The system PartnerLearn will help its 47,000 employees achieve their full potential and has been developed over the past year by the Waitrose L&D Team, in partnership with The Open University and Ashridge Business School.
It has been designed so Waitrose employees can use the site from home or outside the workplace as well as at work, fitting professional development around their other commitments.
They can also select from a range of audio, video and text based resources to suit their individual learning style.
The tool provides content from four of The Open University's CPD (Continuing Professional Development) courses on personal and team development for which Partners will receive certification upon completion. This is in addition to more than 100 20-minute bite-sized modules covering a wide range of topics from Maximising your Potential to Leading your Team and Achieving Excellence. The combination of CPD courses and short courses ensures a breadth of knowledge that can be drawn upon immediately in the workplace.
There is also an Enabling Performance Programme to provide managers with the tools they need to develop themselves and the Partners they manage. This replaces an existing course facilitated by the supermarket's Learning & Development team. It offers a range of techniques to enhance effectiveness including coaching, feedback, rapport-building, listening and questioning.
Staff from all areas of the business - branches, head office and supply chain, took part in a pilot from April to July this year, and the feedback has and is being used in the continuing development of the site.
Jo Kelly, head of talent at Waitrose, said: "We're a rapidly growing company so it was important that we came up with a new tool to help embed learning and development across a large and complex business. PartnerLearn will be integral in our continued commitment to help all Partners develop their skills and achieve their career aspirations."
