm has training as a permanentno system for formally recognizing policy, courses organized continuing through an association training by promotion can be a viable alternative for most small or an increase in salary, and althoughit thinks medium-sized retail firms in Spain. it important to beaware of employees' attendance attraining courses and the use they make of what they have learned with The reasons for the firm's change an in training policyeye to future promotion. were basically its aim to expand coupled withits recruitment policy, which called formore know- As already mentioned, the firmintends to pursue how and wider abilitieson the part ofits employees. its different programmes for thevarious categories of employees including thoseworking outside the metropolitan area o' Barcelona.Training pro- The firm currently has threetraining programmes. One of these grammes will be designed with the firm's objec- covers the various specific job tives in mind. Once the Christmas activities andis period the run by different bodies for busiest time of theyear differentcategories is over the firm will begin of employees.Thispro- to think about training activities for gramme began in the eighties. 1992/1993. 2.2 Training structure The second course, which was started in 1990/ In the past responsibility for 91 was designed for all 13 training was the branch managers. It responsibility of the managing director. covered sales andmanagement techniques. However in1989 the company recruiteda personnel The third experiment, started manager who began by organizing hisown in 1991, is designed department. for cashiers, female salesassistants and male general assistants who take part in groups of 15. Once this was done, he began Subjects dealt with systematically to are sales techniques and plan training activities in line with human relations. company policy. Training courses available In both cases the choice of people are prepared solely by to attend the the company itself in collaboration courses is made by the personnel department, of the Con- federación de Comercio with although proposals no involvement of may be made as to whoeither the employees should attend and who needs such or theirrepresentatives. training. There There are no legalor collective agreements 434 relating to training in their sector of the retail trade In 1983 the autonomous government of Cataluna and the introduction of continuing training herecreated a number of associations at provincial was entirely the initiative of the firm itself which level in order to provide businesses in the four decides on needs and objectives in consultation provinces of Catalonia with services and experts. with its managers. One of the responsibilities of these associations known bythename of Gabinetes Técnico Data available shows the cost to the firm ofComerciales "Gatec" was to provide training training activities in recent years to have been as to the retail trade. These organizations were non- follows: profit-making and in the first year of operation In the financial years 1988-89 (the financial yearwere 100% government-subsidised. They were in the retail sector run from 1 March to the end of staffed by retail trade experts. February of the following year), spending on training amounted to ESP 1,400,000, the main In 1985 Gatec, as the expert agency and Consell beneficiaries being managerial staff and salesde Gremis de Cataluna established the Confed- assistants on "en formación" contracts. eración de Comercio de Cataluna.

Of this sum, 55% was required to pay the newSubsequently only the Gatec of the province of sales assistants recruited for the hours spent on Barcelona continuedin operation because of training courses within the firm. The remainder organizational problems encountered in the other was spent on seminars organized by business three provinces. schools of repute, attended by the management. Gatec Barcelona continued providing training The amount spent on training in 1989 90 was courses, mainly for members of the Confedera- ESP 655,000, most of this being used for seminarsción del Comercio under an agreement concluded and courses organized by outside bodies and withthelatter,and became a self-financing attended by the managing director, the head oforganizationin 1987. At the same timeit personnel and the administrative director. administers the subsidies which the Confedera- ción receives by virtue of its training activities from Inboth years the subjects dealt withinthe centralgovernment bodies (NEM),regional seminars ranged from the introduction of new government agencies (Conselleria de Treballi systemsandtechnology,industrialrelations, Comerc), and municipal authorities. budgetary control and management and matters specific to the retail trade (merchandising, pro-Gatec Asociaciónismade up of a training

curement and supplies, tagging goods, buy-outsdirector, 2 clerical staff, 1 course promoter who etc.). is also an instructor, and 3 permanent instructors. When necessary they employ additional trainers ESP 1.5 million was spent on training in 1990 on contract. 91. Those attending courses were the company management, administrative staff and store man-Two types of training are provided, the first being agers. ,planned by the Associación itself and the other customized to meet the needs of specific organi- A similar amount will be spent in 1991-92. zations or firms.

It should not be forgotten that training organizedCourse planning is carried out by the Gatec team through the ConfederaciOn de Comercio hence composed of the training director and instructors courses attended by store managers and cash-and is based on their own information or the iers/sales assistants are heavily subsidised, needs identified by the ConfederaciOn del Corner- sometimes to the tune of 90%. cio.

A third of this amount was used for the storeCourses are aimed at apprentices or unemployed managers' training programme not, bearing in people who would like to work in the sector, at mind the subsidy, for training in the true sense ofowners of businesses and shop assistants. the term, but to cover the cost of overtime devoted to training. The remainder was spent on coursesThe courses vary in length depending on their and seminars. complexity, the range of subjects covered and the time available to trainees. Courses range from 2.2.1 External structure 6 hours a day for one week, 4 hours a day for a month, or 4 hours a week for 2 months. There is no ConfederaciOn del Comercio fixed pattern. de Cataluña This is the retail trade organization in Cataluna Courses are held in different places, sometimes on and is part of the Fomento del Trabajo Nacional, the premises of Asociación Gatec and sometime the Catalan branch of CEOE which is the largest on those of the firm. 40 employers' organization in Spain. The list of subjects dealt with in 1991 is shown in specialization that began in the Spanish retail the annex. trade some years ago and is still under way.

In 1990, 73 courses were organized, all of them The first factor is the need to formulate a new subsidised. They were attended by 1,027 train- policy given the growing number, of multinationals ees, 35% of whom were men and 65% women. targetingthe same customers withthe same The average age was 36 and the average number products. The internationalization of the economy of people attending each course was 14. in general and the retail trade in particular is a key point when considering the matter of training. 29 guilds or employers' associations from all over Catalonia were involved in these training courses The second factoristhe emergence of new in 1990 and sent members: technologies for use both for purposes of management and at retail outlets. Reducing personnel's Gatec also provides training for firms in the retailshare of total costs, providing immediate informa- trade, evenifthey are not affiliatedtothe tion on sales and consumer trends, and improving Confederación del Comercio. the efficiency of administrative procedures by means of computer systems calls for well-trained While the ConfederaciOn was organizingits personneltoensurethatinvestmentinnew training, 22 trade associations and other mem-technology pays off rapidly. bers,including Gatec itself created a limited company whose purpose isto offer computer- The third factor we would mention although in related services to retail firms, to sell hardware fact the first in chronological terms is the change and software and to provide the relevant training.that has taken place in the concept of selling from This company is called SINAC. SINAC got into the time of the first general stores to the coming of financial difficulties and whilst seeking a solution the specializt shop, involving the introduction of a to these plus the problem of the retail trade's need mixed system of self-service in combination with for services of the kindit offered,it requested personalized customer service for products requir- Gatec to take over its management, as SINAC ing a greater degree of information. itself had only a minimum operating structure. There is, in fact, a fourth factor which is linked to Gatec has provided the necessary back-up for generaldevelopmentsinSpain;thisisthe SINAC's operations, and training in computer andemergence of consumer awareness, leading to a other technologies is now carried out by SINAC greater demand for information and personal using Gatec's facilities. attention in certain areas.

The work done by the ConfederaciOn, largelyThese four factors have not merely influenced the through Gatec, is very praiseworthy bearing in firm's training policy but have actually lentit mind the situation in a sector little disposed to impetus. appreciate and encourage training.

One of the greatest problemsitfacesisthat 2.2.3 Involvement of the social frequently the training programmes approved bypartners in training policy firms do not accord with the management policy. In accordance with the Spanish law on union This generates frustration among trainees attend- representation and because of the number of ing courses, who consequently lose interest. employees in the firm under study and the number of places of work, the firm has 4 staff representa- The ConfederaciOn del Comercio also providestives, 2 of whom are employed in Barcelona and 2 product trainingforthetextile and furniture elsewhere. sectors. The lack of specialized product training is,generally speaking,a major shortcoming Only one of the four staff representatives belongs which the Confederación is seeking to remedy toaunion,namely theUnion General de because of the growing demand for product Trabajadores (UGT). The others have no union information on the part of consumers. connection and have been selected in some cases because of their position of influence in the firm. In the case under study Gatec has prepared the training programmes for store managers and forAs far as we are aware, employees are not sales assistants/cashiers/general assistants. affiliated to any trade union, with the exception of the UGT representative. 2.2.2 Impact on training of new technologies and consumer, health and During the period of restructuring and until 1989 other legislation there was some industrial conflict within the firm as Three main factors have affected the tiaining employees attempted to ensure the application of policy of the firm under study,all three being an agreement regulating the salaries and working directly linked to the process of modernization and conditions of all employees. 41

-9,36 The firm's previous collective agreement had been on on better terms. This is combined with a feeling rejected by employees in 1984, at which point the of impotence and, in the case of the younger firm "in the absence of a relevant basic agreementpeople, a lack of interest and resignation in the paid its employees on the basis of an agreement face of a situation they consider unchangeable. with each employee individually". Relationships between employees at the various The agreement finally arrived at after negotiations stores are good and there is no obvious hierarchy. with the social partners was the collective labour However there is a natural tendency for older agreement applying within the autonomous com- employeesoryoungersalesassistantsand munity of Catalonia for the glass, earthenware, cashiers on fixed-term contracts to stick together pottery and similar trades. This agreement wasand they do not easily mix. reached in 1989 and its application subsequently led to legal action by employees who disagreed Training in retailing is not regarded as relevant or with the job categories used within the firm; the in the interests of employees or their representa- judgment was in their favour. tives. If an employee shows interest in training it is because he is interested in something that can get Application of the agreement created a situation him out of the retail sector. of some ambiguity, since while there was now a frame of reference for all employees, some lost certain advantages in terms of salaries that they had previously enjoyed because the effect of2.3 Description of principal training various agreements was to level the wage rates programmes of all employees. We shall look here at the two training programmes since 1990 91 aimed at different employee This factor, linked to the modality of the agreement categories. which the staff considered unfavourable, created a certain unrest which is still noticeable today. The course designed for store managers ran for 5 months with a training session of between 2 and 3 At present the employees' representatives are not hours every week. very active. Only the UGT member enforces his rights as regards the amount of working time he An instructor from Gatec, the organization used may use for union activities, which mainly involvesby the Confederación del Comercio, held the attending meetings, but the other three largely classes on the firm's own premises. The objectives restrict themselves to requesting and receiving were to improve sales figures by achieving greater information that concerns them. employee involvement and making them feel more responsible. The fact that employees are scattered over 15 different buildings (head office, warehouse andThe most interesting point of the course was that 13 stores)in 8 different towns and that the weekly courses were followed, on the same day, average number of employees per store is low, by the meeting between store managets and the renders activity more difficult. company management. These meetings; which were introduced in a bid to improve communica- Among employees there is a persistent conviction tion and industrial relations, were also used to that the retail sector is not a healthy one in which plan particular sales campaigns (3 times a year), to work, that itis impossible to do anything to to contact suppliers and receive information about improve working conditions and salaries and that new products, to decide which kinds of product the best policy is to keep quiet and watch out for were appropriate for individual stores etc. The themselves. meetings were intended to involve store managers more directly in the running of the firm. On the other hand, they regret that the present UGT representative has on occasion put forward The course programme was made up of four parts: certain claims that have created a degree of Sales techniques, Human relations, Merchandis- tension. ing, and Fundamentals of Management of a Commercial Firm. The firm's management is of the opinion that at times when there is no dispute, union representa- The programme targetingcashiers and sales tives have no clear function and that there areassistants lasts for two and a half months with 4 other more appropriate channels of communica-hours of classes a week. In this case classes are tion. held on Gatec's premises. Here again, the aim is to boost sales by a better knowledge of customers Generally speaking it is fair to say that relationsand a more forthcoming attitude on the part of with the firm are formally correct but that employ- sales staff. The course dealt with sales techniques ees feel that they are less appreciated when they and human relations, subjects also dealt with in 42 compare themselves with recent employees taken the course for store managers.

,317 The contents of the four course modules were as Sales techniques follows: Personality Getting to know oneself Fundamentals of management of a How the customer must see the commercial firm salesperson Distribution: channels, structures and systems The musts Management and general running Characteristics Financial management Knowledge, abilities and attitudes Operating accounts The importance of the salesperson's role Trading margin Adopting the right attitude Stock turnover Convincing the customer of the product's value Economic turnover Test Cash flow The five stages of selling Stock profitability Winning the customer's confidence Profit and loss account Determining the customer's wishes Calculating costs and needs Inventories Overcoming a customer's doubts Ccnvincing the customer of a product's value Making a sale Merchandising The customer Definition of merchandising Customer typology Purpose of merchandising Arguments The store Definition Points of convergence Different types of arguments Instrument of production How to use them Range of goods Judgement General aspects General rules Conditioning factors There are all types of custcmers Product selection Difficult situations Store layout Customers in a hurry Analysis of present store layout Customers waiting their turn Lineor layout: Positioning products and Selling in a group furniture Complaints Cold spots and hot spots Why regular customers are important Customers route within the store and Different types of purchases factors which influence it Self-assessment

Human relations 3. Analysis of a particular store The importance of motivation ip human relations 3.1 General information Theory of motivation The store described here is located in the centre of Motivation and performance Barcelona on the Paseo de Gracia, the city's most The process of communication prestigious shopping area.Itis located on two Communicating flcors and has a total area of some 500 sq.m. Elements of communication Forms of communication The range of products sold is basically the same as Barriers and breakdowns in communication in the company's other stores: household goods, The basic principles of a group small domestic appliances, and audiovisual equip- The notion of a group ment, gifts and toys. Sources of attraction Interpersonal re.lations The clientele is mainly made up of the employees Prejudice and stereotypes of the various financial institutionsInd service Roles and functions firms which abound in this area and, because of Leadership itslocation,of customers coming from other Conciliatory and transactional analysis districts, other parts of Catalonia and tourists. The parents The customers of the Paseo de Gracia store tend to The child be of a higher social and economic level than The adult those of other stores. Physical and verbal keys to establishing moods 3.2 Personnel and training Rules of communication in transactional In 1988 the store had 12 employees and currently analysis has 8 6 women and 2 men. 43

38 Table 4

Job Category Age Contract Education

Store manager 39 Permanent Secondary

Assistant store manager 59 Permanent Ncne

First sales assistant 28 Permanent (part-time) Prir\oary

Sales assistant -3 ,'en practicas" Secondary

Sales assistant 23 Fixed-term Secondary

Sales assistant 24 "en prácticas" Secondary

Cashier 24 ,'en prácticas" Secondary

General assistant 20 "en prácticas" Secondary

The 5 employees on a fixed-term contract have follows the lines set out in the section discussing been with the firm for a year and a half, except for the firm's training policy. the general assistant who has been there for 6 months. Three of the store's employees have already been given or are currently receiving training under the The most strikingfeature ofthisstoreisthe two programmes described above the store relatively high level of education of its employ- manager and two sales assistants. The remainder ees. Although none of them have specific retail of the staff will be attending courses in the next few training they do have training in various fieldsmonths. The .decision as to which two sales such electronics, office work, care of children, assistantsshould attendthe course was the decision of the personnel management based on the criteria already explained. concerned,althoughthe prat. ..)le under 25 is the same as for the firm _ this firm has no-one under the age of 20, which is quite common elsewhere. 4. Assessment These facts show that the firm has been more stringentinits recruitingrequirementshere By the firm because of the store's locaton and the type of This firm, which is convinced of the need for customers using it. training employees and its usefulness in order to improve the company's performance and the As a result of rights acquired prior to the collective working climate, considersitstilltoo early to agreement now in force, employees at this store determine whetheritsobjectives have been have different working hours to other stores (9.30 achieved on the financial side, although as far to 16.00 and 4.30 to 20.00), as well as two freeas the working climate is concerned there have days a week (Sunday and another day which certainly been improvements, particularly in the differs each week) instead of the one and a halfcase of store managers with whom communication days in other stores. is now better and who have become more involved in the progress of business. Because of the hierarchical structure .of the firm and the way it operates the store has no autonomy The need for training arose mainly from the low in matters of management. As with other stores levelofqualificationofcashiers andsales owned by the company, any decision concerning assistants and the high rate of staff turnover at the store is always taken at management level, this level, from the cost Of a well-trained staff and although any suggestions made by thestore the need for better-trained technical and manage- manager are taken into acccunt. rial staff in order to cope with the demands of expansion, market repositioning, different custom- As a result both the policy and structure of training ers etc., the only way to be competitive given the 44 is decided solely by the personnel department and growing modernization of the retail trade.

t P:4)0 Nevertheless, the firm is aware that the present At the same time, while they are uncertain as to situation is only a first step and that the contentthe firm's plans regarding promotion, they are of training programmes is very basic.It has frustrated when they see people recruited from expressed interest in deepening and broadeningoutside to occupy posts which they feel could be the scope of courses as the firm develops and with filled by internal candidates who have demon- it its objectives. strated their loyalty and cost-effectiveness to the firm. The firm has stated its intention to implement a different policy with regard to recruitment by-Some staff, who have been trained on the job, do think offeringmore permanentcontracts andthe not consider formal training very useful. They possibility of internal promotion. Training will bethat basic training is what counts, that this is not conceived with this in mind. taught as such because it just takes place on the job, and that the fact that this is done by more senior employees gives them extra work. By the employees or their representatives In summary it may be said that the attitude of As far as the employees in general areconcerned, employees to training and to the courses we have training relating to the retail trade issomewhat described depends on how they view their future unusual. Traditionally peop!e have learnt by doing with the firm, their age and the training they have and they are not very clear as to what use training received, which is almost always ambiguous. This will be, particularly when they do not know attitude is also influenced by the fact that it is new whether it wi.l influence their position in the firm. and that so far it has no consequences as far as the job is concerned. They regar.1 it as another requirement imposed on them by t:)eir job and as something from which they car benefit for their career with otherfirms By the author should they decide to move, but not in their present The relationship between training and personnel isclear. The firm. They findit pleasant to change the dailypolicies in the firm under study routine and do something different andalso to development of the firm, its initial restructuring and have theopportunitytogetto know theirreorganization and subsequently its expansion colleagues, but they see no prospects of a changewas achieved inter alio with aclear personnel policy which initially involved doing without well- in their situation. trained employees - who were, or threatened to When questioned as to the use of the training, become, expensive - and later involved recruiting people responded in different ways: "It helps me younger and cheaper staff. to get to know myself"(a comment on the psychological subjects dealt with in "Sales techni-The training programmes designed for cashiers ques"), "To meet our colleagues", "To dealwith and sales assistants has systematically responded people better", "To be able to communicate with a tothe shortcomings that were observed. The employment of new deaf and dumb person" etc. Some sales assistants change ofimage,the believe that their sales have increased because of technologies, the targeting of a more varied and demanding clientele called for staff with higher theirbetterrelationshipwithcustomers and to because they have overcome a certain shyness. professionalqualifications and theability identify with the firm's objectives. The external The response to questions regarding thespecific organization used to provide this training is for the firm'srequirements. programmes currently beingorganized was gen- moment sufficient for the erally "They are well done", "They are interest- However,asthefirmmakes progress and ing", but any attempt to discuss the content more consolidates its position there could be a need to change the structure of training and create an in detail elicited little response. internal system to meet its future requirements. Training raises expectations, especially in the case store of employees who for various reasons seetheir Thetrainingprogramme designedfor future as with the firm. However, they also givemanagers, whose purpose is onthe one hand to and rise to frustration, on the one handbecause theimprove the firm's financial performance content of some courses assumes a certainabilitysecondly to improve communication and make company's to take theinitiative and act on one's own themfeelmoreinvolvedinthe responsibility in managing stores, for which there progress, could have theeffect of raising hopes is no scope in practice, so that thistheoretical of greater repsonsibility and hence of improved in training is not regarded as relevant. It isfelt that conditions of employment, which willresult the firm should at least try to give clearinformation frustration if they are not fulfilled. to its employees with a certainlevel of responsibility about how the business is progressing sothat Basically the success of training will be influenced of they can see in practice what they are learning in in both cases by the results it brings in terms 45 promotion and higher wages Otherwise itwill theory.

0*!41 4 only be regarded as another imposition of little interest to employees.

