Morrisons is investing millions in leadership training to "turbocharge" its senior executive team.

The Morrisons Advanced Leadership Programme was launched earlier this year, with a budget of £90,000 per head for six members of the executive team.

Although Morrisons chief executive Dalton Philips would not say who the first executives to enroll were, he confirmed that three were Morrisons lifers and three were new to the business.

After the initial programme is completed, a further 10 will join the scheme, he added.

Philips, guest editor of The Grocer this week, denied the programme was needed because of insufficient management training as the senior team rose through the ranks from the shopfloor.

"It's about taking very capable executives and turbo-charging specific skills," he claimed.

Philips, who has made a number of major appointments to his top team in the past year, said the Morrisons board had ­increased from four people to 10.

Morrisons is also ramping up its training on the shopfloor in order to boost its customer service ratings. The retailer is currently rolling out the HOT (Hello, Offer Help, Thank You) initiative to staff.

"HOT is particularly important for staff working over counters," said Philips. "We already have the craft skills instore, with more butchers, bakers and fishmongers than anyone else," he added.

"We are looking to accelerate the interaction between these staff and our customers."

Watch the full video of our exclusive Q&A with Dalton Philips, or this edited segment where he talks about the new top team at Morrisons.

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Morrisons plans to double women on top management team (24 February 2011)
Maciver exits Morrisons as management shake-up gathers pace (6 January 2011)

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