HERBERT MORRICK
the HR manager at Hyper Value Holdings, the discount store chain, on signing the Basic Skills Agency’s Employer Pledge and improving the literacy and numeracy skills of his staff
“We employ about 600 people, and of those about 100 work at our head office, our central distribution point.
I started here about two years ago, alongside a new warehouse manager. We started talking about how effective and efficient people are, and looking at how we could best allocate tasks to them. We also realised that some people were having difficulties with reading or simple arithmetic, and this was affecting what work they could do and therefore how we organised rotas.
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I contacted the local college about numeracy and literacy training, and then asked all our staff if anyone would like to get involved. We held a general meeting and then sent out a notice, making it clear that it was all on a voluntary basis. I also made sure that people knew that there was no shame in participating, that I wasn’t trying to run anybody down — that it was all about helping people.
Six people signed up for the literacy and numeracy courses, which ran for two hours every week, for about seven months. We agreed with staff that we would give them an hour of work time to attend as long as they contributed the other hour out of their time.
All of the participants stuck with it, and they’ve all said that they liked the learning because it wasn’t like being in school — they were treated as adults. It’s clear to us as employers, as well as to them as individuals, that their confidence has increased.
There have been direct benefits for us as a company, including a significant drop in absenteeism and a more skilled workforce. With the first of these, before this course, people who weren’t confident with their writing or numeracy would sometimes call in sick on days when they knew they’d be faced with a task they didn’t feel capable of. That’s no longer a problem.
The increased skill level of our staff means that we’ve been able to implement a new computerised warehousing system with the confidence that staff will be able to use it; arranging rotas is easier; productivity has increased; and mistakes have decreased. We’ve spotted new talent within our pool of workers, and we’ve been able to promote from within. Which is good for us and good for our staff.”
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FACTFILE