This last factor seems to bea key element for modifying and stimulating employees' attitudesto training and hence the use they make of it. 5. Transferability The interest of this model lies in the fact thatit offers small and medium-sized enterprises the alternative of using external structures put in place by the retailsector itself in order totrainits employees. It is not financially worthwhile for firms of this size to create theirown training schemes, which would probably not be utilized for much of the time. 6. People interviewed Managing director Personnel manager Manager of the store described Staff representative at the store described Three sales assistants

4 1 EROSKI COOPERATIVE SOCIETY

1. General Description of the Firm Eroski's development since 1980 is shown by the Eroski is a cooperative society with a capital offollowing figures: ECU 35 million on 31 January 1991. Table 1 It has 129 stores of its own, which are either supermarkets, hypermarkets or shops specializing 1980 1985 1990 in domestic appliances and textiles, and travel agencies, as well as 197 stores operating on franch ise. Turnover 8 23 57 (ECU m) The stores are situated in the Basque country and Navarre. 1991 saw the opening of the first store Working 858 1,379 2,482 outside these provinces in Ciudad Real. members

The company was formed in 1969 as the result of Outlets 55 120 themergerofnine cooperativesocieties. It currently has 2,914 working members and almost 140,000 customer members. By 1991 Eroski already had 129 stores, classified as follows: 1.1 The firm Eroski is the largest cooperative socieiy in Spain. It 6 Hypermarkets belongs to the Mondrag6n group which is one of 10 "Maxi" stores1 the most successful enterprises in this field. 78 Suoermarkets 11 Specialist stores (textiles and domestic It began its activity in 1969 as a result of studies appliances) carried out in a bid to make cooperative societies 22 Travel agencies more viable, and toprovide them withthe 2 Cash and Carry stores (wholesale) professionalism that was lacking because of the voluntary nature of the work of those involved inThree distribution centres and one production creating and maintaining them. base supply the various stores, as well as the 197 franchisees. Initially the company was only a cooperative society with employees on contract. However from The hypermarkets, maxi stores, supermarkets and 1983 the employees became working members.cash and carry stores operate on a self-service Eroski, therefore, is now a consumer and working basis with perishable fresh products and non-food cooperative. sections with customer service.

From the timeit was firstestablishedEroski Other stores have customer service. embarked on a process of expansion throughout the Basque country; this has accelerated in recent Stores, depending on the type, are located either years and has gone handinhand with a within urban boundaries or on the outskirts. They diversification of activities and of type of store. serve a very varied public. The philosophy of the firm, which views consumption as a global reality, has led it to diversify inA number of factors apart fromitsparticular the interests of consumers with the emphasis on commercial form have contributedtoEroski's customer training and information. growth and success withitsvaried range of customers. These have been the consumer activ- In the eighties a change in policy resulted in a ities which take place through committees or- transition from the small stores with which it hadganized under the store's aegis, and activities started to stores with large sales floors. organized by a Governing Council to which the cooperative society devotes 10% of its net annual Although initially it restricted its operations to the surplus, the special attention paid to environmen- Basque country and Navarre, the past two years talissues and thefactthatthe cooperative have seen Eroski establishing itself by a variety ofmovement has alongtraditionand enjoys means in the Spanish retail sector, where it has considerable prestige in the Basque country. prospects of strong expansion. This new policy has derived from the need to expand in order to Management of stores and departments is based compete ina sector undergoing considerableon commonly defined objectives. To make this change and where the multinationals top the possible the stores receive a daily bulletin of league. economic and financialinformation,while a

1 A store with a sales floor of between 2000 and 4000 sq.m. located on the periphery of an urban conglomeration with ample parking facilities, services etc. and with operations similar to those of the hypermarket, but larger and 47 serving a population of between 25,000 and 30,000.

4 2 specialpublication"Dossier"informsallthe - Organize, direct and supervise the functioning 2. members of the organization's progress month of the cooperative. by month. The Governing Council has 12 members, 6 of 1.1.1 Internal organization whom are customer members and 6 working The following brief account of Eroski's operation members. They are elected for a period of 4 years and organization as a cooperative v.ill help toand may be re-elected, with 6 new members understand its organizational structure, its policy beingappointed eachtime.Theofficesof in the matter of human resources and the way in President, Vice President and Secretary are filled which its members are represented. by election from among the 12 members for a period of 2 years. As already mentioned, Eroski began life as a consumer cooperative and later made the transi- In addition to the bodies already mentioned there tion to also becoming a workers' cooperative. This is a special committee for the working members to is essential if one is to .inderstand the important ensure that they can contribute to the proper role played by customer members in the manage- management of the cooperative inallmatters ment of the firm. concerning them and their position as employees. This body is known as the Social Council. The members' highest representative body is the General Assembly, whichis made up of a The Social Council has 16 members representing maximum of 500 members, half of whom are the working members who are also elected by the working members and half customer members. Preparatory Meeting on proposals put forward by the various districts after a voting procedure. Each The working members attendingthe Generaldistrict has two representatives on the Social Assembly are selected by the stores or depart- Council. ments and then elected at a Preparatory Meeting attended by all the working members. The Social Council is a consultative body able considerably to influence the decisions of the The customer representatives are proposed by Governing Council. Its opinions and decisions in local Customer Committees and elected by the matters such as employment conditions, salaries, relative Preparatory Meetings attendedinthis the annual increase in salaries, amendments to the case by all the customer members. statutes etc. are considered very seriously. To ensurethattheSocialCouncilachievesits There is, therefore, one Preparatory Meeting for objectives as effectively as possible itis advised the working members and one for the customer by the Delegate Commissions. members. The Delegate Committees of the Social Council The tasks of the General Assembly, whichis are composed of working members' representa- required to take place at least or.ce a ',car,tives elected at store or department level. There include: are 8 Delegate Committees, one for each district of the cooperative. The meetings of the Delegate Nominating the members of the Governing Committees are attended by the representatives on Council and making appointments to otherthe Social Council for the district concerned. positions laid down in the statutes. Supervising the management, approving the Each Delegate Committee for a particular district, accounts and deciding the appropriation of thecomposed of representatives of all the stores and net annual surplus. departments in this area, meet once a month and Amending the social statutes. the eight meet together in the so-called Plenary Arranging the merger, division or winding uptwice a year. of the cooperative. Establishing the cooperative's general policy. The task of these Delegate Committees is to advise and inform the Social Council and their own The members oftheGeneral Assembly are stores. The tasks of the Plenary, as well as its appointed every three years. powers, have been increased so that it plays an important role in dealings with other bodies in The Governing Council, nominated by the Gen- matters such as amendments to the statutes. eral Assembly,isthe body responsible for managing the cooperative and representing it.It At a lower level the employees at each store, is empowered among other things to department or section meet once a month with Appoint and dismiss the managing director, their delegate to discuss issues related to the and at the proposal of the managing director, cooperative's performance or working conditions. to appoint and dismiss department directors, as well as to determine their powers, duties andJust as the working members have their Social 48 remuneration. Council,sothecustomer members hove a 4 3 Table 2 Organizational structure

Preparatory meeting Preparatory meeting (customers) (4) (workers) (1)

250 representatives 250 representatives

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Appeals Committee Auditing Unit

CUSTOMER COUNCIL GOVERNING COUNCIL <------SOCIAL COUNCIL

1 Consumer Committees Delegate Committees

General management Departments:

Gen. Admin. Marketing Development Social Consump. IT

Accounts Branch Sales Warehouse Staff Quality Developm. Admin. Non.branch Distrib. Staff lab. *Central sales training units Finance Purchasing Logistics Recruit Consumer *Stóres select. training operations Legal Studies New stores Staff Consum. admin. info. Budget Advertising Works General Social control services relations

Customer Council whichis a consultative and "Dossier" publication referred to which reports on advisory body forthe Governing Councilin the cooperative's financial progress. matters of consumer interest. Similarly, there are local customer committees to defend the interestsThe worker members are provided with a constant of the customer members and of consumers inand generous supply of financial information. each area where the cooperative is to be found.

Two bodies exist in addition to those already1.2 Human resources described, namely the Auditing Unit made up ofThe cooperative's statutes fix a maximum of 10% three members, one a working member and two for non-member employees, who are recruited on customer members. These are appointed by theopen market terms. In 1990 there were 6 non- General Assembly. The Auditing Unit exercises a member employees on permanent contract. In the supervisory function. There is also an Appeals following paragraphs the word "members" should Committee, whose functionitisto deal with always be understood to mean working members. appeals submitted against the decisions of the Governing Council. The Appeals Committee is 1.2.1 Personnel structure composed of five members, two working members The pace at which the cooperative has expanded and three customer members who are also elected over the past 10 years is shown clearly in the by the General Assembly. above table, as is the fact that as is typical for the retail sector the majority of the workforce are The organization's various communicotions arewomen. They have a weighting of 72.5% which circulated to all the bodies described and include hasvariedlittlesince1980.Therewould, documentary information, including the monthly however, seem to be some difference compared 49

I. BEST COPY AVAILABLE 4 4 with other similar retail firms in that 75% of the Part-time workers are also employed as replace- members are over 26. ments, to increase the staff for special campaigns etc. Such employees accounted for d total of Table 3 - Breakdown of employees by sex 462 days ;n 1991 compared with only 26 in 1980. Year Male Female Total Level I: Cashiers, sales assistants,officestaff, storemen. Possibly some section man- 1985 241 617 858 agers.

1989 413 966 1379 Level 2: Employees with a specific responsibility or who supervise others, and skilled 1990 683 1799 2482 workers.

Level 3: Senior technical staff with no specific This fact can perhapi be explained by the fact that authority, supermarket managers, section the organization is a cooperative one and that all managers in some hypermarkets and the employees are members, a position which they other stores. acquire after a period of 6 to18 months, depending on their job category. As a result, Level 4: Senior technical staff, maxi store man- factors such as tax reductions or subsidies for agers, departmental managers, section fixed-term contracts for young people have no managers in large hypermarkets. impact here. Moreover, the fact that a person joins the cooperative and assumes certain responsibil- Level 5: Generalmanagers andhypermarket ities and duties calls for a certain maturity. managers.

On the other hand, the fact that thereisa The occupational structurereveals a pyramid promotion policy and job security coupled with characteristic of stores with large sales floors in adequate salaries for lower-grade jobs makes this that it has a very wide base. The evolution over an attractive career for young adults. time parallels the expansion of the cooperative and the opening of hypermarkets and maxi stores Table 4 - Bleakdown of employees by age which called for a substantial increase in the number of lower-grade personnel, whereas the Year 18-2526-3536-50 +50 percentage increase at management level was insignificant.

1980 213 451 172 22 However, the above table does not entirely reflect the occupational structure since the same functions 1985 247 759 331 42 can be found at various levels, albeit in stores of different size and complexity. 1990 638 1304 481 59 Table 6 also shows the salarylevelsinthe cooperative. Inherent in the cooperative philoso- There are, obviously, no different types of contract phy is the principle of solidarity, which does not as all employees are members and therefore have permit the existence of salary differences that permanent jobs. However, employees do have might be considered unjust. All salaries therefore different working hours. fall within a range of 1 to 3 in other words, the highest salary is only three times the lowest.

1.2.2 Working conditions (Table 5) The five salary levels shown in the table fall within The cooperative's expansion and the opening upthis range. At each level there are subdivisions of superstores led to a sharp increase in the corresponding to the different functions or job number of people working part-time.In 1990 categories. these accounted for 17% of the total workforce compared with 19% in 1985. It is interesting to At level 1, for example, salaries in 1991 ranged see that there are no male employeesworking from ESP 92,000 to 115,000 a month, net. shorter working weeks while there is a gradual rise in the number of women doing so mainly At level 2 they ranged from ESP 117,000 to sales assistants and cashiers. The people working 143,000. 28 or 20 hours a week are used for strengthening the staff at weekends, starting on Thursday. This At level 3 they ranged from ESP 145,000 to kind of contract allows for considerable flexibility, 170,000. with employees working more or fewer hours as 50 they wish and according to their job status. At level 4 from ESP 172,000 to 194,000.

11' 45 Table 5 Breakdown and evolution of working hours, by sex

Full-time 28 hours 20 hours

Year

1980 241 512 62 43

1985 413 783 106 77

1990 682 1378 194 1 227

Table 6-Occupational structure/salaries

1980 1985 1990

M F M F

Level 1 70 559 124 893 241 1649

Level 2 119 29 207 28 268 61

Level 3 26 20 41 29 93 64

Level it 17 9 28 15 64 23

Level 5 9 0 13 1 17 2

Total 241 617 413 966 683 1799

At level 5 from ESP 196,000 to 241,000. higher than in the rest of the retail sector. However 'for middle-level, and senior posts this may raise The fact of being a member of a cooperative difficulties when'they have to compete with market societyalsoimpliesashareholding inthe salaries. At present the cooperativeisinthe cooperative's capital and in the profits it makes. process of reviewing its salary scales. This will be done by the representative bodies such as the When new working members join the cooperative Plenary meeting of Delegate Committees and the they contribute a sum of money which will varyGeneral Assembly. So far the problems as regards according to the cooperative's needs. In 1991 the middle-level and senior positions have not been sum involved was about ESP 750,000. When a great because of the loyalty of the members, would-be member does not have this amount especially those who have been with the coopera- available, the cooperative will deduct it from histive for many years, and because of the deeply- monthly pay until the total amount has been paid. rooted cooperative philosophy which leads some to sacrifice possible financial gain. However, as A share of this contribution plus a share of themore young people are less familiar with the annual profit based on the salary index and principles of the cooperative movement and other increased overthe year byinterestearned, factors join the firm, the level of salaries for middle belongs to each member. A member may if he management and senior positions could have a wishes take payment of the interest annually butdetrimental effect unless appropriate measures are the capital remains in the hands of the cooperative taken. and only becomes available to the member when he retires or leaves the cooperative for other Staff turnover is very low and almost non-existent reasons. at lower-grade levels.

Based as itis on a philsophy of solidarity, the Working houis vary considerably, depending on salary structureis very favourable to the lowerthe type of store and a person's job. The working categories of employees, whose salaries areday is one hour shorter than in the retail trade 51

r 46 generally; the arrangement of working hours hasA number of posts do require specific qualifica- already been discussed. tions, such as biologists for the laboratory or organization specialists. Employees have one month's holiday a year. Although selection criteria have not changed very The members decide on and provide the funds greatly in recent years, the "roots" criteria which necessary for the various fringe benefits, which was so important in the past is becoming less so as range from low-interest loans to grants for training. larger stores are opened and the relationship between customers and sales staff becomes less 1.2.3 Qualifications and recruitment personal. Similarly, aspects such as friendliness The educational level of the cooperative's employ-and a good appearance have become more ees is higher than in the rest of the Spanish retail important, as has professionalism. Personal rela- trade. Various factors contribute to this, among tionships have given way to a more professional them the fact that the general level of education in relationship whichinvolves communicating a the Basque country is somewhat higher than in certain image of the organization. other areas of Spain and it is quite usual for lower- grade employees to have had a secondaryPromotion from within the firm is a basic concept education. Another factor could well be the age at Eroski and although thereis no individual ofemployees,sincethegreatmajorityare career planning nor very objective methods for between 25 and 35 and tend thus to be more doing so,allthe employees interviewed are mature and better trained. convinced of the fact that internal promotions take place, as is borne out day by day. The urgent As already mentioned new recruits have a period need for supervisory and managerial staff to keep of probation after which they become members of pace with the firm's rapid expansion, and the the cooperative. adoption of and adjustment to a cooperativist philosophy with allits rights and duties renders The criteria for selection of lower-grade personnel internalpromotionanessentialelementfor are the attitude of the applicants, willingness toachieving the company's socia: and corporate learn, versatility etc., plus a point which is typical objectives. though undoubtedly unique in the retail trade, which is that applicants should have roots in theAll staff at levels 4 and 5 (see Table 5) have area in which they are to work, especially when it reached their positions through internal promo- comes to supervisory and managerial positions in tion, as have the majority of staff at level 3. the sales outlets. Promotionisbased on the reports of direct No specific educational qualifications arere- superiors and heads of personnel, of whom there quired though primary schooling is a minimum; isone for eachdistrict. When they arein experience of the retail trade is not generallyagreement they are taken into account by the consideredimportant. When salesstaff and management and the person concerned is trained cashiers are being prepared for the opening of a for promotion. Because a great many employees new store, their progress and results in theinitial know each other through the many activities trainingcourse are veryimportantfortheir concerned with employment conditions and social inclusion in the team. welfare, they are also aware of people's working abilities and behaviour at the workplace; this Preference is given to applicants of between 20 apparently provides a sound basis for the selec- and 30 years of age. tion of people for promotion. Whatever the case, there have been no complaints from employees on When it comes to appointments to supervisory this count. positions in the stores secondary education or vocational training is required. In this case ageThe large number of women joining the coopera- plays a secondary role, although learning ability tive over the past 10 years, particularly between is also taken into account when the firm has to look 1985 and 1990, does not, as Table 5 shows, outside to obtain the necessary staff, for higherreflect in a similar increase in the percentage of positions, a diploma or degreeisasked for. women in higher-grade posts, despite the general However, thepracticeisto promote existingassumption within the cooperative that female employees whenever possible. employees are rapidly promotedtoposts of greater responsibility and that there has been a Recent years have seen the store seeking morefall in the percentage of male employees in terms frequently to fill posts on the labour market since its both of total staff and of those in managerial posts. expansion has created a considerable need for more supervisory and managerial staff.Those Thus whereas in 1985 women accounted for 70% recruited outside have subsequently to be givenof employees, those in posts higher than level 1 theoretical and practical training within the firm to only constituted 5.1% of the total figure, whereas 52 bring them into line with Eroski's requirements. while men accountedfor 30% ofthetotal 47 workforce, those in posts from level 2 upwards intakeinrecent years of a large number of accounted for 21%. employees who have not grown up with the cooperative concept so familiar to and valued by By 1990 women accounted for 72.5% of the total earlier generations. Despite the training which the workforce but those higher than level 1 for only new employees receive both as employees and 5.5%. Men represented 27.5% of thetotal members of the cooperative and despite the workforce and those in posts higher than level 1 systems for representation, commtinication and accounted for 17.7%. involvement in the running of the business, the rapidity of change and the rapid growth of the It is important to stress that employees believe thatorganization could well impede the process of women are gaining more higher positions and to cohesion and identification with the organization's point out that women are beginning to occupy an aims, without which it would be seriously weak- importantshareofmanagerialandmiddle ened. management posts in the central departments. 2. Training policy The cooperative's policy on trainii.g and internal promotion will considerably boost the number of 2.1 Training strategy women in managerial positions over the next few At Eroski, as in cooperatives generally, employee years unless cor..:iderations other than profes-training is a basic instrument of personal develop- sional ability play a role. ment and a means of improving productivity and attaining the company's objectives. In contrast to The difficulties encountered infinding enough the situation in most retail firms, therefore, training employees trainedtomeet the demands of at Eroski has a long-standing tradition. expansion have already been mentioned. The need for trained staff, which sometimes could notArticle 16 of Eroski's statutes describes "Involve- even be met by recruiting outside the firm, .has ment in training activities" as a duty of employees. resulted in excessive internal mobility and, undoubtedly, in a weakness at the highest levels of Disregarding the quality and frequency of training the staff pyramid as shown in Table 5. activities for the customer members, the whole history of the cooperative shows there to have Eroski will be needing some 600 supervisory andbeen a steady increase in both the quality and managerial staff in the near future, most of whom quantity of training given. will come from within the firm. Even as far back as 1985 whorl the firm had only Horizontal mobility is a characteristic of promotion 1,379 employees, 49,702 hours were devoted to within the cooperative and at the higher levelstraining - equivalent to 35.8 hours per person per people's careers have taken them to positions on year. the various committees or to social, administrative and commercial positions, enabling them to gainThere are training programmes designed for all a sound overview of the cooperative's activities. jobcategories.Thesefallunder threemain headings - management, business administra- 1.2.4 Comments tion, product training and adapting to technologi- The above description of the situation of the cal change. cooperative's employees shows that there are only three points that could raise problems. The The first type of trainingis a general business members are aware of these and are working training, the object of which isto extend the towards their solution. trainees' abilities beyond the mere performance of their daily work and to teach them to think in terms The three problems emerge from the description. of thebusiness,cooperatebetterwithother Firstlythereisthe questionof the need todepartments, become more versatile in the inter- encourage the careers of fema:e employees,ests of internal mobility and hence become more which involves an additional effort on the training fitted for promotion. sideinorder to maximize the femalestaff's professional abilities. This is especially important A variant of this aspect of training is the training in the retail sector where the majority of employ-which all new working members receive in order ees are women and where - as we have seen is to familiarize them with the cooperative's culture the case at Eroski - there are difficulties in finding and cause them to identify more closely with the people with the necessary abilities and qualifica- firm. tions for positions of responsibility. The second problem is the level of salary for supervisory andA second form of training is designed to enable managerial staff. This is a difficult question if the people to adjust to their specific job. This includes principle of solidarity is not to be violated and basic training and training qualifying people for calls for maturity and awareness on the part of promotion, product training and training given as staff. Finally there is the problem resulting from the a result of specific needs. 53

41". The third form of training is the continuing training Training courses are held on the firm's premises in of people in their various posts or functions in classrooms especially designed for the purpose, at order to improve their job skills. the firm's central offices and, on occasion in order to achieve a greater cohesion or where some These three types of training have existed since isolation from the usual working atmosphere is 1985 with certain variations resulting from the desirable,in outsidetrainingcentreson a firm's development and from experience acquired residential basis. of training in practice. As a result specific training foralltypes of jobsin hypermarkets and toTraining activities are designed by the firm itself, prepare people for supervisory and managerial although the firm does use outside bodies, training positions have been more frequent in recent years. centres or universities for general training.

