At WHSmith, there are no limits to where your talent and drive can take you. Our Learning & Development (L&D) team has designed a number of learning solutions to help our people reach their potential, regardless of what role or area of the business they work in. With this approach, we can often promote from within. The proof? A 90% internal succession rate. We review L&D programmes annually and we’re always making improvements.
Head Offices
Within our Head Offices, first-class L&D has created many success stories. Our people talk to their managers regularly about where they want to be in the future. They’re free to learn and progress thanks to a number of development programmes. These consist of workshops and individual coaching sessions. Themes include ‘Driving your own performance’, ‘Influencing’ and ‘Driving business performance through effective line management’.
Our team also participates in national ‘Learning at Work Week’ each year. Recent sessions have ranged from ‘Negotiation Skills in 60 Minutes’ to ‘Cup Cake Decorating’!
Stores
Thanks to regular training, our store teams have the skills to create a great shopping experience and our e-learning platform allows them to complete their training online.
On top of core training, there’s our Retail Academy. Programmes help our people gain promotion to store management roles. Academy students work through a series of modules, building their knowledge and skills for the role they aspire to. At the same time, they attend workshops and webinars, while being supported by a mentor.
Our academies don’t just impress our people either. Their content and format has attracted the eye of the Institute of Leadership & Management and successful students are now also awarded an industry recognised professional qualification!
