Waitrose

Employing over 27,000 Partners distributed across more than 180 branches, Waitrose is one of the UK’s leading supermarket chains. It has an unusual culture of worker co-ownership and teamwork.

Waitrose wanted to be able to ensure that the right people do the right training at the right time and that scheduling for, control of and visibility over training activity could be achieved through flexible data manipulation and reporting capabilities.

With limited opportunity for incorporating improvements, Waitrose realised that its existing Partner Training System was coming to the end of its life and that to ensure continued compliance with complex Health and Safety legislation and to enhance the management of training activity, a new solution needed to be found.

It wanted to be able to ensure that scheduling for, control of and visibility over training activity could be achieved through flexible data manipulation and reporting capabilities.

An ideal opportunity for replacing the existing system using improved technology arose through Waitrose’s decision to upgrade IT infrastructure.

Dorset Software developed the sophisticated, yet easy-to-use Partner Training Database. Unlike the previous system where each branch had a separate database for training records, the new system is centrally located at Waitrose Head Office in Bracknell.

Each branch has two PCs on which partners undertake multimedia training. Branch managers easily access reports on the partners at their branch and the training that has been, or needs to be undertaken.

Regional and central management use the central database to view individual and cross branch reports.

The Partner Training Database is helping Waitrose to maintain compliance with Health and Safety legislation and provides proof of due diligence. Improvements in productivity are evident through the reduction in organisation and administration at branch level.

Both Training and Personnel are already benefiting from vastly improved control and visibility over training activity. Training on the system is also greatly simplified with Branch and Personnel managers fully prepared in just two hours. Finally, the availability of the application on desktops business-wide is helping to educate the wider business on the importance of training.

 

Technology Snapshot

The Head Office Application was developed using Microsoft ASP.NET technologies connecting to a central MS SQL Server database. Connecting to the same database, the Branch Application was developed using Microsoft .NET technologies.



 

“We enjoy a great relationship with Dorset Software. Everyone that we come across is highly competent and professional.”

Andy Gabella, Training Design and Production Manager, Waitrose