One change due to the sharp rise in the number ofThe various types of training designed to assist job working members has been the decrease in theadjustment, as well as continuing training,in- number of training hours per employee, whichvolves a great deal of practical work, whether at between 1985 and 1991 fell horn 35.8 to 10.73.the workplace for which a trainee is destined or elsewhere, and with tutors who in some cases are Itisgenerally agreed that the third type ofpeople who have been given time off specifically vocational training continuing vocational train-to devote themselves to the training function. ing needs to be altered and improved in order to incorporate knowhow gained. As a result thisAssessment of the impact of training is made by training is now being reviewed. means of questionnaires which trainees have to complete or examinations they are required to sit. Moreover, the firm intends to modify its general strategy in the matter of training in two ways.The expectations of employees receiving training Firstly it plans to improve the quality of trainingare two-fold. Firstly they hope to learn to do their given, even though this will involve a decrease in job better and secondly to qualify for promotion. the amount of training per employee. At the same Although there is no formal link between promo- time, the plan is to ensure that training coursestion and training, the knowledge that promotion is keep pace with the structural and organizational possible encourages trainees to make best use of changes taking place within the firm, and indeed the courses. Younger employees, especially, ap- paves the way for them. From this point of view the preciate the opportunity to increase their job skills. firm believes that training will make possible and even provoke changes on the part of employees, The principal training programmes organized in not merelyinthe sense of increasingtheir 1991 were: knowledge and skills but also in matters of attitude and behaviour. Continuing training programmes Duration

This does not imply a reduction in training activity, Master in business administration 420 hours which as the management states should actuallyBusiness training 80 hours increase, but does call for a change in quality andIntroduction to business management 2 years a better adaptation to productivity requirements. Training for sales managers 61 hours Management functions 16 hours Inthepastitwas permissiblefortrainingManagement techniques 24 hours objectives to be less explicit and business-related Preventive maintenance 28 hours and it was sometimes seen as a response to a Scanners 8 hours series of needs not deriving strictly from the firm's Changes in supermarket culture 20 hours own activities. The factors which have contributedTraining (Textiles) 24 hours .to the change of strategy are the firm's expansionTraining (Non-food departments) 24 hours and the increase inthe workforce, customers' Training (Fish department) 24 hours demands for higher quality and the need to beTraining (Butchery department) 24 hours competitive. Training (Cold meats) 16 hours Cooperative-related training Training courses vary in length from a maximum of Social Council 24 hours 420 hours to a minimum of 8 hours per person, the Delegates 16 hours most usual duration being between 16 and 30 hours.Itis conducted entirely in working hours Training for new worker members: with the exception of one specific programme Cooperative-related training 16 hours which will be discussed later. Training for unemployed: On average Although courses are not compulsory, there have 500 hours/course been no cases of people refusing to take part. Cashiers Only those courses carried out entirely outside Sales assistants (perishable produce) 54 working hours are entirely optional. Butcher's assistants 49 Non-food sales assistants The importance of training reflects in the increase Store managers in the amount spent from ESP 1,800,000 in 1980 Cooked meats assistants to ESP 110 millionin1991, thelatter sum breaking down as ESP 18 million for members Around 1,000 people took part in the aboveplus ESP 30 million spent on training for the continuing training programmes with about 700 unemployed who subsequently joined the coop- people taking part in the courses for new working erative. members and 910 in thecoursesforthe unemployed 700 of the latter later joining the The budget for 1992 is ESP 109 million, ESP 18.5 cooperative as new worker members. millionof whichisintended fortrainingthe unemployed and ESP 90.5 million for training employees. 2.2 Training structure The training department is part of the welfare2.2.1 Impact on training of new department, which in turn is part of the humantechnologies, legislation, internation- resources department, the person in charge being alization and changes in sales and the same. He is assisted by two training instruc- training policy tors, one of whom specializes in initial training,As in the case of most large retailfirms, the and a female clerk. automation of certain processes, the introduction of scanning techniques and computerized man- Trainingis occasionally carried out by outside agement systems have called for considerable instructors but generally speaking the instructors efforts on the training side in recent years. are employees who are being prepared to instruct in specific areas. Another factor affectingEroski's trainingpro- gramme is undoubtedly the pressure from cus- Experience with outside instructors has rtot been as tomer members, who are very active, well organ- positive as had been hoped and the intention is toized, have equal representation on the coopera- increase the amount of training carried out by thetive's various bodies and call for a standard of firm itself. This decision was influenced by the lack products and service that reflects in the training of competent professionals to give instruction on programmes. matters connected withretailing and by the specific nature of the cooperative organization. Obviously the growing number of different types The trend also means that the personnel as aand size of stores resulting from the advent of maxi whole will be directly involved, which should helpstores and hypermarkets has resulted in the need to .ensure an atmosphere favourable to trainingfor trainingat alllevels,ranging from basic and a sense of responsibility. training for the massive intake of new lower- gradestafftotrainingforsupervisory and The present staff structure is sufficient for the work managerial posts in the stores. of planning, coordination, controlling the budget and making assessments, but is not sufficient to The firm is currently considering a further change implement the new training strategy in order to initsretailingpolicy. This involves converting increase the quality and number of programmes smallersupermarketsintoneighbourhoodor provided and to improve the assessment system. convenience stores which put the emphasis on fresh produce, especially in areas where they can Training programmes are prepared during meet- compete with other Eroski stores such as maxi ings with the managers of stores and departments storesandhypermarkets.Thischangealso with responsibility for groups of employees. Thispresupposes a change of emphasis of training in gives an initial idea of the areas and the jobs for this direction with a special stress on the manage- which trainingisnecessary. Subsequently the ment of perishable produce. training department developsthisoutlineinto specific training programmes. At the same time, the creation of the European single market in 1993 has generated a need for The human resources department may put forward specific training for management and senior staff. suggestions which are then discussed and agreed with the departments involved. 2.2.2 Involvement of the social partners in training policy In addition to the programme of training courses Thesocialpartners,theSocialCouncil,the drawn up at the beginning of each year, there is aGeneral Assembly and the Plenary Meeting Of chapter in the budget reserved for contingencies Delegate Committees are in no way involved in whose funds may be used when problems arise defining training needs or designing courses, that can be improved by training. although they are empowered to do so. This is because of the confidence they have in those The only change in the training structure since responsible for training rather than a lack of 1985 has been the recruitment of a specializt. interest.Indeed,thoserepresentativesofthe 55 various bodies who were interviewed greatlyThe scope and complexity of modules and their appreciate the training given and consider it an presentation are designed to ensure that the study importcnt means of personal advancement. time required is not excessive. The first course was organized in 1990 with some All cooperative members receive details of the 215 students. training programme once it has been finalized. In 1991 190 students went on to the second Because thefirmisa cooperative,itisnot course and 238 new trainees started the pro- unionized, all the working members being in- gramme. volved at every level through the various bodies already described. Programme: Any issues and conflicts which arise are dealt with at the meetings with the delegates from eachCourse A. First Semester. General concepts. workplace, who in turn meet in the Delegate Retailing and consumption. Retailstructures. Committees for each district,after which the Forms of retailing. General principles of self- matter is taken to the Social Council which meets service. at monthly intervals. Store atmosphere. Maintenance of the store and its installations. Visual selling. Linear shelf display. Product layout. Product strategy. Price display, 2.3 Description of a training posters. programme Shelf-filling. Introduction to food departments. The sales assistants and the customer. The sales Introduction to business management assistant. The customer. Types of customer. The introduction to business management pro- Contact with the customer in a sales context. gramme is a distance training course set up by Relationships with the customer when selling. Eroski in 1990 and aimed at level1 employees Sales arguments. (sales assistants, cashiers etc.). Sales personnel and theirfunctions.Sales management and sales figures. How to order The programme aims to offer such employees a products. voluntary means of acquiring training in retailing, Stocks and stock rotation. Stock control. to enrich them personally and professionally and Inventories.Inventorydeficits and thieving. to ensure the firm of a supply of staff qualified for How toavoidthieving.Losses.Unnoticed future promotion. losses. General health regulations. The course lasts for two years. The programme is divided into four units each of 10 modules. Ten Course B. Second Semester. Departments. Product modules are dealt with in a 6-month period. knowledge. Fruit and vegetables. Every month, except in July and August, employ- Cooked meats. ees receive 2 modules to study together with some Dairy products. asssessment questionnaires which they have to .fill Butchery. in and return to the tutor responsible. He corrects Fish and frozen products. the questionnaires and returns them. Self-service: Food. Non-food products. Every 6 months employees have to write an essay Textiles. connected with the subjects studied during the Domestic appliances. period. They also meet together in groups of 15 Cash desks. for a day for group work and discussions, to settle doubtful points etc. For all the above departments: Product knowledge, handling andpreservation,working Throughout the course those responsible for the methods, display, control, management, merchan- trainees at their workplaces are ready and willing dising,customerservice,guarantees,health to help them with any difficulties or questions they regulations. may have. Course C. Third Semester. Store management. At the end of 2 years those completing the course The product mix. satisfactorily are awarded a diploma. Advertising, posters, decoration, promotions, informing the customer, market segment tar- Trainees are supplied with course materials and geted. hand in tt eir assignments at the workplace. They Promotions. Prices. are expectedtostudytheirmodules outside Range of goods (depth and scope), product 56 working hours. families.

, 5 1 Merchandising. Table 7 Sales techniques. Managing profit margins. Age Male Female Total Planning(forecasting,objectives). Business plan. Management aids.Profit and loss account. 18-25 7 134 141 Documentation dealt with by the store manager. Monitoring and tracking competitors. 26 -35 19 96 115

Course D. Fourth Semester. Management tools. 36-50 4 8 12 Maintenance of store and its fittings. Construc- tion work, improvements etc. Over 50 2 2 Working regulations for clerical and sales staff. Productivity ratios in each department. Organ- Total 32 238 270 izing physical and human resources to cope with different tasks. Managing a team - Variables affecting behaviour The breakdown of employees for this store differs - Management styles in some ways from that generally applying to the Responsibility for formation and training. Train- firm as a whole and is the result of the type of store ing course follow-up. involved. The fact that the percentage of employ- Information. Store meetings. ees under 25 is greater than for Ihe cooperative as Motivation, assessment. Involvement of the team a whole is explained by the fact that it was opened in store management. recently with new staff. The percentage of female Time management. employees is at 88% again higher than that for Balance sheets. the organization as a whole and is typical of Management functions. Store manager's agen- superstores. da. Another difference reflected in Tables 7 and 8 (occupational structure and salary levels) is more in accordance with members' belief that the 3. Description of a particular store number of women in positions of responsibility is growing, since of 18 supervisory and managerial 3.1 General information positions in the store, 14 are held by women. The store chosen is a hypermarket located inSimilarly, a number of women have posts at this the metropolitan area of Bilbao. It was openedlevel on the administrative side. in1990 onanareaof109,000sq.m., 75,000 sq.m. of which constitutes the shopping centre proper and 11,000 sq.m.ofthisthe Table 8 - Breakdown of workforce by sex hypermarket. The shopping centre accommodates a large number of retail outlets and services. This Men Women centre and hypermarket serves a population of approximately 1million.

Manager 1 It has 45,000 products, and 60 double check-outs equipped with scanners. The store can serve Department managers 3 45,000 customers a day. Floor managers 2 Products stocked are typical of a hypermarket (food, toiletries and cosmetics, clothing, domestic Section managers 1 9 appliances, household equipment etc.)with a particular accent on fresh produce. The store is Sales assistants/cashiers 6 205 run on a self-service basis except for the case of fresh foodstuffs and certain non-food and clothingClerical staff 2 15 items and domestic appliances, for which sales (all levels) assistance is available. Warehouse staff 8 1 (all levels)

3.2 Human resources Maintenance/ 6 technical staff 3.2.1 Personnel structure In January 1991the store had 270 working Store detectives/security 6 3 members breaking down as follows: 57

5 2 The peak of the pyramid is very sharp, showing Sales assistants have morning and afternoon shifts that the possibilities for promotion are few. This that can alternate at weekly intervals. Cashiers isbecause a numberoftaskshave been have very flexible rotating shifts and staggered centralized at head office so that there is not the starting hours while those responsible for sections same need for middle management as in more or departments work split shifts. autonomous stores. Overtime does not qualify for extra pay, except on However, if we compare the occupational struc- Saturdays. Other overtime can be accumulated ture of this hypermarket with that described by the and days taken off in lieu. Ministry of Commerce initsstudy "Shopping centres and retail markets" important differences Selection and recruitment is carried out at the are noticeable. Thus whereas in the Ministry's central offices. study the occupational structure of a superstore is deemed to be 61.5% cashiers/sales assistants The educational level of employees of this store and 14.5% supervisors/managerial staff, disre- parallels that of the firm as a whole. garding clerical staff and other job categories, in the store under study the percentage of super-The fact that Eroski's hypermarkets are better visory and managerial staff is only 7.0% while organized means that employees enjoy working cashiers/sales assistants account for 78%. there more than in the cooperative's smaller stores where tasks and responsibilities are less well 3.2.2 Working conditions defined.

Table 9 Wage structure 3.2.3 Training the Job level Men Women Total Thestore'strainingpolicy accords with general interests of the firm and is aimed at improving the skills of hypermarket employees 1 21 226 247 who have recently joined the firm or who have less experience in the organization and running of 2 5 5 10 such retail outlets.

3 2 4 6 Training is carried out by the central departments who consult the hypermarket managers as to what 4 3 3 6 type of training is needed, the suitable timing of courses and which staff should attend. 5 1 - 1 The store may request specific courses or other training activities relevant to its particular needs. Total 32 238 270 The storeitself plays an important role where The various levels were explained in the general practical training is concerned. Supervisory staff description of the firm. understand clearly that r't of their function is staff management and train,. some trainees, be- It can be seen that the .salary structure does notcause they are being promted or have recently accord exactly with the job structure because there joined the firm, will be transfer, ed to other stores are only 12 women in jobs above level 1 whereas while other people will come to the hypermorket the jobs with more responsible tasks which they after working elsewhere. Although practical train- occupy are more. ing is not systematically organized in the sense of a stipulated number of hours, thereis a fixed Itshould be borne in mind that many of the period during which an employee is expected to positions of responsibility occupied by women are be learning and his direct superior to be teaching. at level 1 and therefore remunerated at the lowest On occasion the tutor may be a person whose wage rates. The proportion of women in jobs entiretimeisdevotedtotraining.As was

abovelevel 1 inthishypermarketis 4.4% mentioned previously, the periods of practical compared with 4.0%inthe caseofmen. training are essential to each training programme However if we take into account the fact that and constitute a substantial part of it, so that this female employees account for 88% of the total hypermarket will always have a number of staff workforce this 4.4% is very low, representing only undergoing practical training. 5% of all women employees. On the other hand 34% of men - who only account for 12% of theOn the other hand, because of the firm's need for workforce are on higher salaries. staff able to take on supervisory functions, there is an urgent need for training such people. The Store opening hours are from 9.00 to 21.00 from hypermarketisclearly making every effort to 58 Monday to Saturday. achieve overstaffing so as to be able to cope whenitsown employees arepromotedor objedives and strategies atalltimes, so that switched to another store. training helps the firm to achieve its objectives.

The involvement of the members in the coopera-According to those inthe firm responsible for tive's management through the various bodies training, there is a need to devise some form of already described does not extend to training. assessment and monitoring of training, not in the sense simply of checking what knowledge has In 1991 training activity in this hypermarket wasbeen acquired, but of the practical consequences targeted at section managers, who followed the at the workplace and the qualitative and quanti- courses already described, and at lower-gradetativeresultsinthestores and departments personnel who attendedthe"Introductionto concerned. business management" course on a voluntary basis. By the employees or their representatives In 1990 the course was attended by 96 people, The assessment of training by those employees most of them women; 91 people attended in who have received it basically accords with that 1991. of the management. Thus while the basic and general trainingis very highly thought of, the Of those who began the training course in 1990,retraining programme isfelt to be of little use 10 were given better jobs in other stores andbecause of the difficulties caused by the lack of another 10 remained at the hypermarket whereprofessional instructors and of programmes de- they act as "floaters", working in all the depart-signed to match the practical needs of daily work. ments and sections. This enables them to gain an The assessment of the "Introduction to business in-depth practical experience of the store as a management" course is very positive. whole prior to promotion. By the author In1991 37 people began the course, whichIn common with otherretailfirms,Eroskiis means that allowing for those who have already undergoing a process of change influenced by started, 50% of sales assistants, cashiers etc. are factors already discussed such as the internation- following the course. alization of the retail trade, competition, greater demands on the part of consumers, the introduc- Since the course is voluntary and held outsidetion of new technologies, changes in commercial working hours, this high percentage reflects the policies etc. high degree of acceptance of training by employees who realize the chance to improve job skills Moreover, at the same time Eroski is in the process being offered and the opportunities for promotion of rapid expansion, which makes its adaptation to opened up to them. the new demands even more complex.

3.2.4 Comments All these changes demand a great effort in the The comments made for the firm as a wholefield of training whichisvisibleinthe firm's generally apply to this particular store. training courses and the amount it spends on them.

What the author sees, however, is that the firm's 4. Assessment established training policy and structure is being overcome bythestrongexternal andinter- By the firm nal forces and that spending on training has risen Assessment of Eroski's training programmes has with the number of employees and the number of two aspects. On the one hand the firm is aware of stores in order to cope urgently with immediate the suitability of courses of a more general and needs. business nature and does not plan any substantial changesinthem. The same appliestopro- There is not a great deal of planning activity nor, grammes designed to help people adapt to their forthe moment, any formalized processfor job,includinginitialtraining coursesforthe reflection and study in the medium term on the unemployed. new objectives, the needs created by the various changes that are occurring, the kind of qualifica- However, when it comes to continuing training, tions necessary to adapt to these changes so as to ,grammes andretrainingprogrammesfor permit, at a later stage, a rethinking of strategies enhancing skills,the firm does not feelithas and training programmes to adjust them to the been equally successful and is carrying out acooperative's new situation.Inotherwords, review in order to ensure that actual needs are (Jespite the importance attached to training, itis met. As we have previously explained, this review now beginning to become part of the firm's aims to ensure that training produces perceptible strategic policy and until recently the firm seemed resultsintermsofdifferentbehaviour and to be more concerned with coping with needs as commercial practices that accord with the firm's they arose. 59

5 4 BEST COPY AVAILABLE Issues such as the need forsupervisory and The programme enables staff easily and without 2. managerial staff or the small proportion of women obligation to acquire training in the retail trade by in higher-grade jobs despite the fact that women a simple,controlled system which coversall constitute most of the labour force, may be a aspects of modern retailing thoroughly enough to symptom of this failure to identify needs and of a enable a person subsequently to pursue a more certain slowness of training to respond. general or a more specialized career.

It is possible that the current training structure has People interviewed not been sufficiently well financed to permit such Interviews were carried out at Eroski's central activities and to forecast future needs or to be able offices in Elorrio (Vizcaya) and at the Bilbondo to react tothissituation with the appropriate hypermarket in Basauri (Vizcaya) in late January training schemes in the medium and longer term. 1992.

This in no way implies criticism of the training The present welfare director of the cooperative being given, since many of the courses would The welfare director up to the end of 1991 appear to be very appropriate, as the firm itself The manoger of the human resources and states. The "Introduction to business management" training department course, particularly, is doing a great deal to help The chairman of the Social Council, who is also lower-grade employees, as its acceptance and its the (female) manager of a supermarket results show. A hypermarket manager A hypermarket section manager 5. Transferability A hypermarket cashier The "Introduction to business management" course A hypermarket sales assistant wasselectedbecauseitwas adaptableto commercial firms similar to those of Eroski with many outlets of different size scattered over a specific area.

60 5 5 CEMASCE S.A.

'I. General description of Cemasce By 1991 the company had two Cash & Carry A limited company withacapitalof ECU markets, the one in Montcada i Reixac with a sales 6,200,000. floor of 18,000 sq.m. and a staff of 233 (annual average) and another in Gerona with a sales floor Comprises 2 Cash & Carry Stores and 7 super- of 4,000 sq.m. and 11 employees. It now has 7 markets, both with large non-food departmentssupermarkets with a total staff of 84, including (accounting for 20% of sales). those employed in the warehouse which supplies the supermarkets and the franchised retailers. The Cash & Carry markets arelocatedin Montcada i Reixac (metropolitan area of Barcelo- All these stores are run on a self-service basis with na) and Gerona; the supermarkets are in the city customer service in the fresh produce department of Barcelona and other towns in Catalonia. and in a number of non-food departments.

