staff do in-store on a daily basis and offers classes outside of normal office hours, so employees can continue working while earning the qualification.
Battery World expects the tailored courses to lead to an increase in the number of qualified employees in its franchise network and higher staff retention rates, as employees get the opportunity to upskill and feel more valued.
“We know that employees who feel valued and are given the chance to extend their knowledge tend to want to stick with an employer,” Coralee Haskew, Battery World’s operations trainer, told Inside Retail Weekly.
“It’s not just younger staff who want to extend their skills. We have younger and older staff who want to grow their strength in the business. It’s not just a millennial thing.”
Cost of upskilling
Battery World provides automotive batteries and services, such as battery testing and replacement, as well as a wider range of batteries for appliances, phones and computers. Staff need the right skillset to perform many of these services, but franchisees are often reluctant to invest in upskilling team members who may leave the business.
“Quite often business owners feel one of two ways. Either they love training and embrace it wholly, or they are more concerned about putting training into a staff member who may not be there in three years’ time,” Haskew said.
“That is a mindset that is not unique to our business; it’s across the board.”
And Haskew believes there is a broader gap when it comes to the availability of retail training.
“We work with the Australian Retailers Association on retail training, and we have our own internal training that covers off important areas like work, health and safety, and how we specifically deal with customers in our stores, but it’s something that is definitely lacking out there,” she said.
The TAFE partnership came about after some Battery World franchisees started enrolling their team members in traditional auto electrician courses. The franchisor, which has 112 stores across Australia, realised it could help to meet this demand.
“It was a 12-month process of working with the different TAFEs. They all operate in a slightly different manner, and we had to navigate the academic hoops in each state,” Haskew said.
Some kinks are still being worked out. For instance, there is a 10-person minimum to participate in the tailored TAFE courses, which leaves out many of Battery World’s regional franchisees. The company is currently working on an alternative solution.
The course costs $4500, but most students should have access to funding from the Department of Education, which would bring down the cost considerably, Battery World said.
