Saving through training

ERIKS’ award-winning focus on training could help you cut costs significantly

ERIKS’ award-winning focus on training could help you cut costs significantly

Why do some of Britain’s biggest companies, such as BAe Systems, Heinz, Kellogg and Weetabix, outsource their stores management and procurement to ERIKS? Basically, it’s because we save them money. And we save them money because the service centres we operate on their premises are managed by some of the most experienced and knowledgeable people in the industry.

They’re also highly-trained people. In fact, at ERIKS, we see training as key to ensuring that every one of our service centre managers are equipped to start saving our customers money from the very beginning. That’s why, in 2008, we decided to invest significant sums in a Business Management Development Scheme designed to further improve customer satisfaction.

It’s an investment that has proved spectacularly successful. So successful, in fact, that it has resulted in ERIKS being recently announced as the regional winner in the 2009 National Training Awards – the UK’s most prestigious recognition for training.

This scheme consists of a carefully structured training programme which aims at ensuring that all Service Centre Managers (SCMs) meet a well-defined and very high standard. Based around a series of five-day residential courses, the programme makes use of ERIKS’ advanced dedicated training facility which includes a ‘dummy’ store wired up with the company’s IT systems, and a classroom. This approach allows programme managers to simulate very closely a real-world environment, so that trainees feel, as far as possible, that they are involved with the real job.

The Business Management Development Scheme operates on a pass/fail system. Once passed, trainees must commit to a 100-day action plan, applying for real the practices they learned on the course. Training is provided by ‘module champions’ – managers with the experience and aptitude to pass on their knowledge. There is also an overall training manager responsible for running the programme.

Since the scheme started, results have been totally positive. Almost all trainees have been able to apply their knowledge at their service centres, saving ERIKS customers a cumulative total (to date) of £2.5 million with various engineering initiatives and surpassing the already-high expectations of Paul Jenno, Managing Director of ERIKS Integrated Solutions. But even this isn’t enough for him. “I have approved extra courses for potential SCMs and a new programme for office managers aimed at even further improving the focus on service and the continual improvement of customer satisfaction,” he said.