Cash & Carry customers are 75% catering The company is in the form of a limited company establishments, food retailers and collectives, thewith 450 shareholders, many of whom, as we remainder being other licensed businesses. have said, are involved in the food industry. Supermarket customers: Urban middle class. The firm's organizational chart shows the central Founded in 1973. offices located in Montcada i Reixac, divided into three sectors, the commercial sector with purchas- 1.1 The firm ing, sales and marketing departments, the admin- GEMASCE began its activities in 1974 with the istrative sector dealing with general administra- aim of filling a gap in the market in the field oftion, acceptance of goods, accounting and stock wholesaling to food retailers.Itsfirst outlet, thecontrol and theinfrastructuresector withthe Cash & Carry at Montcada i Reixac, was at the computer, technical services, logistics and person- time one of the largest in Europe. nel departments.

Later on, towards the end of the seventies, the firm There are also three operational areas, namely the adopted a policy of diversification and moved Cash & Carry division, the supermarket division towards the retail sector, opening a number ofand the direct sales division. The latter sells large supermarkets. Partly because of the economicamounts of Christmas gifts one of the first in situation and because of the way in which these Spain to do so and has a new mail order project outlets were managed, the experiment proved afor selling food to caterers and food retailers. failure and left the firmin a difficult financial situation, causing it to suspend payments in 1982. The firm's management isdecentralized with The supermarkets were disposed of and after aautonomous departmentsreportingtocentral composition with creditors the firm continued to office. build up its wholesaling activities, which since then have steadily expanded with rising sales and Therearethreechannelsofcommunication profits. This has enabled the firm to settle its debts between the various departments and stores a as arranged. yearly schedule of meetings, made up of weekly and monthly meetings with working groups and The firm's recovery and subsequent growth was management, electronic mail via the computer attributable to two factors. The first was a change network, and in-house circulars. inshareholders since a large number of the company's creditors were food manufacturers who acquired share holdings. The second was a change of direction which led the firm to adjust its 1.2 Human resources policy and structure to the needs of the market Particularly worth mentioning among the variou., 1.2.1 Personnel structure measures taken was the large-scale introduction of modern technologybothatthelevelof Table 1 - Breakdown of staff by sex management and logistics and at points of sale, (annual average*) togetherwith a number of more up-to-date management practices in line with trends of the Year Male Female Total retail sector worldwide.

In 1991 the firm took owl the Ces company, 1986 170 22 192 which had its own chain of supermarkets and 1991 223 franchise food stores, relying on the success of 105 328 medium-sized urban supermarkets with a sales floor of around 1,000 sq.m. and able to compete * Averages are calculated using the total number of in quality of service which the firm believes is the employees, including any with temporary contracts for 61 coming trend in the food retail sector. peak periods or holiday replacements over the year C 56 Table 2 Organizational structure

Chairman

Managing director

Commercial division Administrative division Service division

Cash and carry Distribution Direct sales

Table 3 - Breakdown of staff by age

16-20 21-25 26-35 36-55 Over 55

1991 22 63 132 99 12

6.7 19.2 40.2 30.1 3.6

Since 1986 the staff has grown considerably ingrocery, etc.) and 40% were non-skilled sales absolute terms. The increase was particularly staff. marked in 1990/91 because of the need to absorb staff from the firm taken over. It should be remembered that these figures include the average number of temporary employees over One characteristic of this firm is the predominancethe year, working as cashiers, sales assistants and of male employees in all types of job except those the like, whose proportion in permanent posts will of cashier and clerk. This is due to the way in be lower. This job structure reflects a situation not which goods are displayed and the form ofinfrequently found in superstores and supermar- selling, which is largely wholesale, so that heavy kets, since sales assistants and cashiers account weights have to be carrieda task for which male for a smaller percentage than in other, similar staff are more suitable. firms.The present structure makes for higher promotion prospects to positions with a degree 26% of the staff is below the age of 25. This age of responsibility. group includes most of the people on fixed-term contracts, whether in permanent posts or tempo-1.2.2 Working conditions rary positions, where staff turnover is the highest. The opening hours of the firm's Cash & Carry stores in Montcada and Gerona are different from Table 4 - Occupational structure 1991 those of the supermarkets. Cash & Carry stores are open continuously from 6.00 to 21.00 while the Management 15 supermarkets are open from 9.00 to 14.00 and Clerical staff 53 from 17.00 to 20 00. Both types of store are open Section and store managers 41 on Saturdays. Supervisors 5 Craftsmen 50 Inthe case of the Cash & Carry stores,the Sales assistants 33 opening hours and the heavy customer traffic at General assistants 58 certain times and on certain days of the week or Cashiers 54 periods of the year makes it necessary to stagger Warehouse staff 8 employees' working hours,, depending on their Craft apprentices 1 position. Telephonists 3 Security men 2 Male general assistants and sales assistants work Cleaning staff 5 a 40-hour week between Monday and Saturday with a shift of 7 1/2 hours with a half-hour break Total 328 in either the morning or afternoon. These shifts are changed periodically.

As the list shows, in 1991 18% of employees were Assistantsectionmanagers and sectionand in supervisory or managerial positions, 16% were department managers worksplitshiftsfrom 62 skilled workers (cooked meats, butchery, green 10.00 to 14.00 and 16.00 to 21.30. Lunch is 5 7 , paid for by the firm and they have a half-hour seniority allowance, which makes the payments break. They work from Monday to Saturday. The lower than the normal monthly pay. heavier demands made on them obviously reflect in higher wages. A system of profit-related bonuses exists for all staff categories from assistant section manager Cashiers work a variety of working hours with upwards. staggered starting times, continuous shifts,split shifts and part-time work. Their shifts are changed Allthe employees interviewed, who had an weekly. average of 11 years' service with thefirm, expressed themselves very positively on three Cashiers who only work on Saturday work a split points concerning industrial relations and working shift from 10.25 to 15.00 and 16.30 to 21.25 conditions. The first was the attitude adopted by with two unpaid half hourly breaks. the firm in fighting to secure employees' wages andjobs wheniiwas obligedtosuspend At present employees are only p rmitted by law to payments. Secondly there is the good relationship work a maximum of 80 hours overtime a year. This that exists between managers and employees with has only very recently been the case; previouslyvery few exceptions, which is one of respect but employees worked far longer hours and were also of friendliness and kindness. Thirdly there is paid an additional sum over and above their the freedom allowed employees in carrying out monthly pay. Discrepancies in the sharing out oftheir daily tasks: "They are not chasing you all overtime caused the Staff Council to accuse the day", "They leave you free to do your work as firm of not obeying the law, since when it has been long as you do it well", "We do things our own observed to theletter. At the same time, theway", were words frequently heard from employ- number of part-time contracts particularly for ees interviewed. cashiers and for temporary staff is increasing. The chief regulations governing working condi- The firm's employees consider the salaries it pays tions are found in the specific regulations govern- to be very low, though better than those paid in the ing the retail trade, which bring together all the retail trade generally. According to store person- national legislation governing the sector, the law nel, salaries are generally about 10 to 15% abovegoverning theretail trade of the autonomous those laid down in the relevant collective agree-community of Catalonia, which is where the firm ment. is located, and, finally, the collective agreement for the relevant sub-sector plus the firm's own To give some idea, the following are a few net internal regulations. salaries for a given job category and degree of seniority: 1.2.3 Qualifications and recruitment Older employees generally have a lower educa- An assistant section manager on a "en formacian" tional level whereas some of the young people contract who has worked 6 years with the firm and taken on during the eighties have completed their does a 54-hour working week earns approxi-secondary education or vocational trainingin mately ESP 1 20,000 a month. other fields such as metallurgy, clerical work, etc.

A sales assistant in the fresh produce segment with On the other hand, the firm makes few demands 14 years' service with the firm, works a 40-houras to the training of new recruits, particularly when week and takes home approximately ESP 94,000 it comes to unskilled workers by which is meant a month. male generalassistants,salesassistants and cashiers because of the low salaries they are A skilled male assistant in the cold meat depart- paid and the type of work they do, filling shelves, ment with 13 years' service with the firm does aserving customers, working at check-outs and the 40-hour working week and takes home approxi-like. mately ESP 94,000 a month. As is usual in a great many retail stores, employ- A second-category sales assistant in the electron- ees,withthe exceptionof thoseinclerical ics department with two years' service with thepositions, have gained their vocational training firm, works a 40-hour working week and takeson the job and through a period of apprenticeship home approximately ESP 84,000. which until very recently did not include any theory. A cashier with one year's experience with the firm, does a 40-hour working week and takes home Because of the changes that have taken place approximately ESP 92,000 a month. within the company,inrecent years in-house traininghas become a desirable means of Annual salaries are composed of 12 monthlyfacilitating employees' promotion because of the payments plus three extra payments, the latterdifficulty of finding suitable personnel for middle 63 being as a general rule basic salary plus a management positions in particular. Trainingis 58 also seen as a means of improving the company's promotion to supervisory or managerial positions performance and achieving a more dynamic is based on the creation of an "assistant section personnel management. manager intraining"position to which those employees who show ability are appointed. The criteria governing recruitment of unskilled While they are in this position, which may be for personnelarebasedmainly oncandidates' a period of between 6 to18months,the potential, since the firm assumes that this kind of employees selected are trained by their superiors job can be done by anybody. Potential means inthe relevant tasks, while at the same time ambition, interest in the job, initiative, and the attending monthly training sessions dealing with willingness to be trained and to make a career management subjects. Subsequently their perform- with the firm. The company looks for people of atance is assessed to decide whether they should least 21 years of age with a minimum of a become an assistant section manager and be set completed primary education andifpossible on the path to further promotion. personal references. According to the firm, it.meets its requirements for In recent years the firm looked outside to recruit permanent staff by giving people who have middle management for its stores. For this type ofalready reached the legal limit of three years job, experience in the retail trade is essential,for fixed-term contracts a permanent one. Staff combined with a certain amount of theoreticalneeded for specialsales campaigns, holiday training which makes it easier for the people to do periods etc. are taken on as temporary workers. their job or to learnit. Experience alone is no longer enough, particularly in the case of an older However, as table 4 shows, the number of staff on person, because of the responsibility thosein permanent contractsrosefrom138 to140 charge of departments now have for management whereas the number of fixed-term and temporary and financial results. contracts (whether full-time or part-time) almost doubled from 54 to 109. 1990 saw the introduc- However, whenit comes tothe larger stores tion ofpart-timeworkingcontracts,which particularly,the firmisnot happy about the although they do not represent a large proportion present practice of recruiting young people with of the total workfoice, do account for 10% of a university degree to work as heads of section oremployees in the Cash & Carry stores. The staff department. In their experience the results are not given this type of contract tend to be cashiers and satisfactory and staff turnoverishigh. Thisis shelf-fillers. mainly due to the lack of experience and in-depth training in retailing as well as to a lack of maturity. Recruitment practices for the Cash & Carry stores seem to have changed in 1991, when there was The interest the firm is currently displaying in a a significant risein the number of permanent proper selection of staff and continuing training iscontracts but a fallin the number of fixed-term typical of its new human resources policy, which ones. Part-time contracts held steady while the seeks to avoid situations such as occurred in the number of people working Saturdays increased past, particularly in the matter of promotion. Theonly slightly. This situation may be due to greater absence of an appropriate policy tended to lead job rationalization and is also in line with the to methods of selection and promotion that were management's express policy of giving permanent not based on professional criteria, resulting in acontracts to those people hitherto on fixed-term certaindemotivation andrestlessness among contracts who can be offered permanent posi- employees. tions.

For the time being, employees joining the store are While waiting for the results of the firm's new already taken on as general or sales assistants policyontemporary employeestobecome and the system recently introduced to encourage known, itis clear from the general situation in

Table 5 - Type of contract and employment (annual averages)

Full-time Part-time Part-time Saturday Year Perm.con. Perm.con. Temp.con. Temp.con. Total

,0 1986 138 40 14 192

1990 140 86 8 15 249

1991 143(+15)* 74(+69)* 8 19 244 (+84)

64 The figures in brackets relate to staff of supermarkets recently acquired. 1991 as shown in the following table that the Staff turnover in this firm is almost entirely limited number of fixed-term contracts given to people in to temporary staff and to staff who work Saturdays permanent jobs was still very high around 48% or are part-time, where the figure is fairly high. of the total.

Table 6 Breakdown of types of contract in 1991

Permanent Permanent Fixed-term Annual average Total jobs contracts contracts temp. staff

302 158 144 26 328

Some of the fixea term contracts for permanentThe rate of staff turnover among people on fixed- jobs are given, to people working only part-time term contracts in permanent positions is lower. Saturdays or half-days and the greater proportion relates to personnel in supermarkets recently1.2.4 Comments taken over. The remainder, which represent aboutThe firm under study shares a number of points 18% of the total figure, are fixed-term contracts with the retailsector as a whole as regards for full-time workers. working conditions and employees, especially when it comes to the practice of granting fixed- term contracts and the lack of retail training, and Table 7 Breakdown of permanent staff by sex to the process of modernization that is under way.

Year Male Female These points show up a frequent and paradoxical problem, namely the demand for people able to take up supervisory or management posts and for 1986 119 20 well-trained lower-grade staff, and the difficulties involved in the promotion of female employees. 1991 119 +15 24 This paradoxical situation exists because of the need for greater professionalism and knowhow The predominance of male staff becomes notice- resulting from developments in the retail sector able when scrutinizingthe type of contractsand growing competition. Yet employees do not awarded. Female staff only account for 15% ofpossess this professionalism and knowhow be- permanent contracts. The same is true in the casecause of the lack of official training for the retail of promotion: thereis only one woman in atrade and the absence, until very recently, of supervisory or managerial position. training provision within the firm.

Absorbing supermarket personnel has increasedThis situation can become very worrying, particu- the number of women in permanent positrons, all larly for the supermarkets with their strategy of of whom are on fixed-term contracts. If, as the firm high-quality goods and customer service. Here the claims, its policy is to award permanent contracts staff,often women without training and with for these positions, the next few months should poorer working conditions than in the Cash & bring an increase in the percentage of women Carry stores, would seem to need a different holdingthistypeof contract,as wellas anpersonnel and training policy than that existing improvement in their promotion prospects if the firmprior to the merger. complies with its assurances of providing training.

Temporary contracts for very short periods of time 2. Training policy are used for replacing staff on holiday, sick leave etc. or to provide extra staff at peak periods,2.1 Training strategy particularly in the months of December, January, As is generally the case of retail firms in Spain, this February and the three summer months. As the firm's training policy is of very recent date. table shows, the average number of temporary contracts per month is 26 with a maximum of 84 in Previously no programme of basic or continuing January and 8 in March. training existed and people learnt their job by doing it. Temporary staff generally do the jobs of cashiers or male assistants and the firm uses them as a Changes inthe management with the express source of recruitment where a permanent vacancy objective of offering a better service have made occurs, since itis standard practice for section training an important issue and in recent years heads to write reports on such employees. some training has been offered employees in 65

r 60 various job categories, although not in a system- This course is held in November of each year in atic manner. order to prepare temporary cashiers for the Christmas run-up In 1989 and 1990 some 80 employees skilled and unskilled on the sales and clerical side were Commercial refrigeration and electrical appli- given training. ances Four months The most important courses were as follows: Maintenance department officer

Excel training course Procurement negotiation course Two weeks One day Managers, secretaries and clerical staff Purchasing and section managers 20 participants 25 participants

Management course dealing with subjects such Approximately ESP 1 million was spent on training as zero stock, distribution of goods, warehouse in 1991. Some of the courses were partly or automation, and setting objectives entirely subsidised by various official agencies. Middle management and their assistants 25 participants Faced with the cost to the firm of a training scheme embracing the entire staff, the management is Invoicing course making anefforttocreate a system which Four days combines low cost with maximum participation Non-food sales assistants and cost-effectiveness. This has led it to seize upon an idea used in a number of French retail firms Invoicing course which involved designing a game in collaboration Five days with a product development firm with two variants, Middle management one for lower-grade employees and one for 10 participants managerial staff. The aim of the game is to solve many ofthe problems arisingintraditional Invoicing course training courses. Three days Male assistants in non-food department!. This training-through-playing programme will be 13 participants discussed in more detail later.

Training course for sales assistants Training may be voluntary or compulsory, depend- One month ing on the employees targeted, and is carried out 16 participants in working hours on the firm's own premises or on the premises of the training organization. WordPerfect training course (word processing) At the same time, the firm encourages employees Five days to take advantage of any training which may be Secretaries relevant to their jobs available to them outside working hours. To this end it reduces working Similarly, in 1990 the present management askedhours or makes them more flexible on request. its human resources department to draw up a plan of training for all employees. Because the firm still Generally speaking, employees view the firm's owed money to its creditors after the suspension oftraining efforts positively, although many complain payments,it sought financial support from theabout the delay in putting the training activities regional government. This was given to it in late into effect and feel that they are now too old, that October on condition that it carried out a training the training will not help them, that if they have programme before the end of the year.This the done the job without training for so long they can firm was unable to do, as the last months of thego on doing so etc. However such comments are calendar year are the busiest. restricted to a minority. By and large the feeling is that training is genuinely useful as a means of In 1991 the firm re-submittedits training pro-learning how to work, and something of which gramme in order to obtain a grant,but the they can take advantage for their present job but authorities rejected it. also if they want a change. Above all, they hope that the introduction of systematic training will However the firmis continuingitsactivitiesin result in more direct procedures for promotion than certain areas, the most important being: those existing hitherto.

Cashier functions 2.2 Training structure One month The personnel department is directly responsible 66 20 cashier auxiliaries for training and works in close collaboration with 6 1 the general management which has been the However, inevitably there has been the occasional driving force behind the new policy. conflict between the social partners arising from the very fact that personnel management is based The personnel department, which was set up in on goodwill and from the non-existence of formal 1989, has a head of department and two clerical channels of communication between employer staff. and employees.

The firmhas premises allocatedfortraining Soon after the present management was ap- purposes. pointedin1988,theproblemofindustrial relations became acute, obliging it to rethink and Because of the specific nature of the training formulate a new personnel policy which was put courses and because much ofitis computer- into effect in 1989 when the personnel depart- related,it would seem necessary to expand thement was created. A personnel manager was departmentortocreateaunitspecifically'appointed in early 1990. responsible for supervising the training courses and ensuring that they are run correctly. After initial suspicion this led to a period of calm characterized by dialogue and cooperation rather than confrontation. 2.2.1 Impact on training of new technologies, changes in sales policy, The company has a staff council made up of 9 legislation etc. members, 3 of whom are members of the UGT, 3 Technical innovation has been one of the main of CCOO and 3 who are not unionized. The challenges to this firm. union members were basically elected by the unskilled staff while the non-union members were A distributed computer system exists for manage- chosen by the clerical and skilled staff. ment control. Thisis based on a local area network made up of over 140 microcomputersSome of the conflict between the firm and its (0.7 per permanent employee). This has altered employees was due,thefirmclaims,tothe management control and has been installed atpersonality and activities of two union representa- profit centres. tives who, as a number of employees confirm, "prefer to fight rather than talk". At that time In addition, the firm has pioneered the installation complaints and threats of strike were the most of optical scanning devices and the use of barfrequent method of achieving aims. codes where available, as well as the introduction of the EDI system, a common language for the The agreement that these two union representa- electronic interchange of data between the firmtives should step down changed the composition and its suppliers. of the staff council as far as individuals were concerned, but not the union representation. All this has meant a considerable effort on the training side to instruct those employees using the The result has been a new climate in industrial new equipment. relations. However, there is some feeling that since these two representatives left a lot of talkingis The technical innovations introduced in the past done without much being achieved, particularly few years, which have mainly affected manage- when it comes to wage increases ment of thefirm,must be seen as a factor considerably influencing training.Infuture the Currently the staff council meets regularly with the objective of better customer service will be the head ofpersonnel and withthemanaging driving force behind a sustained training policy. director. The most important subjects of discussion tend to be small improvements at the workplace.

2.2.2 The role of the social partners in The attitude of the members of the staff council as training regards the company's training policy is favour- Throughout the firm's history, personnel manage- able. They admit that they trust the firm to a certain ment has tended to be paternalist. According todegree io show that its intentions are not mere employees, most of whom have been with the firm rhetoric, but a step forward in the interests of its for more than ten years, "We were like a large staff. family". This was evidenced by the concern the firm displayed when it was obliged to suspend payments when there were no redundancies2.3 Description of a training and no financial problems as far as employeesprogramme were concerned because "There was never aThe most important programme,which was month when we were not paid" as well as by the launched expeiimentally in 1991 and started in support given by the staff in helping the firm toearnest in 1992, is targeted at employees in all overcome the crisis. categories.Inprincipleitismeant onlyfor 67 0 62 employees on permanent contracts and those on The physical aids to the games in both versions are fixed-term contracts in permanent positions. the same, namely information cards and a board with markers. However the knowledge required This programme originated because of the firm's by the sets of cards varies between the two need to introduce effective training at low cost. versions.

