LABOUR PAINS OVERCOME Like every food retailer, United Norwest is finding the cost of high labour turnover and absenteeism is taking its toll ­ costing it millions of pounds. But one of the society's strengths is its chameleon-like ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions, and it has developed a number of new initiatives to help alleviate the labour problem. Head of personnel and training Steve Walker explains: "We need to reduce labour turnover. We intend to do this by increasing contract hours and by rolling out some of our new best practice working conditions, piloted at our model store in Ramsbottom." Staff at the model store work under contractual conditions entirely different from those of their colleagues elsewhere. All employees are trained in every aspect of shop floor operations and the managerial hierarchy has been reduced to just one store manager and three assistants. Below them, all other members of staff are regarded as equal and have the same rate of pay. They also have minimum contract hours. Premium rates of pay ­ on Sundays, for example ­ do not apply, and staff work on any five days out of seven. Walker says: "At one time, the school of thought was to keep the hours as low as possible in order to keep personnel costs down. That's no longer the case. "From our own research, we have found that if you want to retain quality staff and keep them happy, the optimum number of working hours should be between 15 and 30." The proof of this, says Walker, lies in the superior customer service at Ramsbottom and the improved motivation that drives the staff. United Norwest is set to divert much of its attention to the c-store division. New working practices will be tested at a model store ­ similar to its larger format sister ­ that will open later in the year. Two purpose-built c-stores due to open in October at Lowton and Winsford are set to mirror aspects of the ethos adopted at the Ramsbottom model. United Norwest is also working towards achieving Investors in People status in its c-store division and the logistics division to match that received by its larger stores, buying, marketing and store development teams. Gaining full IIP status is incredibly important for a society that prides itself on its people strategy. It would also help it achieve its goal of being a respected employer. "The society itself is committed to becoming an IIP. We want to be known as the community employer," says Walker. "To my mind, it's the evidence we require to show our people we value them and want to invest in them." Training and commitment is all part of the long road to achieving IIP status, and this starts from the top down at the society. As new strategies come into play, managers are trained to implement and maintain key performance indicators. A cross-functional group is also being developed, looking at best practice in the industry generally. It will then make recommendations to the society. And an external consultant is permanently on hand to independently analyse standards of behaviour and talk them through with staff should the need arise. Walker says: "As far as communication goes, you can never do enough. We want to avoid creating barriers between staff at different levels." United Norwest's customer care programme ­ rolled out last year ­ is another incentive aimed at keeping staff and managers on their toes. Last year most of the stores in the food division received a gold, silver or bronze award under the programme. But no one can accuse United Norwest of neglecting its staff. Every policy change is discussed and agreed with USDAW, and its profit related pay scheme is second to none. There are also schemes highlighting employee excellence. Inspirations is scheme which rewards staff for their suggestions, while the Uncle awards is a programme which acknowledges staff's work both in stores and for the society's annual chosen charity. United Norwest has also developed an intranet and recruitment web page for staff. All of these developments are described by Walker as part of the ongoing process of "breaking down barriers" and "communicating with staff". He adds: "We as a society have put our money where our mouth is and we've had a change programme that started at the very top. "But we are realistic about what we can achieve and this is one of our greatest strengths." {{Z SUPPLEMENTS }}