Asda has told store staff to expect to be more “flexible” in a major shake-up of working hours aimed at ensuring shoppers enjoy a more “consistent” experience in its stores.
In internal briefing notes seen by The Grocer, the supermarket says it is reviewing working patterns and rotas across its estate to “ensure we have the right number of colleagues at the right times to deliver task and service, consistently and productively”.
Asda wants all store workers to be multi-skilled and “flexible”, so therefore able to work across all areas of the store and stockrooms. It will focus on four key areas – “replenishment, process, serving and picking” – the briefing said.
Separately, the supermarket is also aiming to reduce hours in a small number of stores currently deemed to be overstaffed in an effort to cut its costs. Workers in those stores would be offered voluntary redundancy equating to around 1% of its total workforce, Asda said. Redundancies will not be compulsory however, it added.
Store managers were called into meetings earlier this week, with wider store colleagues notified of the proposals on Wednesday.
“We’re making some changes to our ways of working in stores to improve service and standards for customers,” an Asda spokesperson confirmed to The Grocer.
“Shopping habits have changed, with demand peaking at different times across the store.
“These changes will ensure colleagues are in the right place at the right time, while bringing greater consistency to how key tasks are completed across all locations,” they added.
The changes proposed by Asda echo a similar, and largely successful move rolled out by Waitrose over the past couple of years as part of its own Simpler Shops programme.
Store experience still a major issue for Asda
It’s the latest move by executive chairman Allan Leighton to improve Asda’s free-falling market share. The reintroduction of Rollback and price cuts, while restoring Asda’s price position over the traditional big four, has failed to draw customers back into stores.
Poor standards and a lack of consistency in customer experience between stores are seen as a major reason why shoppers are staying away. The problems were exacerbated by the disastrous final stage of Asda’s Project Future IT transition from Walmart in August, which left warehouses in chaos and shelves empty.
Last year, Asda announced it would invest £12m to improve seven stores in its Yorkshire heartland, as well as Grimsby and Stockton. However, it’s been recognised internally that a wider investment into store hours is needed to raise standards across the board.
The shake-up of working hours comes alongside a major customer experience drive launched by chief customer and digital officer Rachel Eyre last month, aimed at improving Asda’s quality perception among shoppers.
The campaign, which is dubbed “Take a Fresh Look”, has included a major upgrade of its fresh and frozen aisles, as well as a swathe of additional price cuts and loyalty enhancements.
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