Conventional trainingis not attractive to adultThe cards carry a symbol identifying the subject- employees who are semi-skilled, because they are matter, which is the same as that on the board. The afraid of being asked to study and because of the game is played in the following way: lack of motivation, complexes, lack of confidence and inability to concentrate. Every week an employeeisgiven a certain number of cards which are the same size as This realization led the management to evolve a playing cards to read and study. The cards new product based on game play, which canbe cover different subjects in considerable detail. used to train all kinds of employees. Which cards an employee is given will depend on the logical process of learning. The game, which has been patented under the name Triforvial can in principle be usedby anyThus one week an employee may be given cards kind of firm.It was produced by an outside firm covering the following subjects: with the commercial subject-matter supplied by the The market, subordinate subject: retailing, the firm under study. Thisistherefore a product hypermarket. created and developed jointly by Impuls S.A. The store, subordinate subject: use of existing and Cemasce. space, cold spots, hot spots. Thedifferentsections,subordinatesubject: As the name of the game indicates,itis not beverages, aperitifs, spirits and liqueurs. unrelated to "Trivial Pursuit" but also to "Ludo" or "Snakes & Ladders". And so on with all the cards for that week.

There are two versions, one designed for middleThis process continues for a month or two, after and senior management and another for super- which the trainee is considered to have acquired a visory staff and sales assistants, general assistants certain amount of knowledge. and cashiers. The programme used for managerial staff uses teaching cards covering the follow- It is then the game begins. For a certain period in ing subjects: working hour- two or three hours a week, the Bookkeeping and general office work players of various job categories and positions at Sales and marketing each level of the game play the game on the Purchasing, stocks and logistics board and make use of their luck and their Computer and communication systems knowledge. Human resources and labour relations Knowledge of food products The game shows different paths leading to a goal. The firm and its environment The paths involve certain obstacles, such as the need to miss a turn or to go back. Each player has The programme aimed at supervisors and un- four markers which he has to take to the goal. A skilled personnel covers the following subjects: dice is thrown and the square reached contains a symbol relating to one of the subjects or subsidiary The market subjects studied. Depending on how the player The store replies to the question, progress is either slowed The sections down or frozen etc. Food products Administrative and computerized management Thisis a knock-out game with several games Commercial management and procurement determining the winner and the runners up. There Personnel management are substantial prizes in cash and kind to be won. The customer Then the cycle begins again. The "food products" subject-matter is divided up into specialized areas such as meat, cookedWhile the game is taking place players are not meats, fish, dairy products, food and vegetablesgiven any more cards, even if they have been and non-food products. eliminated.

Both versionsof the game have a general Players may repeat the whole training process if it knowledge element but there are no cards to be is felt that they have not learnt enough the first time studied. The person's own education and the massround. media are regarded as the sources of general 68 knowledge. Participation in the game is in principle voluntary. t i3 3. Description of a particular store This store is the first one the company opened and itis also that with the largest workforce, which 3.1 General information accounts for 70% of the total figure. There are a This store was chosen because of the large number number of striking characteristics, such as the ofitsstaff who have received some form of higher proportion of workers over 36 and under training. 20 and the smaller proportion of women than in the overall figure. Moreover, the women here are The store concerned is the Cash & Carry store in not merely employed on the sales floor; most of Montcada iReixac; itis the company's flagshipthem are in the central administrative department store. which is in the same building.

Montcada i Reixac is located in the metropolitan Table 10 - Occupational structure area of Barcelona. The storeis accessed from three motorways which encircle the city and was opened in 1974. Chairman 1 General manager 1 The store has a sales floor of 18,000 sq.m. on two Managers 5 storeys and stocks 52,000 items including food, Section managers 34 non-food and household equipment. The house- Clerical staff 38 hold equipment section is considered to offer theCraftsmen 23 most extensive range of goods to the catering Sales assistants 33 industry in Spain today. Cashiers 43 Male assistants 44 The store operates on a self-service basis, although Telephonists 3 there is customer service in the fresh produce and Security men 2 in the electronics and similar departments. Craft apprentices 1 Cleaning staff 5 About 75% of customers are from the catering or foodretailtrade or frominstitutions such as Total 233 schools, prisons etc, the other 25% being from other forms of business.Entry to the storeis restricted to those carrying an identification cardThe above figures are not representative of the issuedto anyone having an officialbusiness store as described because of the significant licence. weightingof thecentraldepartmentsinthe managerial and clerical categories. On the other 3.2 Human resources hand, the figures do include on average about 17 lower-grade workers who are recruited every year 3.2.1 Personnel structure for temporary work. Since the Cash & Carry storeisin the same building as the firm's head offices, the figures Bearing this in mind and disregarding most of the provided include c" staff, sales and administra- clerical staff, the proportion of lower-grade sales tive. staff in this store is higher than for the firm as a whole, which is a more accurate reflection of the Table 8 - Total number of employees (annual average) usual situation in superstores.

This explains the discouragement some employees Male Female Total of this store feel as regards promotion prospects. Since the functional pyramid is broader, a large 1986 159 21 180 number of lower-grade employees view their career prospects as restricted. This also explains 1991 180 53 233 a certain distrust regarding training expressed by employees who have been with the firm a long

Table 9 - Breakdown by age

16-20 21-25 26-35 36-55 Over 55

1986 average age 34

1991 5% 16.9% 39.1% 34% 5% 69

.4't 6 4 time and do not see the purpose of training unless 4. Assessment it increases the likelihood of promotion, which they do not believe. By the firm The firm considers the effort made to set up the 3.2.2 Working conditions "Triforvial" game programme very significant and The working conditions in this store are subject to its results chiefly measured by its popularity with the general conditions laid down by the firm in the employees as very encouraging. matter of salaries, working hours etc., which have already been described. By the workers or their representatives The employees, especially those inless skilled Becausethis was thecompany'sfirststore, jobs, consider the game a better method of relations between employees ter.d to be different learning than conventional training methods, with from elsewhere because there are more of them which they get bored and lose interest. They and also because most of them have been with the comment that they learn not only when reading the firm a long time and gone through a lot together. cards but also when playing, br cause of the replies given by their colleagues or because they The general atmosphere is harmonious. Staff have remember their own mistakes more easily in a their own canteen and facilities for training and relaxed, game-playing atmosphere. While the union meetings. number of cards they are given each week is not excessive (between 8 and 12), they find it difficult 3.2.3 Recruitment and qualifications to afford the time to study them, although all of The situation as regards type of contract and them read them. working hours is also remarkable. Firstly the store has a large number of permanent contracts and By the author secondly it has all the part-time staff in the firm. This first experiment would seem to offer a solution to problems of learning and training for employ- 3.2.4 Training ees not accustomed to intellectual work. On the The training structure is the same in all stores and other hand,ithelps to encourage a sense of in this particular store the presence of the central companionship and also of competitionina department and the personnel department has a game-playing atmosphere which makes interper- direct impact on training activity. sonal relations and training easier.

At present 61 employees from the store are taking The game has only recently been created and part in the game play, 51 being sales assistants introduced and asitisfurther developed, the and 10 supervisors. Although, as we have said, system will improve. the game is open to staff in all job categories, in the first year, because of organizational difficul-5. Transferability ties,itisbeing played only by staff directly The interest of the programme chosen is under- concerned with sales, but not by cashiers, clerical scored by its pedagogical features, which make it staff, warehouse staff or maintenance staff. particularly worthwhile for an adult staff with little

Table 11

Full-time Fixed-term Part-time* Sat.* Total Perm.con. con.*

1986 . 136 30 14 180

1991 138 69 8 18 233

-Includes temporary employees

Table 12- Type of contract and employment 1991

Perman Fixed-term Temporary Permanent Total positions contracts contracts contracts

216 138 78 17 233 70

65 general and commercial education. It combines a competitive game with training.

Once the necessary changes have been made to adapt the game to the realities of retailing in each country, this programme could easily be adapted and make training entertaining and effective. People interviewed Managing director of the firm Personnel and training manager Chairman of the Staff Council, who is a member of the CCOO union and a specializt assistant in the cooked meats section Union representative belonging to UGT and a specializt assistantinthe wine andspirits section Assistant section manager inthe non-food section Sales assistant in the fruit and vegetable section

71 66 FIRM XX S.A.

1. General description of Firm Xx This favourable trend in the company's fortunes is Formed in 1846 reflected in an increase of 133% in gross sales Capital in 1991: ESP 900 million between 1985 and 1991. 17 stores in the main Spanish cities Luxury stores selling leather and fashion goods for The retailstoresinSpain are locatedinthe men and women following cities: Customers in the urban middle and upper classes 4 in Madrid 1.1 The firm 4 in Barcelona The firm X, S.A. was established in Madrid in 2 in Valencia 1846 as a workshop producing leather goods. In 2 in Seville

1890 the first shop was opened to the public. 1 in Granada

When the Civil War in Spain ended in 1939, the 1 in Las Palmas firm began to expand rapidly, opening shops in 1 in Bilbao various cities of Spain. In 1969 it opened its first 1 in San Sebastian shop outside Spain, in London. This was followed 1 in Palma de Mallorca by others in various countries. Stores tend to be situated in high-class residential In 1969 the firm introduced fashion and acces-or shopping areas, and in cities with a brisk tourist sories sections for men and women and later trade. created its own luxury ready-made collections, all produced in its own workshops. In 1972 it beganThe range of products, which breaks down into to produce perfumes. leather goods and prêt a porter, is very varied, covering travel goods, fashion accessories for Thefirm,which isfamily-owned, expanded men and women (handbags, purses, shoes, belts, rapidly both in terms of sales and structure, which scarves, jewellery, gloves, umbrellas etc.),gift called for a substantial increase in capital.In articles, perfume and other items of clothing. 1980 a Spanish group took the firm over. Certain stores specialize in men's fashions. In 1983 Firm X, together with the other firms belonging to the group into which it had beenThe size of the stores varies, the largest having a absorbed, was expropriated by theSpanish sales floor of 1,200 sq.m. and the smallest, in Government and nationalized. hotels, between 60 and 30 sq.m.

In 1984 Firm X was reprivatized and sold to aAll are manned by personnel with the necessary group of Spanish shareholders headed by a skills to serve the store's kind of customer. French investor who provided a new management structure, strengthened the original product'The clientele, which was very limited and loyal in lines,and introduced a number ofdifferent the firm's early days, has in recent years widened corporatestrategies designedto expand theconsiderably and embraced a younger female firm's market in line with the evolution of Spanish public with a high purchasing power who look for society and business. quality goods, a high standard of service and fashionable and comfortable clothing. Tourists, At the same time the various activities of theespecially those from Japan and North America, originalfirm were hived offinto independent make up an important group of customers. branches so that Xx, one of these branches and the subject of our case study, is responsible forThe firm has managed to extend its customer base running the retail outlets in Spain. by introducing a number of less classical lines into its fashion collections. From the very beginning there have always been members of the founder's family who have heldThis has had some impact on the selection and shares in the firm and been involved in production. recruitment ofstaff,a subject whichwillbe discussed later. Thelasttenyears have been worryingfor employees, who saw a firm with a long traditionCommunication within the firm operates at two and culture, whose labour relations bore the mark levels.Firstlythere are two meetings a year of the founding family, and whose name was a between senior and middle managers which last byword in Spain for high quality work going a day and during which general issues concerning through adifficult period which on occasion the firm's operations, new policies, objectives, the affected some of the very popular senior man-introduction of training programmes etc. are dealt agers. However, in recent years there has been a with. new air ofstability and calm, thanks tothe competence of the new management which has The second level of communication is through the 73 restored the staff's pride and confidence. usual hierarchical charnels.

E Table 1 - Organizational structure

Board directors

Window- Sales PR Purchasing Personnel dressing Training Special Warehouse Buying Works and events maintenance

1.2 Human resources particularly outstanding as regards careers for women. 1.2.1 Personnel structure The firm's staff has increased noticeably since 1985, mainly due to the increase from 14 to 17 in the number of shops. 1.2.2 Working conditions Working hours at central office are from 9.00 to Table 2 18.00 on Monday to Friday with an hour's break for lunch. In the stores, working hours may be split Men Women Total or continuous depending on the type of store (thus in hotels working hours are continuous) and on local custom. Staff work a 40-hour week, which 1985 121 136 257 as will be seen when we come to the description of a specific store, may be spread over the year in a 1991 165 200 365 manner more convenient both for the firm and for the staff.

The proportion of women in the staff as a whole Staff have 30 days' holiday a year. rose by 1.5 points over the past year. Total salaries in 1991 were something over 20% of total gross sales and worked out at an average Table 3 - Breakdown by age, 1991 per employee of 4.5 million p.a., including social security contributions. In 1985 total salaries were 25 years 26-40 41-55 55+ also running at 20% of gross sales and the average salary per employee was 60 150 108 47 ESP 2.5 million. Although this average figure is not very significant in itself, it does allow us to see the increase that has taken place since 1985, which in some job categories such as cashier and Although no information is available regarding sales assistant has been as much as 73%. the age breakdown in 1985, it is known that the average age of employees in that year was 40.2, The gross annual salaries to these two categories whereas by 1991it had dropped to 38.6. This have been as follows: (Table 3) rejuvenation of the workforce has been encouraged, as we shall see, by a certain type ofThe main change in salary structure has been in contract. At present employees under 25 represent the amount of commission on sales, which has 16% of total staff. fallen in recent years. This implies an improvement in terms of pension contributions or unemployment The breakdown of staff by job category in 1991 benefit over the previous period, when commis- was as follows: (Table 2a) sions could on average run as high as 30% of Contrary to the general trend in the retail trade this annual salary even though this could mean a firm has its own employees for all types of internal lower overall income. services such as window-dressing, tradesmen such as electricians,carpentersetc,a large The salaries for these categories are higher in this fashion workshop, a large cleaning staff etc. firm than in the rest of the retail trade, as is justified by the social and educational level demanded of The present job structure also reveals that the store sales assistants in the stores. and the firm are concerned with maintaining control over all aspects of its activity, ensuringThe firm offers a series of fringe benefits in the that the level of quality that is the firm's trademark form of health insurance, scholarships for employ- is guaranteed throughout. The breakdown of jobs ees' children, subsidized holiday accommodation 74 by sex shows that for a long time this firm has been etc.

68 Table 3a Breakdown by category

Male Female Total

Chairman 1 1

Managing director 1 1

Managers 5 4 9

Technical director 1 1

Purchasing manager 2 1 3

Buyer 1 1

Warehouse manager 4 4

Store manager 2 5 7

Store supervisors 7 7

Group manager 1 1

Section manager 5 12 17

Sales assistants over 80% women 91

Administ. manager 4 4

Administ. section manager 19

Clerical ma' 90

Service section manager 3 2 5

Designers 4

Window dressers 10

Foreman 2

Craftsmen 18

Specialist assistants 10

Soles assistants 30

Telephonists 3

Cashiers 2

Security men 3

Attendants 4

Cleaning staff 8

Driver 5

Workshop manager 1

Other 4 75 Table 4Gross Annual Salaries

Sales Assistant Cashier

Fixed Salary Commission Fixed Salary Commission

1985 995,000 424,000 1,119,000 230,000

1991 1,820,000 635,000 1,928,000 408,000

Part-time work is not very frequent. Only 1.5% ofwell as students and similar people to cope with total staff, thus 5 people, work part-time. work at peak periods.

1.2.3 Qualifications and recruitment The re,:ruitment policy follows the general regula- The general educational level of employees in this tion-,fortheretailsector.Since the relevant firm is high by comparison with most of the retail lecislation took effect, the firm has ceased employ- sector. The requirements imposed for employment ing people on permanent contracts and fixed-term as asalesassistant are more stringent.The contracts have become standard practice. This has comment of one of the owners at the time when had its effects in terms of turnover of sales staff, the clientele was still very restricted and elitistwhich is virtually non-existent among permanent expresses this: "our shop assistants have to talk the employees who have been with the firm longer same language as our customers". and are almost all of them in supervisory positions but is high among more recent recruits. In some Educationallevelandsocialrelationsas ayears turnover is as high as 50%. guarantee of the same language were, therefore, important criteria for staff selection. Recruitment 1991

These criteria have changed and given way to a Permanent contracts 241 more professional selection which takes account Fixed-term contracts of general education, language, and degrees in "en practicas" 16 arts subjects for sales assistants and other store Under 26 9 staff, as will be seen when we come to the Job creation schemes 77 description of a specific store. Other 22

When it comes to filling supervisory and manage- This gradual replacement of permanent contracts rialpostsatstorelevel,importanceisalso by fixed-term and other forms of temporary attached to experience in the retail trade while contract such as "en practicas" contracts and on the technical or company management side the those available for employees of less than 26 years firm looks for appropriate university training. of age, has been one of the factors making for a younger workforce. However it has also had A general requirement is "An aesthetic sense andthe effect of creating a degree of uncertainty appreciation of things well done", as well as certain among the more recent recruits, which may well human qualities which make for easier integrationlie at the heart of the high staff turnover and the into a firm with a marked unwritten culture. tendency of trained sales staff to leave and go to rival firms. The age preferred for sales personnel used to be between 28 and 30 but the firm is now employing Firm Xx tends to put those who have served the younger people in order to lower the average age maximum three years on a temporary contract on of its staff. to a permanent contract. It does not wait for the period to elapse before terminating a contract As we have already pointed out,selection of when it sees that a person is not suitable. Clearly, recruitss now far more demanding and a therefore, part of the staff turnover is also due to specializtinthisfield has recently joined the the firm's high standards. firm. He is responsible for selecting the temporary employees who each year will follow a basic Internalpromotionhas been afundamental training course and later will be appointed to element of the firm's human resource policy and permanentsalespost and othersupervisory has met the need for store managers at a time positions. when it was difficult to find suitable people on the labour market. Of 18 store managers, 10 are Every year the firm recruits about 25 people on internal promotees and practically all department 76 3-month contractg for the run-up to Christmas, as heads began as salesmen.

7 () The firm feels that it is in the stores themselyes that employees, sales assistants and others, in custom- there will be more opportunities for professionaler relations, dealing in depth with a subject that careers and it is providing the training facilities to has always been fundamental. make this possible. The changing trend of retailing in Spain and the The high number of women 54% of total staff growing penetration of foreign firms selling luxury also reflectsinthe firm's job structure and in goods who were unknown in the pastleaving Xx promotions. The managing director of the firm is a without rival in its own market segmentare other woman and women occupyhalfthesenior important factors that have contributedto the management positions in general departments, creation of new training programmes. The firm is while there are14 women storemanagers. increasingly aware that only a different manner Women also hold a substantial number of middle will mark it out from its competitors in a firm where management positions on the administrative and quality and elegance are taken for granted. sales sides. On the other hand, the firm's own standards of 1.2.4 Comments elegance make customers particularly demanding The situation in this firm could be described asand lead them to expect all the information and unique as far as the traditional Spanish retail trade service they consider they are paying for. is concerned. Despite the difficulties encountered over a period of years the firm hos maintained its The content of the firm's basic and continuing character anditspolicy of offering maximum training programmes is now, as in the past, based quality in its segment of the market. on two essential points, namely manners and customer service, and product knowledge. Two Its personnel policy is consistent with this. As a programmes are organized every year, the basic result key issues in the retail trade such as working training course and courses on fashion trends conditions (workin,hours, promotion and espe- while others are run every two or three years and cially promotion of women, salaries etc), have are specifically devoted to leather and perfumery proceeded in harmony with the firm's general products. strategy, thereby creating a corporate culture which pervades the attitudes of its employees. Special courses have also been organized to cope with the introduction of computers in all stores and 2. Training policy in the central departments.

