You lovely people! Safeway under Carlos Criado-Perez is going all out to make employees feel empowered and motivated. Helen Gregory reports Safeway staff talk about life BC, but it's not a religious reference, rather a term to describe life "Before Carlos". The chain's chief executive has instigated a raft of changes since his arrival just over a year ago and the fervour with which most staff have embraced them is akin to a religious conversion. Criado-Perez is determined to concentrate on keeping staff loyal, hardworking and happy and has brought in a raft of people-friendly ideas including new training methods using acting techniques, video conferencing between head office and depots, and simulated store training centres. Criado-Perez's bid to make Safeway "best at fresh" is already paying dividends in the shape of one million new customers in the last year, along with healthy interim profits and like-for-like sales up by a respectable 5%. Its promotional high:low pricing strategy is obviously proving a winner and now Criado-Perez is out to keep those new customers, attracted by the special deals, and make them confirmed Safeway shoppers. And with the sales figures shaping up nicely, customer service is the obvious area on which to concentrate next. The firm's recently appointed director of culture Fiona Bailey has the job of implementing Criado-Perez's vision,to produce an environment which she says will make Safeway stand out as a company and an employer. Culture is about changing the chain's working environment, she says: "The Safeway board came up with a set of values which epitomise what we stand for and it thought about how we wanted people to behave. We looked at the behaviour that had made us successful and the type of cultural climate that drives performance." Safeway now has a set of values which it aims to interpret into working practices in order to make staff feel empowered and motivated. But its motives are not purely altruistic. Bailey is frank about how it should mean staff contributing more to the business, ultimately improving staff retention and productivity. "There is a danger period in the first three months of joining the company when people often leave," she admits. "We hope that these new measures should filter through and help prevent this." "BC", Bailey says there was a tendency for staff to keep their heads down and work only within the confines of their department, almost at the expense of the company. "We didn't work together ­ in stores there was a tendency for staff to do what they were told, but it's better now." Bailey cites giving store managers more authority to run their own local promotions and the cross-company bonus scheme now in place as indicators of this. She is passionate about improving internal communications and says staff should always know the basics, such as how they're doing against the competitors. An intranet site is planned for later this year to include all this information and to keep staff in touch with events. "They also need to get this information face to face, probably cascaded down through their line managers. It doesn't always reach them at the moment ­ they don't realise how successful their stores are. Once they do, it spurs them on." Bailey has written a booklet entitled 80 Ways to Reward', which gives managers ideas about how to reward staff for good work, and is keen for staff at all levels to get recognition. "The British nature is to criticise ­ not only in retail. We want to address this." Safeway is also out to recognise heroes ­ staff who have shown exceptional customer service. Bailey cites one woman on a store's bakery counter who baked a cake herself after a desperate customer pleaded for patisseries when the shop had run out. One "special" colleague who stands out in terms of customer service is even brought up to head office for an award once a month. Even those at the top are included; Criado-Perez was baked a congratulatory cake when the company made it back into the FTSE 100 late last year. One initiative which aims to bring different sectors of the company from around the country is believed by Safeway to be unique in the industry. Once a fortnight the board and 500 other head office staff pile into an auditorium for a video link with 10 depots around the country. Store managers, checkout staff and depot workers can chat with the auditorium audience. Ideas are gleaned, questions raised and suggestions welcomed. Bailey herself MCs the events and says the excitement created can sometimes be "inspirational". "People aren't afraid to ask Carlos things. There used to be a command and control culture at Safeway and people were afraid to question. That's all changed." Besides the larger meetings, Safeway has appointed 50 "change champions" around the company whose job it is to champion change. They each talk to between 10 and 20 staff on a regular basis to glean feedback on morale and report back on their concerns. To accompany this, Bailey aims to conduct a MORI poll soon, updating a previous study in 1998, to gauge morale. A morale barometer will then be introduced and featured regularly in the staff magazine. Some staff members are also now given management study books and asked to come back and discuss their impressions with other staff. Groups are even encouraged to get creative and draw their impression of the company culture. A picture in Bailey's office shows stick men fighting a battle, complete with casualties, although she insists the graphic, drawn a few months ago, has been updated by a less bloody scene. "I want to be honest about how we're doing," she says. "To feature what we're best at and what needs improving ­ the more information people get, the better they feel." Cultural changes have taken place instore too. The new St Katharine Docks store which opened in December is the first to get a new look as well as airy staff canteen, complete with pictures of staff on the walls. A new uniform, about which the staff were consulted, was also launched at the store. Staff discounts have also been shaken up, so that new starters get theirs immediately after joining, rather than waiting 26 weeks. Bailey says there is no end to the ideas which can improve the company's culture. "It's all very practical ­ it's not soft and pink and fluffy." The chain is also out to give staff a more rounded training and is setting up a Safeway School in order to do it. It wants staff to be as knowledgeable as possible about technical issues and will open training centres around the country to help them. The first opens this month at the Hayes HQ on a temporary basis while the chain looks for permanent buildings. Six or seven more will spring up during the year. In the past, traditional staff training has usually been "on the job" but now simulated environments will be used where employees can practice away from the hustle and bustle of a live store. They aim to give staff confidence before they have to deal with real customers, particularly with new concepts and ideas. Existing staff will also get training in the centres which will include most of the facilities in a store, including check-outs, deli counters and a pizza making bar. The chain is also bringing in "retailtainment" to the St Katharine Docks store ­ trying to bring excitement and interest to the different store areas, particularly fresh produce. "It's very innovative and a big investment," says head of store training Sue Scouler-Davison. "The pizza makers at St Katharine Docks learned their skills from suppliers, but in the future we want to train people at the centres. We also plan to train bakers which could take weeks." The scheme is similar to Asda's Academy ­ where colleagues get certificates for training from "stores of learning", but they train in existing stores. Safeway believes that by using a simulated store, a more scholastic environment will be beneficial. The company plans to use the training to support the drive to fulfil another of his aims for the chain to become "best at service". Alongside the centres, staff will be encouraged to take nationally recognised vocational qualifications. By the end of this financial year, 1,000 staff will be working towards them ­ mainly first line managers. The chain even hired Maynard Lee Associates ­ a progressive training company ­ to school staff in the new London store and "maximise their potential". Theatrical techniques and actors' games were used as part of the training programme to give staff more confidence. Scouler-Davison says, however, that it is not about putting on a show for customers. "It's about keeping your own personality, keeping it natural, but using confidence to welcome people into the store, as if you're welcoming people into your own home. You make them feel special. It's a lot more positive ­ that's part of our new attitude." {{MANAGEMENT FEATURE }}

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