2.1 Training strategy Up to 1991 the basic training course was also The firm has been organizing training courses used for retraining personnel. Since the introduc- since the sixties and may be regarded as one of tion of the new training structure and courses, the the pioneers in this field in Spain. firm has seen the advantages of separating these two types of training and has been designing Itspurposeingivingtrainingisbasically to specific programmes for retraining which it will go improve its own performance by el ,uring theon expanding. right level of customer service. This objective has not changed with the advent of a new manage-Another type of training course with a specializt ment but indeed has been underscored by the content andfar-reachingimpact isthatfor creation of a training department and by thewindow-dressers. This shows the importance that planning and systematizing of courses, especially window displays which have also been a in the field of continuing training. landmark in the history of retailing in Spain have had for the firm for 30 years. This course, This strengtheningof continuingtrainingpro- again, is held annually. grammes has been the result of both internal and external factors. The latter include an expansion of Training is targeted at all the company's employ- the firm's traditional segment of the market and ees with a range of course contents to suit all job growing foreign competition. Internal factors have levels. It is always conducted in working hours and been related to certain types of behaviour on theattendance is obligatory. Some 100 employees part of staff, who worked well in the past and attended training courses in 1991. required retraining in order to adapt to the needs and demands of the new customer profile, thus Training programmes Duration customers who were younger and had a higher purchasing power but no longer came from the Basic 80 hours firm's traditional catchment area. Fashion trends (twice a year) 16 hours Men's fashions (twice a year) 16 hours As a result, and marking the most important break Perfumes 16 hours with the past, the firm in 1991 launched a new Leather 32 hours course concerned with customer service entitled Visual image promotion 32 hours "Xx, different manners" which aims to train all "Xx, different manners" 72 hours 77 Training courses involve trainee participation with saw that courses planned and decided on were audiovisual aids and "hands-on" experience withactually carried out. products whether fashionwear or other goods. Employees also visit the factories making the The training department has only the one person articles concerned in order to become acquainted responsible for training, who began his work by with 'the manufacturing processes. Instruction texts conducting a study of existing training needs. On and most material used is very well prepared bythe basis of this he drew up a plan with the new the firm itself. courses which are gradually being introduced, some of which are adaptations of retail courses Instructors are generally employees of the firm and given in America. people with responsibilities in the area concerned. Needs were identified by consulting store man- Those attending basic training courses subse- agers, clerical staff and other employees. The staff quently have a period of practical training in therepresentatives were not involved in any way. stores in which they are to work. During this time they are not employed on the sales side but are Spending on training in 1985 was 1.6% of the involved in" activities designed to give them atotal salary bill whereas in 1991 the percentage better knowledge of the store's operations, saleshad risen to 3.3% a figure that was unusually techniques etc. This period of practical experience high and due to the creation of training aids and is supervised by the store manager. automated systems in stores. It will not be repeated in future years. Training courses are held in Madrid and employees from other cities are transferred to Madrid to2.2.1 Impact on training of new tech- attend them. Mention has already been made of the nologies, consumer and labour legisla- importance of internal promotion in this firm andtion, changes in sales concepts, inter- although there is no direct link between promotion nationalization of the retail trade etc. and training, employees know that good trainingTwo factors to which reference has already been incombinationwithotherpersonalabilities made have considerably influenced training as it enhances their chances of being promoted. Onis now given and as it will be given in the future. the other hand, they are very proud of theirThese are the internationalization of the retail product knowledge and of the style they acquiretrade, which means growing competition from while working for the firm, which enables them, foreign firms, and the need to extend the customer where no promotion is forthcoming for structural base inorder to maintain thefirm's leading reasons, to move to rival firmsin middle and position in Spain's luxury retail trade. senior management posts. This has occurred on several occasions. Similarly, the introduction of computers in 1991 called for substantial training in this field for store The firm intends to include four new training employees and those in central administration. courses in its programme in the near future: 2.2.2 Involvement of the social Course on textile products partners in training Course on packaging techniques Current legislation in the matter of trade union Course on stress control techniques representation obliges a company to have union Course on dealing with telephone calls representatives in stores with a low number of employees and staff councils in those which have These courses are designed to plug certain gaps over 25. The firm under study has both kinds of or meet certain needs, for example of employees representation. who though not employed on the sales side do transmit the firm's image to customers, or toHowever, union activity is not highly developed provide a greater knowledge of textile products and is an isuse about which the staff in general are which the firm has not been dealing with for so not particularly enthusiastic. long. Various factors contribute to this attitude. The first isthe family atmosphere of the firm andits 2.2 Training structure paternalistic attitude to the employees, plus the The training department was set up in late 1987 type of employees who were recruited in the past, when Xx became an independent branch;it which have made relations more than the normal depends on the sales department. However theemployer/employee relationship. Any differences parent company already had a small training unit were always settled personally. which had organized certain courses, such as the one mentioned in this study. This was possible because conflicts were few and far between. As has already been mentioned in Up to the end of 1990 the training department the relevant section, working conditions are more 78 was responsible to the managing director, who than acceptable and excellent when compared with the retail sector in general. Salaries at all The courseisgiven by the firm's purchasing levels are good, there is scope for promotion, manager. particuarlyforwomen,andworkinghours according to the staff are very good with a great The first day is used to give a video showing of deal of flexibility possible to meet personal needs. international and national fashion trends for the In addition there are fringe benefits. This meansseason, after which the firm's own collection is that there are no group conflicts needing to be presented. settled by union intervention. Salesassistants become acquainted withthe Although recent years have seen an intake of new fabrics, designs and manufacture of goods and and younger staff, especially at the sales assistant the possibility of alterations, as well as which type level, the situation has changed little because of of customer the itemis designed for and the the influence of older employees who are proud accessories it can be combined with. to transmit the corporate culture, while working conditions make changes unnecessary.Store Allthisis done with a great deal of trainee managers, who are free to organize their work involvement. Staff try on the models and try out the as they wish and who also act as personnel various combinations with accessories, in this way managers, are the most suitable channel forrealizinig which type of figure or build a certain solving problems. garment suits.

All this does not prevent the staff council for theOn the second day thereis a presentation of Madrid stores, which acts as the representative ofcollectionsofaccessories: jewellery, shoes, all employees, meeting once a month to discussgloves, belts, umbrellas, glasses, scarves, hand- certainpoints whichcould mean additional bags and travel accessories. improvements in the employees' situation, such as obtaining substantial payments on retirement atAs on thefirstday, participants become ac- the appropriate age, etc. But when it comes toquainted with details of design and manufacture, negotiatingfinancialmatterssuchassalary the type of material used and how to care for increases, the staff council's role is very limited; them, how they can be combined, sales arguments this gives rise to some complaints. and the like. All articles can be closely examined and tried on. The union representatives are not involvedin training in any way. Finally there is a review of the basic collection, the firm's classic items, which does not change greatly 2.3 Description of a training with fashion. programme The course chosen is that concerned with "TrendsThe course makes use of audiovisual aids, texts in women's fashions and accessories". produced by the firm and items from the collections. Some of this audiovisual material is handed The aim ofthe courseisto acquaint store out to participants. personnel with the main fashion trends and to present the firm's own collection, showing how it can be suitably matched with coordinates and accessories and givingtechnicaltrainingas 3. Descripfion of a particular store regards the fabrics and materials of which such accessories are made, and their characteristics 3.1 General information and their use. The store concerned is situated in a high-class residential and shopping area of Madrid. This cou:se has been run since 1985 and is aimed at all staff concerned with women's fashions and It was opened in 1959 and is the firm's fifth store. accessories. It is attended by all staff ranging from It was a milestone in the sad shopping landscape management to sales assistants as well as dress-of the time because of itsattractively dressed makers, cashiers, window-dressers etc. windows and the quality of its products. Itis at present the store with the highest sales figure; in The course is held twice a year when the firm 1991 it recorded gross sales of ESP 2,000 million. presents its two collections. On ea'ioccasion there are 5 courses, each attended by between 15 The store has a sales floor of some 1,000 sq.m. and 20 people. In all about 100 people attend the and has departmentsforwomen'sfashions, course each season. accessories and leather goods.

The course is held on the firm's premises and takes The clienteleisthat customary inthis type of two full days. Staff from other cities come for this establishment, with a large number of regular purpose to Madrid where their board and lodging customers but is also popular with the wealthier in a good hotel is paid for by the firm. class of tourist. 79

1 7r4 Organizational structure It is interesting to note that two employees of this store are well.above the age of retirement and still General manager working.

Personnel manager Office managerYounger staff fall into the categories of cashier, clerical worker, warehouse assistant and delivery- Section managers: man. Most of the sales assistants are between 30 Men 1 Boutique 2 Leather 2 Acessories 2 and 35. Reception 2 The table showing the occupational structure given Display assistants: 2 below also reflects a very stable situation, with Senior and junior sales assistants: 14 (not at- only one change since 1985 due to the reduction tached to a specific section) in the number of staff responsible for the men's department. 2 cashiei s At the same time, it reflects the policy of promotion The general manager is also responsible for theamong female employees which isin line with following employees: their weighting in terms of total staff. Of the 12 4 dressmakers supervisory and managerial posts in the store only Warehouse staff: manager, assistant manager one was held by a man in 1991.1n the warehouse and general assistant and delivery sections the heads are men who have Administrationstaff:2 clericalstaff and a recently joined the firm. telephonist Delivery staff: head, 4 assistants and a driver Moreover, 8 out of 10 positions of responsibility in Cleaning staff and security personnel the store were reached by internal promotion.

The store has a total of 47 employees. 3.2.2 Working conditions The store is open from 9.30 to 14.00 and 16.00 3.2 Human Resources to 20.30 on Monday to Saturday. Employees work a 40-hour week 3.2.1 Personnel structure Sales assistants work a morning, afternoon and Table 5 - Breakdown by sex split shift of 6 hours a day on a rotational basis from Monday to Saturday for 36 weeks. The Men Women Total remaining 16 weeks, which comprise the pre- Christmas period, clearance sales and the presentation of collections, is worked in split shifts of 1985 15 33 48 eight and half hours a day from Monday to Saturday. 1991 14 33 47 The morning shiftis from 9.00 to 15.00, the afternoon shift from 15.00 to 21.00 and the split Table 6-Breakdown by age shift from 11.00 to 14.00 and 17.00 to 20.00.

25 35 50+ This arrangement of working hours is very popular with female staff as it allows them to work shorter hours during most of the year without forfeiting 1985 27 13 8 any of th,tir salary and to make it up by a longer day during the 16 weeks referred to. The fact that 1991 23 14 10 they do not have a free day during the week apart from Sunday is balanced out by the fact that they have all the afternoons or mornings free for much The above two tables show the stability of the staff of the y. ar. of this store in terms of percentage men/women; it also shows that the stc..`f is ageing. The manager, assistant managers and department managers, as welt as the administration, ware- The latter is due to the recruitment policy pursued house and delivery staff, work a splitshift of inthepast when employees wereput on 8 hours for 5 days a week. permanent contract,tothe low rateofstaff turnover among older employees -itis quiteEmployees have 31 days holiday a year plus 2 normal to find sales assistants who have been with "bridges" between bank holidays and weekends. the firmfor more than 20 years - and the recruitment policy,inwhich age was not a Salaries are made up of a fixed component and a 80 determining factor. variablesales-relatedone.Initiallythelatter

74 Table 7 Occupational structure

1985 1991

Male Female Male Female

Manager (female) 1 1.

Assistant managers 2 2

Department managers 3 7 2 7

Display assistants 2 2

Sales assistants 1 4 14

Cashiers 2 2

Dressmakers 4 4

Warehouse 3 3 (all categories)

Administration 2 1 2 1

Delivery 6 6

Security 1 1

Cleaning staff 1 1

Total 15 33 14 33

component is calculated on the basis of the sales very pleased to continue their career with the firm; figure for an average sales assistant and can rise ifthe only problem they see is the job structure, with a person's performance outstrips this. On average littlescopeforpromotiontosupervisory or a sales assistant with 2 years' service with the firm managerial posts. can achieve a net monthly salary of ESP 150,000. In line with this figure salaries in all job categories Everyone has received in-house training. are far higher than those in the retail trade in general, although no information is available as to In the case of other jobs, such as technical ones, if salaries paid by similar firms targeting a very internal promotion does not operatewhich is not elitist sector of the market. the case in this store selection is made at head officeonthebasisofthecriteriaalready The working atmosphere reflects the good work- described. ingconditionsandthefriendlyrelationship between management and staff. The firm determines its own recruitment policy. For the time being itis using fixed-term contracts as 3.2.3 Qualifications and recruitment allowed by law. Almost all those recruited over the The general level of education of employees in this past few years have been given this kind of store is very high. The team of sales assistants contract. includes six women with university arts degrees. Many of them speak one or two languages apart As alreadymentioned,turnover amongthe from Spanish. permanent staff is practically non-existent. How- ever the same was not true of sales assistants and This,coupled on occasionwithprofessional department heads in the late eighties, when a qualifications entirely unrelated to retailing, doessubstantial number left. The store's explanation is not mean that they consider their present job as that a number of similar stores were opening at temporary while they are waiting for something that time in Madrid "and our store was the best better to turn up. Most of the sales staff would be training school". It certainly seems true that many 81

7n former employees now hold good positions in rival By the author firms. The firm's training policy is entrusted to the sales/ marketing department,reflectingthefact that trainingis an integral part of the firm's new 3.2.4 Comments commercial strategy.Thisstrategy,based on The comments made for the firm also apply here. quality and service, has recently been given more emphasis, while training is being stepped up in order to adapt to the demands of a changing 3.2.5 Training market. The store's training strategy isinline with the company's general strategy. All training activities Another factor marking the firm's training policy is are decided at head office level and the store's helping staff to identify with its strong corporate role is limited to initial practical training to which culture. This together with a firm management of the manager attaches special importance and to human resources aims to enhance the status of which she herself gives time in order to ensure that professionalsalesstaff- anattitudewhich staff adapt to the job and also so 'hat she cancontrasts with what is happening in the retail assess the suLcess of training received, so as totrade generally. provide for follow-up if the person is taken on permanently. Training, therefore, is accepted and appreciated by employees,becauseitenables themto Similarly, the manager considers the store's role progress in their professional career and because vital for transmitting the corporate culture and the of the possibilitesit opens up for promotion, style of customer service proverbial at Xx. linking them more closely with an organization with a prestigious reputation for quality. In 1991, 37 menbers of the staff of this store attended the "Fashion trends and accessories" 5. Transferability courSe. A training programme such as the one used by this firm can be carried out using a wide variety of means - as is the case here - or with more modest 4. Assessment facilities. The result will not differ fundamentally. What does seem important - and this is what is By the firm transferable - is the method chosen involving The firm's assessment of the general trainingit trainee participation and hands-on experience provides is very positive and because of its long with productsinsmall groups.This and the tradition,especiallyinthe matter of productcontinuityoftrainingensurethat employees training, it is considered among the best types ofgradually accumulate a core of useful knowledge training in its category given in Spain. which they can extend while on the job.

The point causing most difficulty - and which steps People interviewed have been taken to remedy - is the matter '-of- General manager of Xx dealing with customers. This does not mean that - Personnel manager employees are not suitable from this point of view, - Person responsible for training but that the changes in company strategy have - Manager of the store described made this a prime objective in order to achieve a - Junior sales assistant in the store level of excellence in customer service. - Senior sales assistantand staff representative By the employees or their representatives The first impression gained by new recruits about the company's training activities is one of surprise because of its high standard and the amount they learn. The fact that twice a year staff attend the Fashion Trends course means that over a period of time they become more aware of such trends and also receive a considerable amount of training and information on subjects such as products, design, materials, and manufacturing processes. They thus gradually acquire a sound basic knowledge useful for their work in this type of store.

The same applies to basic training, which employees regard as an excellent theoretical training that is subsequently complemented by practical experi- 82 ence at the store. 76 FIRM "A" S.A.

1. General description of firm "A" S.A. and items of personal use, with special emphasis Firm A is a limited company of Spanish origin on the urban middle class segment of the market, which is currently foreign-owned its target group is the fashion-conscious under- it operates large stores specializing in fashionwear45s. Its 29 stores are situated in the main cities of Spain Customers: Urban middle class The strategy involves eliminating product lines Founded in 1934 typicaloflargedepartmentstoressuchas furniture, electrical appliances, hardware, com- 1.1 The firm puters etc. and a repositioning of thestores Firm A was founded in Madrid in 1934 with a staff consistent with the firm's objectives. This means of 11 and a sales floor of 300 sq.m.Itis the overhauling buildings, changing the firm's livery second largest department store in Spain with 29 and packaging materials, adopting a new style of outlets and some 8,000 employees. advertising etc.

During the fifties the firm embarked on a major At the same time, the emphasis is once more being expansion programme which led to the opening of put on the traditional principle of customer service, large department stores in many cities around thewhich had tended to become neglected under country. This expansion continued until the mid- pressure of events. seventies, when the general economic crisis hit most popular department stores. All this has led to the firm's defining a new policy for human resources and training to underpin the At the end of the seventies the firm saw its sales changes inits commercial policy, while at the down and costs rising. It was heavily indebted and same time contributing to greater productivity. Its was taken over by its main creditor bank. stores, of which there are at present 29, are situated in established or newly created shopping The situation showed no improvement and three centres and havesalesfloorsrangingfrom years later a major Spanish group took over the 16,000 sq.m. to a mere 170 sq.m. in the case of company. Financial and tax irregularities on the the smallest store, the average being part of the group resulted in the expropiation of all 11,000 sq.m. All stores have additional room for its assets in 1982, among them firm A. storage, offices, parking facilities etc.

The Spanish government ran the firm until 1985, Gross sales in the 1990/91 financial year were whenit was again privatized and sold to a ESP 100 billion. Venezuelan-owned company. The management system currently being devel- Throughout the period this company's substantial oped is based on management by objectives, with real estate holdings were a strong attraction for astores and their departments involved in fixing number of firms outside the retail sector and some them. of these were disposed of. Subsequently a British firm outside the retail sector took over firm A in Communication within the firm followed tradi- 1987. tional strictly hierarchial channels which did not help employer/employee relations when times This British group was plunged into serious crisis in were difficult. Frequent changes at management Britain, ,Ind most of its capital was acquired bylevel, the formulation of new policies and their investors and retail companies in the USA. subsequent cancellation ail subjects of great interest to staff which raised hopes and fears Since 1991 firm A has had a management team alternately were learnt of on occasion via the mass that is mainly American and is well versed in retail media in a partial and distorted form. In most matters. This team is working to turn the firm cases the information provided by the various around and restore the stores totheir former teams was restricted and full of promises. This did elegance by using new strategies to assure their much to unsettle the staff and make it anxious. competitiveness. Aware of this problem the new management has used variousinternal and external means to Thisinvolves converting the largestoresinto recreate a credible form of communication which centres specializing in fashions, household goods cannot fail to help it achieve its objactives.

Table 1- Orgaruzahonal structure

Managing director

-1- 1 1 Purchasing Sales Marketing Strategic IT and logistics Finance Public planning relations 83

77 1.2 Human resources Age is a major factor in the occupational structure affecting commercial managers, most of whom 1.2.1 Personnel structure have been with the firm for many years. The figi.nr:s for the firm's labour force in the period 1985 to 1991 show that in six years there was a Although no detailed figures are available for the fall from 9,083 to 7,827, equivalent to 14%. The job breakdown by sex, three-quarters of sales staff sharpest fall was in 1985 when efforts were madeare women, who are also well represented onthe to run the workforce dawn by means of redun- office and computer side. Very few women are to dancies and financial incentives for early retire-be found at senior management or store management. ment level although there are signs that the firm is aware of this and is taking steps to alterthe This action coupled with the subsequent recruit- situation. ment of younger personnel has reduced the average age of the workforce: 1.2.2 Working conditions The wages paid by this firm ore governed by the collective agreement for department stores, which lays down the basic salaries for all job categories Table 2 Breakdown by age and sex, 1991 except senior positions, together with additional allowances for long service and responsibility, Women Total Men annual increases etc.

Less than 25 150 667 817 The salaries cf employees in the stores themselves are composed of a fixed portion laid downby the 25 40 822 2,470 3,292 collective agreement referred to plus a variable portion dependent on sales. The fixed portion 41-55 1,778 1,306 3,084varies considerably from one section of the store and person to another, as well as according to the 55 + 461 173 634 time of year etc. but generally speaking represents about 25% of the total wage figure.

Total 3,211 4,616 7,827 In 1991basicsalariesforthevariousjob categories were as follows:

Gro.up I: ESP 1,192,365 gross p.a. Although no figures are available for the ratio of (manual, sales, warehouse and service staff) men to women in the past, the above ageand sex Total: 5,294 employees breakdown would seem to indicate that more women have joined the firminrecent years, Group II: ESP 1,263,908 gross p.a. raising their share of the total workforce to 60%. (window-dressers and display staff) Total: 124 employees The occupationalstructurein1991 was as follows: Group III: ESP 1,339,752 gross p.a. (office and computer staff) Senior managers 128 Group IV: ESP 1,420,132 gross p.a. Commercial managers: (supervisory office and computer staff) Store managers 31 Assistant store managers 19 Group V: ESP 1,505,342 gross p.a. Department managers 55 (office and computer department managers) Section managers 328 Total office and computer staff: 1,232 Other 616 Total commercial managers 1,049 Thereis a Group VI comprising general and Sales assistants 4,456commercial managers whose salaries are not Service and warehouse staff 838 regulated by the collective agreement but left to Display staff and window-dressers 124 the firm's discretion, although extra payments and Office and computer staff 1,232 annual increases are governed by the agreement.

The full working week is 40 hours; part-timers The biggest change since 1985 has been anwork either 30 or 20 hour., Part-time working is increase in the percentage of the total workforce restricted almost exclusively to staff working in the represented by sales assistants compared with stores. employees on the service side, whose proportion has been falling as a consequence of mechaniza-Central office staff work from 9.00 to 18.00 from 84 tion and automation in their areas. Monday to Friday. Store working hours depend on

I. the location, although generally speaking staff for certain qualities rather than specific training. work a 10-hour day without a break. Aspects such as personality, ability, and knowl- 2. edge of the job and of the firm are a few of the How the working hours are distributed is detailed criteria applied when selectinginternal candi- inthedescriptionof aspecificstore. Onedates for promotion to such posts. important change in working .conditions which came into effect in 1985 was the introduction ofThe whole process of selecting and recruiting part-time working, especially in the departmentexternal and internal staff is carried out with the stores and mainly for sales staff, most of whom are assistanceoftheSelectionandRecruitment womer. Department, whichispart of the Human Re- sources Department. The firm's recruitment prac- In 1991 approximately 20% of employees weretice has changed along with the rest of the retail onpart-timecontracts,mostof them being sector. In 1991, 13% of the permanent workforce women. Prior to 1985 part-time contracts were were on fixed-term contracts, compared with practically non-existent. 1.6% in 1985 when almost the entire staff were on permanent contracts. The firm's policy in this matter is to try and arrange part-time working by mutual agreement and some However, theproportionofthetotalfigure employees, especially women, accept the working accounted for by fixed-term contracts continues hours involved. Where an employee wishes to to be lower than that of many similar retail firms switch to full-time, every effort is made to find the that have come into being or established them- best arrangement for both sides. selves in Spain more recently.

Some employees work on Saturdays. These are As a general rule, if an employee has been on a mainly students. series of fixed-term contracts for 3 years, he ends up by being given a permanent contract. About 1,200 people are recruited to work in stores during the summer sales and the pre- Internal promotion at store level has been the Christmas period. The contracts are for a max-firm's usual practice as far as the male staff are imum of 3 months. These employees are given a concerned. Criteria for promotion were never very basic training course and form a pool which thewell defined, but one of them is that the person firm can subsequently draw on for permanentshould be a good salesman. This fact has led to posts when necessary. considerableshortcomingsatsupervisoryor management level as regards both the quality A point that should be borne in mind isthat and the number of staff, which the firm has sought because the number of part-time contracts and to solve through its personal development plan percentage of part-time contracts has increased,an ambitious plan for training lower-grade staff wages, which are generally low in the retail trade, for promotion. are very low for some lower-grade staff as regards both the basic wage and commission. This fairly recent measure, which we shall discuss moreindetailbelow,willalsofoster more Staff have 31 days' holiday a year or 35 days if promotions of women and thus reduce the degree they have been with the firm for more than 25 of discrimination that existed in the past. years. 1.2.4 Comments 1.2.3 Qualification and recruitment The firm's personnel structure and policy is in line The general educational level of employees is with the particular situationresulting fromits typical of that found in this type of firm with a low development and its aim of greater efficiency general educational level, which improves as the and competitiveness. age of employees decreases, and vocational training acquired on the job or, more recently, In the seventies firm A was an important company through in-house training courses. with a paternalist personnel policy concerned for the security and well-being ofitsemployees. No specific trainingis required of lower-grade Permanent contracts and low staff turnover were staff who are judged for recruitment on the basis ofsymptomatic of this attitude. various attitudes and personal qualities such as an extrovert personality, physical presence, ability toWhen the firm began to encounter difficulties and communicate and thelike. When thereis avarious attempts were made to get it back on its question of a permanent contract, the person'sfeet, the staff structure became a focal point of performance duringtheperiodof temporary attention. The workforce structure was ageing, employment is a determining factor. employees hadlittletrainingand were on permanent contracts. The firm sought means of For supervisory and managerial staff at store level, cutting down the workforce arid adapting it to the who are difficult to recruit externally, the firm looks new situation. 85 79 Thisleditto create incentivesforvoluntary is in line with a new phase in the development of redundancy and early retirement forfull-time the retail sector observable throughout the western employees on fixed contracts, many of whom world and which gives priority to aspects such as were in the older age groups. As a result thefirm quality, services, service to customers and special- was able to adopt a new recruitment policy typical ization, rather than to price. of the whole retail sector generally in order to reduce the average age of the workforce and increase its flexibility by the use of more fixed-term 2. Training policy contracts and part-time working. 2.1 Training strategy As a result, by 1991 10% of the firm's workforce The firm has been organizing training courses were under 25 and 13% were on fixed-term through its specializt training department since the contracts, while about 20% were working part- seventies.Trainingwasinitiallytargetedat time. managerial staff and subsequently at lower-grade staff. In the course of one of the takeovers suffered The firm'spresent policyisto evolve into a by the firm, the training department disappeared. specializt fashion retailer with special emphasisIt was recreated when the firm was nationalized. on customer service, and at the same time to regain the team spirit and corporate culture thatThroughout this whole period and until the current was lost. This it seeks to do through a consistentmanagement team arrived on the scene, the firm policy of training and communication. However, it undertook specific training activities in response to would appear thatthistwo-foldrecruitment requests from store or department managers, as strategy, which is that used widely by superstoreswell as basic training for new recruits or the which basically compete with each other in termsunemployed - the latter activities being almost of price, may result in Shortcomings as regards the always heavily subsidised. In the years immedi- objectives of quality and specialization being ately preceding the arrival of the new manage- aimed at. ment team, the quality of training considerably deteriorated and had basically developed into a Generally speaking, the employment of staff on source of funds through official subsidies. fixed term and part-time contracts tends to reduce employees' interest in professionalism, training, As a consequence of the management's new and working as a team, quite apart from the factcommercial policy, from late 1990 onwards the that they involve lower salaries which people seek Human Resources Department and its training unit to complement either by taking on several jobs or were revitalized and the training strategy was looking for a full-time job when the firm has changed to lend impetus to the firm's new policy. nothing better to offer. The greatest change in training policy consists in On the other hand since the training given by the the definition of training as part of a wider firm is directed to all employees, whatever hours development plan which combines a formerly they work and whatever their contract of employ- structured process aimed at remedying shortcom- ment, there is a risk of some people deciding to ings and helping people to adapt to their jobs in leave for the reasons already mentioned and of the short term, with a continuous planning process their then being taken on by firms offering betterdesignedinthe longer term to develop the terms of employment, with the result that thepotential of the staff by offering them a wide considerable investment in training fails to payvariety of courses and situational activities from off. If, moreover, one also bears in mind that thewhich to choose. general educational level of new employees tends to be higher and isfurther enhanced by the The whole process is designed to meet the firm's trainingthefirmgives,theopportunity and needs for a team of sales staff and supervisory and motivation for moving on increases. managerial staff at the stores, most of them with many years of service with the firm and able to Furthermore, given the job structure of a depart- respond to the new policy in which fashion and ment store with its large number of sales assistants, service are key aspects. It is also intended to meet promotion possibilities - which frequently call for the need for greater competitiveness, allowing the mobility - are also fewer. This again may cause firm to regain and expand its market shares. employees to lose interest, take little advantage of training and ultimately, result in high staff turnover. The firm's current training policy has also meant All this works to the detriment of the firm's current more and better tiaining staff andtechnical aids, objectives. as well as a clear definition of theobjectives set and training courses in line with them. Summing up, therefore,the recruitment policy initiated in 1985 in response to a certain stageTraining is aimed at the staff as a whole, whether in the development of the retail trade, may now on permanent or fixed-term contractsand whether 86 act to frustrate the firm's new strategy, which againworking full-or part-time. Training may be volun-

E. 0 tory or compulsory, depending on the course The first course, which has already begun,is involved. aimed at training selected sales assistants for promotion to section supervisors. The selection of In 1989 the firm organized a total of 210 courses suitable staff for the course was made on the basis which were attended by 3,099 people, around of reports from team leaders at the stores, as well half of them permanent employees and the other as ontheinformationwhichthepersonnel half temporary sales assistants being given basicdepartment was able to provide. Subsequently, training peopleoriginallychosenwereputthrough psychological and professional aptitude tests and In 1991, 435 courses were organized and in-depth interviews. Those who did well were put attended by a total of 6,600 people. In this case on the training and promotion programme if they the percentage of sales assistants taken on for so wished. Once they had accepted to do so, specific periods was less than half. attendance at the courses became obligatory.

The main differences between these two years, In future candidates will be selected on the basis of apart from the number of courses and participants an open competition for which those interested involved, were the target groups. In 1991 morecan apply. This will open up the opportunity to emphasis was placed on training the firm's own attend training courses to the entire staff. personnel and on a course content which gave priority to subjects relatingto the firm's newThe human resources department has already commercial strategy. This has also been the case begun working on the next training programme, to since. be targeted at future department managers.

Courses vary in duration between 6 and 200This programme will be open to all lower-grade hours. Most courses are 24 hours,but thestaff, whether on fixed-term or permanent con- "Consumer goods sales assistant" course that will tract. Since those on fixed-term contracts will be be described later covers 200 hours. younger and better educated, they will tend to form the majority of the group chosen. Courses take place in working hours. Employees' reasons for attending training courses Courses generally involve a great deal of student are basically their desire for professional and participation and group work,during which social recognition, and financial considerations. subjects are discussed without the trainer and later with him. There are frequent visits to stores The firm plans torun a number ofspecific and shopping centres, after. which trainees have to programmes fortheentirestaff designedto write assignments and do practical work in stores. underpin the current policy of specialization, with courses on fashion and "total service quality" in The new concept of training as part of a wider order to improve customer service. process of development, led to the creation in 1992 of a personal development plan whichIt also has a third project which is a result of closely links training and promotion. research carried out for the personal development plan. Here the objective is to improve the staff's This plan, of which the firm is very proud, was general level of education, which is very low. The begun in 1991 because of the firm's need for progromme will be voluntary and take the form of supervisory and managerial staff to implement itsa correspondence course offering a grounding in new policy at its store. The aim was to utilize the language and mathematics. potential of existing staff at lower grades to enable them torise to the highest level their abilities Training carried out during the 1990/91 financial permit. year is shown in table on the following page.

Other major objectivesofthisplan are the In addition to the courses listed above, voluntary creation of a corporate culture such as existed in language courses subsidized by the firm are held the past but which in recent years had become outside working hours. diluted, and at the same time to enhance the professional and social status of sales assistants. 2.2 Training structure Achieving this aim involved the efforts of the Human Resources Department and its three unitsOrganizational structure - development, selection and recruitment and training- which followed the whole project Human resources department through from defining necessary qualifications, drawing up job specifications, selecting lowei - Development unit grade staff with development potential, planning the training courses, evaluating them and follow-Training unit Selection and ing them up. recruitment unit 87 Table 3 - Training in 1990/91 Financial Year

Course target group Attended by Tota I Hours

Soles assistants Permanent staff 1,326 200

Commercial sales assistants Possible temp. staff 1,763 200

Introduction to selling Possible temp. staff 1,125 30

FOSS programme Senior management 66 24

FOSS programme Middle management 376 24

FOSS programme Permanent sales staff 1,538 20

Stock management Buyers 38 15

Instructors' course Junior instructors 4 24

Instructors' course Management 12 20

Production of visual teaching aids Management 11 6

Product training (Furs) Sales assistants 67 8

Retraining for sales assistants Sales assistants being 48 24 transferred

Gift packaging Packaging staff 24 15

Bar codes Monitors 54 16

Computer programmes Central unit staff 148 40

Thetrainingunit,whichformspartofthe Trainingisevaluated mainly on the basis of DevelopmentDepartment, is responsiblefor questionnaires, interviews and tests which show implementing the company's policy.Itis respon-both how much people have learned and their sible for identifying training requirements, setting opinionof thetrainingthey have received. objectives, designing training courses, preparing Evaluation and follow,up in situ is less advanced teaching aids, arranging training courses and because people occupying supervisory posts in following themup, and carryingoutstudies stores tend to be older and with no previous relating to training and vocational guidance. The responsibility of managing personnel and train- unit has very close links with other areas of the ing. However, with the start of the FOSS training Human Resources Department and works with programme for supervisory staff, assessmentof them whenever its tasks so require. on-the-job training is beginning in practice.

The training unit currently has a head of unit, oneTraining courses are offered through store man- senior and four junior training specializts, and agers who, when the course is not intendedfor the office staff. In the near future it will be acquiring entire workforce, suggest who should attend. As more training specialists and it isplanned to have we have already mentioned, participation inthe a training officer at each store.Similarly,itis personal development plan will be on the basis of hoped that the new training courses for super- open competition. visors and managerial staff at store level will involve the latter more in the practical trainingAccount is taken when planning courses of any given to their staff. suggestions made by employees, managers, or team leaders. The firm currently has 80 monitors who are trained specifically for this work. On occasion the firm The unions are not directly involved in the prepara- makes use ofexternaltrainingcourses and tionoftrainingcourses,althoughtheyare trainers, especially when it comes to courses for informed about them in the two or three meetings 88 senior management. which the firm holds with them each year. 2 In1990/91(the financial year runs from 1 Thereisnow a growing feeling among the September to 31 August) spending on training employees and their representatives that at last totalled ESP 163million,equivalenttoESP something is beginning to move. Efforts on the part 20,000 per employee. However, this high spend-of the management to change the firm's image, ing was exceptional because this was the year in the remodelling of buildings, rethinking of product which considerable reforms were made through- lines etc. have been first indications and have out the firm and a large proportion of the materials been underscored by visible changes in the firm's required for effective training were purchased. personnel policy, particularly as regards training and promotion. No information has been provided as to any cost benefit analysis of training activity, and given the However, there is still some anxiety on the staff's present situation and the firm's evolution, any such part - mainly because of the financial situation of analysis would be premature. the foreign group which owns the firm, which might oblige it to take decisions affecting firm A's The firm does have a budget allocation of ESP 25 future. million for university scholarships for personnel. Such studies are voluntary and must be carried out Union representation at the various stores takes outside working hours. the form of a committee elected by the employees, and at company level by an inter-store committee As already mentioned, the changes to the structure made up of representatives of the majority unions. of training made in 1985 were very far-reaching. At that time there were only two people respon- At present theinter-store committee has13 sible for training, and material means were very members, 5 of whom belong to CCOO, 4 to inadequate. UGT, 3 to FASGA and 1 to the Sindicato Unitario.

2.2.1 Impact on training of new tech- Relations 'oetween the firm and the unions are now nologies, legislation, changes in sales smooth ami iriendly. There is constant communica- methods, internationalization etc. tion between them and the unions are allowed the previous paragraphs we have discussedfacilities for carrying out their work. factors which have affected training.Basically thesehave been two-theintroductionof The involvement of.the unions in training is limited technology and a switch in commercial polizy toto what is laid down in the collective agreement. put more accent on fashion and service - with one This requires that the management "inform the operating in the past and the other currently. inter-store committee of training given, as well as of courses planned and further developments 2.2.2 Involvement of the social part- intended during the life of the agreement". ners in training policy Firm A is the Spanish retail firm with the largest This informationisgiven at regular meetings percentage of unionized employees the figure is between the unions and the various units of the over 5000 - and has been the starting base for personnel department, when training and related many union leaders in the retail sector. The most subjects are discussed informally. strongly established union is the CCOO, closely followed by UGT. The collective agreement governing department stores for 1991 contains the following clause on This might suggest that there has been consider- vocational training by firms: "Firms undertake to ableindustrialconflict throughout thedifficult increase by at least 5% the total number of hours years when financial problems constantly posed of vocational traiiiiiig currently given". a threat of closure. In fact the reality was very different. Although there were conflicts, some ofThe inter-store committee is provided with all the them serious, the union representatives throughout information necessary to enable it to check that negotiated and cooperated with the management this is so. to ensure the firm's survival and the security of their jobs, even though this on occasion obliged them to compromise in matters of salary and job shed- 2.3 Description of a training course ding. "Industrial peace was needed to save our Thetrainingcoursedescribedhere is the jobs", as one of the union leaders put it. "Consumer goods sales assistant" course that has been organized for a number of years with the All this did not take place without some impact on cooperation of the National Institute for Employ- the morale of the employees and their union ment which in the past helped with a subsidy. representatives, who were frequently frustrated by repeated promises from successive new owners The course is intended for the retraining of sales that came to nothing. The frustrations and fears assistants and together with the FOSS course on reflected in the lack of confidence they had in the customer service is that most generally attended management until very recently. by lower-grade staff. 89

83 a

The courses take place in rooms allocated for this be reduced or redesigned in the near future. All purpose at individual stores or at the head office in this is being done with a view to achieving the Madrid. objectives already mentioned and to focus the activity of stores on fashions and home furnish- Attendance is voluntary, but managers and super- ings. visors suggest those who need such training. The store we describe here was opened in 1983. The course lasts for 200 hours, with 80 hours of Previously it belonged to an American retail firm practical and 120 of theoretical training. Instruc- which withdrew from Spain. Some of the staff tion is given in two-week modules occupying half working in the store were taken over from the the working day. American firm. In recent years the store has seen a change in its type of customer, who originally was Practical sessions take place on the job, enabling middle and upper-class, and now serves a trainees to put the theory they have learned into growing number of people with less purchasing practice by observing, doing the job themselves power.Itis now regaining ground among its and working with their immediate superiors. original target group and is also trying to reach younger one groups. In 1990/91, 1,326 sales assistants from stores in different cities attended these courses. This figure Organizational chart is equivalent to 25% of the total. Area manager The course is targeted at all categories of employees, whether on permanent or on fixed-term Store manager contracts and whatever their working hours and the courses are arranged at suitable times to allow Assistant Store manager for this. Merchandise admin. Customer serv.Operations "Consumer goods sales assistants" course Personnel display The department store, its evoiution and its future organization. Department manager The professional sales assistant. Knowledge, skills and behaviour. The modern professional. Section managers Product information: characteristics and uses. Knowing about customers and their psychology. Sales assistants Communicating when selling. Selling techniques. The AIDDAS process. 3.2 Human resources Simulated sales situations and demonstrations. Modes of payment. 3.2.1 Personnel structure Updating administrative procedures. The store currently has a staff of 308, 63.6% of Fundamentals of merchandising. whom are women. In 1985 there were more staff Advertising and sales promotion. but the proportion of women was lower, being in Inventory discrepancies. the region of 50%. Department store security systems. New technology. Unitary control. The breakdown of staff in age terms in 199; was as follows: 3. Description of a particular store Table 4 3.1 General information The store chosen is situated in a middle/upper -25 26-40 41-55 55+ class residential area with service-sector businesses in Barcelona. The store has a total area of approximately 43 115 117 33 35,000 sq.m., 15,000 of which constitutes sales floor while the remainder is used for car parks, warehouse, offices etc. The average age of the workforce has decreased since 1985 since, as we have already mentioned, The sales floor covers 5 storeys with the usual measures to trim the workforce resulted in early departments to be found in a big departmentretirement, and the subsequent recruitment of store.In accordance with the company's newyounger staff. policy, the hardware, car accessories, kitchen furniture and bedroom furniture departments have If we compare this personnel structure with that of been done away with. Other departments such as the firm as a whole we find that in 1991 the 90 computers, furniture, books, records etc. will either proportion of women in the store was greater -

4 63% compared with 60%. It also had a larger Sunday. Half the sales assistants, and approxi- percentage of people under 25 14% compared mately 32% of the total staff are on part-time and with 10%, and of people over 55 10.7% work 20 or 30 hours a week. compared with 8.1%. However, the differences are not very striking. Wages have been referred tointhe general description of the firm. At store level commissions Table 5 Breakdown by job category in 1991 account for a substantial part of wages, as much as 30% though differing from one department to Men Women Total another. While this might be thought of as a source of problems, it does not seem to be so by the staff who appreciate other matters such as Senior management 2 1 3 product knowledge and good relations with their colleagues. Sales managers 5 11 16 3.2.3 Selection and recruitment Sales assistants Approx. 75% women199 In recent years the intake of younger staff with a secondary or even university education has raised Service managers 5 5 the general educational level of staff at this store.

Service personnel Mainly men 43 Almost the entire staff have acquired their training on the job, many of them when it was still owned Administrative 4 4 by the American firm. Selection of lower-grade managers staffis made from among those attending the basic training courses run annually in order to Clerical staff 38 38 recruit casual staff for peak periods.

The criteria used in selecting staff are personal The differences that have occurred inthe job aptitudes and the willingness to learn, rather than structure since 1985 have mainly been in the specific knowledge. breakdown by sex. In 1988 there was a smaller percentage of women among the sales managersAppointment to supervisory and managerial posts and there were men on the administrative side, is made by internal promotion at this store. So far which is now entirely occupied by women. promotion has been based on reports from direct superiors and the head of personnel. Currently the Although no figures cre available for the break- firmis implementing the personal development down of job categories by sex for the firm as a plan already mentioned and four sales assistants whole, such information as we were given shows from this store are attending courses. that the situation of ihisstore as regards the number of women and the positions of responsi- The firm's recruitment policy has dready been bility they hold is not typical. In the remainder ofdiscussed. During the eighties use was regularly the firmfar fewer women are inmanagerial made ef temporary and fixed-term contracts when positions in the stores. recruiting new staff. Now new recruits are given fixed-term contracts, which after three years are 3.2.2 Working conditions made permanent. There is a high rate of turnover The store's opening hours are.om 10.00 to among staff on fixed-term contracts mostly part- 21.00 without a break, from Mc.iday to Saturday. timers during the three-year period. This rises as high as 50% a year compared with 3% among Sales assistants have three types of working hours. staff on permanent contracts. The first is a split shift with fewer hours, starting at 12.30 and finishing at 20.15 with one hour's In1991the breakdown of contracts was as break for lunch. The second is a split shift with a follows: full working day starting at 9.45 and finishing at 20.15 with 2 hours for lunch. Staff with these Fixed-term 55 hours have one day off a week in addition to (all part-timers) Sunday. The third possibility is a 5-hour day with Permanent 251 no break, 6 days a week. Replacement staff 2

Batt, types of working day split or continuous Although no figures are available for the number are a permanent arrangement and there is noof staff on fixed-term contracts in 1985, informa- periodic rotation. Changes may be made bytion provided confirms that they virtually did not agreement. exist.

The remainder of the staff work split shifts of 8 Each year some 80 or 90 people are recruited on hours a day with one day free a week apart from temporary contracts to cover the additional staff 91

E 5 requirements over the holiday periods and atfirm's perception is more positive. It feels that the 2. Christmas,theperiodinvolved varyingfrom courses are having desirable side-effects, such as several weeks to 2 months. A large number ofrestoring the confidence of older employees and people on such contracts are students in variousarousing enthusiasm and motivation in the young- disciplines; others are unemployed and are thus er ones. able to make their way into the firm where they may end up on the permanent staff. By the employees or their representatives 3.2.4 Comments Intheopinionofthe employees andtheir The situation at this store reflects the growing trend representatives "They are now taking it (training) in large stores, with a nucleus of low-grade staff seriously". They feel that training is meeting their working full-time and on permanent contracts and needs and is in line with their interests, that itis another group, which issteadily growing, oflinked to promotion, that it helps to encourage young staff who are on part-time and fixed-term professionalism and raises the social status of contracts. Most of the latter are women. sales assistants by stressing the importance of their work and the need for training to do it. The fact that the proportion of people under 25 (14%), on fixed-term contracts (17%) and part- A sign that employees are beginning to appreci- timers (32%) is higher than the figure for the firmate traininginanother way isshown by a as a whole reflects the strategy pursued by large noticeable increase in willingness to accept the firms in their retail outlets. idea of trainingduring working hours, even though this means a reduction in their commission The firm has bn organizing training courses earnings. Although some reluctance is noticeable, since the sixties and is thus one of the pioneers in employees are more willing to attend courses in this field in Spain. working hours because of the interest they are arousing. The comments made in the chapter on the firm as a whole are particularly relevant to this store. By the author The most important aspect of training at this store 3.2.5. Training is the fact thatitis regarded as an essential Training at this store follows the general pattern of element of the firm's commercial strategy. Thus the the firm itself, though with the possibility, whichway has 1.-Gen paved for the qualitative changes has already been utilized, of organizing its own that are taking place. Because the policy is so new courses where this is considered necessary. there is little scope for evaluation at present, but the first steps taken, particularly the drawing up of In 1990/91 the course most frequently organized a personal development plan, would seem to be was the FOSS course on sales techniques in its two following the right lines and meeting very specific variants, one aimed at managerial personnel andneeds on thepart both of the firm and of the other at lower-grade staff, and the course for individuals. consumer goods salesassistants already described. Interviews clearly revealed the side-effects of the currenttrainingprogrammeinthesenseof Responsibility for training lies with the head of motivation and higher expectations. personnel who organizes the courses as planned by the central departments. Five members of the staff have been trained as instructors and have one 5. Transferability clerical assistant. A very comprehensive training programme with regular courses enables employees to keep pace with the latest changes in the retail sector and 4. Assessment refresh and improve their knowledge. The practical component encourages and strengthens the By the firm involvement of a number of employees with many The firm's current assessment of training is marked years of service with thefirm, who tend to by its awareness of the radical changes that are appreciate practical aspects more than theory. taking place throughout the organization and, specifically, in the Human Resources Department Persons interviewed and the training unit. - Assistant manager responsibleforindustrial relations and personnel management A criticism heard of training given prior to 1985 Head of the training unit was that it was more concerned with generating - Head of Personnel at the storedescribed funds than with meeting the workforce's needs. - Two union representatives, one atnational and one at store level Now that a number of courses have been recently - One junior and one seniorsales assistant at the 92 launched while others are in tile pipeline, thG store described

6 6 PART 3:

9. Concluding comments 10. Sources of information 11. Methodological note

87 SECTION 9-CONCLUDING COMMENTS

1. The case studies in situations and cases where lack of motivation is The five Spanish firms selected as case studies an important factor. share to a greater or lesser extent something that may be typical of many firms in the retail sector. The third case was a firm whose general policy This is the fact that they are, or in the recent pcst has traditionally linked staff training with total have been,involvedinradical processes ofquality and the strategies used to achieve it a change and restructuring because of the threat of situation as yet infrequently met in the retail trade. or actual loss of competitiveness due to penetration of the Spanish market by foreign firms and The remaining two cases are larger organizations retail systems. in terms of capital, number of retail outlets and employees, who allocate substantial sums to staff The five firms are facing up to the process of training. reorganization in different ways, but all of them consider the training of their employees as part of 2. Planning and design of training the restructuring. Some firms are including training courses as an element of their policy for the first time.As we have pointed out above, in most of the Others are modifying earlitT practice and are cases studied training is starting to be regarded as gradually formulating new poiicies to cope w:than important elementintherestructuringor the present situation. expansion of the firm and is planned as part of the company's general strategy. Those firms that In three of the five firms chosen for study, decisions are aiming for success through specialization or in the matter of training lie with the management. quality are altering their training concept and are In the fourth firm they are the responsibility of thedevising new and ambitious plans that accord human resources manoger and are part of general withtheir current strategy, while disregarding management strategy, while in the fifth firm there programmes devised with a different policy in is a growing tendency to link training more closely mind. with the firm's general and commercial policy. Here the success of their strategies is linked to a This latter characteristic is perhaps not common tobetter training of staff, so that efforts are made to the retail sector as a whole, although the fact thatincorporate commercial objectives in daily prac- training policies are in their infancy and being tice. implemented at a vital moment in the life of the firm justifies the hypothesis that linking training In other cases trainingis seen as a means of and general policy is far more frequent than might easing the change todifferentpolicies.This be expected. applies to companies involved in processes of expansion or specialization. In all of them the new The personnel policy in a number of the firmstraining programmes have been thought out to studied is aimed to c greater or lesser extent atmeet the needs of the firm and its objective of improving the working conditions of employees, penetrating new markets. by means of salaries higher than those collectively agreed, more rational and improved promotionOther express objectives are the creation or systems, better channels of communication and strengthening of a corporate culture, especially cther methods in order to arrive at a lower rate in those firms vho base their strategy on quality c Istaff turnover, greater productivity, a higherand high standards of service. standard of service and a return on the training given. An objective added by one of the firms studied was a greater motivation, enhanced social skills Allowing for the struoire of the retail sector, which and the "dynamization" of itsstaff. This is an is largely made up ot small individually-owned important objective in a sector which until very firms, one cannot say that the picture presented is recently was not notable for its human resources a general one. However, itis an example of the policy. training policies firms are putting into practice. Inallthe cases studied the elaboration of a Our choice of an institution in the retail trade, thetrainingpolicy and theplanning oftraining Confederación del Comercio de Cotaluñain courses is decided at top management level, or conjunction with a medium-sized enterprise,is in the personnel departments in close contact with due to the desire to offer a serious alternative to them, so as to guarantee consistency with the small and medium sized enterprises which cannotcompany's objectives.Its implementation isthe afford their own training organization but can responsibility of the personnel or training depart- formulate policies that include training. ments.

Another of the case studies revealed a trainingTraining needs are usually analyzed on the basis programme offeringinnovationsincontinuing of reports or requests which are gathered more or 93 training because of its methodology, particularly less formally at meetings between the firm's middle 88 and top management. Only one of the firms hadBasic training only exists - and this is important - carried out a systematic study to ascertain the in three of the five firms, which happen to be the current level of qualification of its employees, largest and also those with a strategy based on needs for qualification, the skills and aptitudes standardofservice,qualityof goods and necessary to achieve the objectives set, and the specialization. In all three cases basic training is training programme designedtomeet these used as a source of subsequent recruitment, firstly needs. on a temporary basis and later on to permanent posts. The absence or the shortcomings of such an analysis has in some cases led to weaknesses in On the other hand, this basic training exists almost the planning of training which become moresolely for lower-grade sales staff because of the significant with the firm's size. In one case it waslack of any sales training in the general educa- also possible to note a certain inconsistencytional system. In the case of heads of department, between the strategies formulated and the plan-floor managers, purchasing managers and the ning of the relevant training courses, and between like, the firms had no systematic basic training, the analysis of the workforce and its qualifications although this is found in superstores, which are and its present and future needs. rapidly expanding.

No involvement of the employees or of theirOrganizationaldifferences may be observed representatives was found to exist at any stage in between the training of lower-grade personnel the decision-making process or the organizationand that of supervisory and managerial staff. One of training. In some cases this was at the express of these differences is in the planning. The training wish of the firm and in others was due to thefor lower-grade staffis better planned and is weakness of thestaff representatives or theirwider-ranging than that given to supervisory staff failure to give priority to the matter because of in the various firms and is also organized in-house more urgent issues such as salaries, working hours both in terms of rooms used and instructors. This etc.Inmost casesstaffrepresentatives weremay have something to do with the difficulties informed of the firm's plans beforehand. firmshaveinfindingpersonnelsuitablefor supervisory positions on the labour market and None of the firms studied had formulated a policytheir need to get to know and train their lower- as regards employees' need for training and the grade staff better, even though all firms do not give response toit was not systematic. As a result,this express objective. The organization of intraining needs become individual issues which house training may also be explained by the firms' when treated as such may lead to arbitrariness. fear that hopes of promotion may be, encouraged, as indeed they are. The planning and designing of training in almost all the firms reflects the situation of transition from Training for lower-grade sales personnel is also an absence of policy to the emergence of one, orimproving, a fact which reflectsin employees' from one concept to another. This situation would acceptance of training; they now considerit seem to be common to the few firms in the retail worthwhile. trade which do have a training policy. Moreover, as we have seen in the course of this report, thisThe training for supervisory staff and management parallels the evolution of the retail trade itself, is very often left to the personal judgement of those whichisfaced with competition an a scale involved, and is designed to accommodate their unknown until the eighties. Traininy understood needs and the time available. In many cases it is as a list ot activities has given way to planned organized outsi.clethe firm. Older firms with training aiming to meet the needs for qualification employees with many- years of service have in the firms concerned. considerable problems convincing people of the importance of training for themselves and for their 3. Beneficiaries of training subordinates. The need for rejuvenation of the In the five cases studied all categories of employ- workforce is seen as very important - hence the ees had access to training with the exception ofcreation in one of the firms studied of specific those employees not strictly involved in selling training programmes for lower-grade personnel (drivers, dressmakers, biologists, etc.). This doeswith a view to preparing them for promotion to not mean that the quality ,;nd quantity of training such posts. offered was the same, but simply that no category of employee was excluded from training in the Office staff are given less training, whether basic firm's planning. or continuous, since they are recruited with the training provided within the framework of the In principle all the firms studied have continuing educational system and Ihey adapt to the job by training at all levels, thus for employees alreadydoing the work. Training given tends to be more workingindifferent jobsItis,therefore,not relot-d to the introduction of new systems. directly aimed at helping them to adapt to a new 94 job 69 1 1I No firm excludes employees from training on theemployees at different levels and is appreciated basis of type of contract of employmentwhether by everyone. Something similar happens with the fixed-term or permanent or on the basis offirm's own instructors,with whom employees whether they work part-time or full-time. In two of cooperate better and from whom they learn more the firms part-time employees have the same because they feel closer to them. However, this training opportunities as full-timers and coursessystem imposes an additional burden on the are organized to ensure that they can attend them people acting as instructorsif they are not to in working hours. Another two firms have no part- neglect their normal jobs. time staff.Inthefifthpart-time staff are not excluded but they may have to make a personalIn the case of Supervisory staff such as heads of effort to attend certain stages of training. department, floor managers, managers of small stores etc. there is a tendency to adopt the same No training exists for temporary employees by system, although in the past they tended to take which we mean those working one day a week orpart in outside courses. At present the impression for several days over Christmas. However, training that "There are no good trainers" for such staff and is available for those who are taken on by largerthe desire to create a corporate culture is leading firms,firstly for a period of three months over to a movement within some firms to develop their Christmas or in the summer. Such people may then own facilities for training staff at these levels. be put on longer contracts that are converted into permanent contracts in due course. In general there is also a tendency to alternate theoretical training with practical training super- In the course of our case studies we found thatvised at the workplace or elsewhere, and the women represent approximately 60% of the success of this system in the case of sales assistants workforce and account for almost 90% of lower- depends very much on the importance their gradeposts,andthat,with one exception, immediate superiors attribute to training and the promotion has to date not been available to encouragement they give to those of their staff them. Selection of those to attend training courses who receive it. and be promoted are traditionally based on the opinions of superiors and are currently being The content of training courses in the retail sector is alteredin an attempt to ensure that the firmsteadily being developed. This is because modern benefits more from the potential of its employees forms of retailing have only recently come to Spain through the application of more objective promo-and there has been no tradition of reflecting and tion criteria. Firms are increasingly aware of thispreparing training materials nor, in many cases, fact and although no positive action is being taken even people with any real knowledge of the as regards women, attitudes are changing. More-subjectsinvolved. Thefirststep was touse over, since most of the staff attending courses are materials and systems originating abroad, which women, their job prospects can be improved. had to be adapted to Spanish needs. If they were successfully adapted they were rapidly rendered 4. Content, methods and organization obsolete because of the pace of development of The organization of training in four of the five firms the retail trade in Europe. At present firms who are studied was theresponsibility of the human interested in training devote staff and effort to the resources, personnel or training department matter and devise course contents more in line the latter exists in three of the firms studied with with the needs of consumers and of the firms different degrees of autonomy. These departments themselves. generally design the training programmes with its content and duration and decide on the instruc-More frequently courses deal with the manage- tors, especially in the case of sales assistants ment of stores and the different departments, whose training is generally done in-house. There emphasizing both the financial and administrative is also a tendency to provide training for super- aspects,as well as team leadership,product visory staff in-house, whereas for senior staff knowledge (perishable produce in a first stage preference is given to training facilities available followed by other goods) and selling techniques outside the firm. where the subject of corporate culture is introduced.

The organization of internal training courses for The various types of subject-matter depend on the sales assistants also presumes the existence of different posts and job categories of trainees but internal instructors. These may be another employ- as a general rule product knowledge is that most ee, whether or not superior to the trainees, whorelated to the workOace. Subjects connected with istrained to carry out this task,or specializt management or selling techniques, which are of a instructors employed by the firm specifically formore general nature, can be found in training this purpose. programmes for both cashiers and department managers. The use of employees who occasionally give instruction on a particular subject encourages the The general nature of many training courses is 95 ideathattraining is important byinvolving probably necessary as part of the process of no providing retailing qualifications which hithertoexperiment but did not continue the exercise and was only gained on the job. In this sense it can did not consider the results very accurate. encourage job mobility at this stage. The impact of training is sometimes measured in Teaching methods are changing as well as courseterms of customer satisfaction, which isascer- content, and discussion, case study, simulated tained by means of periodicsurveys or by situations, audiovisualaids,correspondence monitoring changes in the behaviour of personnel courses and games arehabituallyusedto who have received training. stimulate motivation and involvement on the part of employees, the majority of whom have a lowThe opinions of staff as regards their behaviour level of general education and need such methods and sales perk, ..ance are alsO a useful means of to help them get the most out of training. assessment,since many employees are very aware of the fact that the new tools they have The training activities of the firms studied reflect been given will help them to sell more and sell the different stages of evolution of the retail trade better. and, since they involve different systems applic- able to different stages, may be transferable in Firms call for a more active involvement of the whole or part to those countries that are of a public authorities throughfiscalincentives or similar stage of socio-economic development. subsidies for traininginorder to remedy the traditional lack of training in the retail trade. 5.. Cost and financing For some firms struggling with the urgent problem Subsidies are currently granted by a number of of achieving cost effectiveness in the short-term, different local, regional and national authorities, trainingis an additional cost that slows downwho on occasion serve as a channel for EC their progress or expansion. For others it is an vocational training funds. These subsidies may be investment for the medium or longer term. The paid directiy to firms if they are large enough and difference in views sometimes lies in the objectives well enough organized to meet the iequirements the firms have set themselves and the strategiesset, or to intermediate bodies in the retail sector, they have devised for attaining them. thereby ensuring that small and medium-sized enterprises can have access to training at lower As a general rule firms are now investing more in cost. training than in the recent past, even though the amounts involved are in some cases insignificantHowever, these subsidies are not widely used in in relation to total personnel costs. the retail trade and only large firms have really benefited from them. None of the firms have attempted a cost/benefit analysis. They have expressed the difficulties they The two largest firms in our study had received find in performing such an exercise in a sector direct subsidies while the smallest used an outside undergoing rapid change, where a variety of organization which was also in receipt of funds. internal and external factors may influence the Theother twofirmsfinancedtheirtraining firm's progress and sales. Two years ago one ofactivities entirely from internal sources. the firms attempted a cost/benefit analysis as an

96 91 SECTION 10 - SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Previous studies of the retail trade Informe Nielsen, )985, 1988 y 1990. Nielsen Andlisis delaDistribuciónComercialen Marketing Research Espana. Andersen Consulting. 1989 La estructura del comercio catalOn. Generalitat Caracteristicas estructurales del comercio min- de Cataluna, 1989 orista y mayorista en Espana, IRESCO, 1983 Centros comerciales y mercados minoristas. Sources of information Informe y Directorio. Dirección General de In preparing this report we made use not only of Comercio Interior, Ministerio de Economia ythe publications already mentioned but also of Hacienda, 1989 specialist publications concerned with the retail Construction d'une professionnalité: Le cas du trade,such as Alimarket,Aral, Codigo 84, commerce espagnol. CIREM, 1989 DistribuciOn Actualidad, Drogueria Actualidad, La distribution en Espana. Embajada Francesa Apuntes de Franchising etc. and publications of en Madrid, 1987 the National Statistical Institute and the Ministry of- Informe sobre el comercio asociado en Espa- Labour,theArtuariosdel Mercado Espanol na. IRESCO, 1984 published by the Banco Espanol de Crédito, and Encuesta sobre el Comercio interior 1988. La Renta Nacional de Espana published by Banco Instituto Nacional de Estadistica, 1991 Bilbao Vizcaya.

97 92 SECTION 11 - METHODOLOGICAL NOTE

The lack of the relevant statistical data has been a Some autonomous communitieshavestarted constant feature of the preparation of this report. drawing up a detailed register of retail outlets. Either figures did not exist, or the statistical seriesThis has made it possible to calculate a coefficient were not long enough, or they did not relate towhich, divided into the number of licences, should identical groupings. The chief obstacle .has been give us the number of retail outlets in existence as that data on the retail trade is almost always accurately as ppssible. This coefficient may vary combined with that of other related sectors, suchbetween 1.2 and 2. as repairs and the hotel and catering trade, and that when data was available the wholesale tradeHowever, what isimportantisto realize the and middlemen were also included. increase that has taken place in the number of retail licences issued for any kind of article over The following are the explanations we consider the period 1985/1990. This reflects the growth of most necessary listed chapter by chapter. the retail trade over this period.

Section 2 No reliable figures have been found for the market Table 3 lists retail licences, that is to say the licence share of the different forms of retailing, except in that any trader has to hold in order to sell a certain the case of food. When dealing with specializa- article in his shop. tion, retail licences were again used.

This data had to be used due to the lack of any kind of commercial register in Spain, so that the Section 4 number of licences was the nearest approxima- Employment statistics pose the greatest problems tion. for the reasons mentioned above. No figures are published for the job structure in the retail trade or However, it is important to realize that shops are forthenumber ofpart-time and fixed-term not granted just one licence, but are granted a contracts.Statements not drawn fromofficial licence for each group of articles. Thus a shop statisticsare based oninformationobtained which sells only shoes will have one licence during interviews with personnel managers in the whereas a shop which sells food, clothing and retail trade. toiletries will have three.

Another problem with retail licences is that there is Section 5 no guarantee that the figures allow for the number Again, no reliable figures are available for the of closedowns in the sectora further reason for amounts spent by firms on training, not just in the regarding the figures as somewhat inflated. retail trade but in any other sector.

93 CEDEFOP - European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training

Training in the retail trade in Spain

Marisa Mendez-Vigo

Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities

1994 - 99 pp. 21.0 x 29.7 cm

ISBN 92-826-7498-3 Price (excluding VAT) in Luxembourg: ECU 8

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