Transcript

Chapter 09: On The Job Video: Stew Leonard's-Talent Development

>> [Background Music] A lot of people ask us what makes Stew Leonard's a great place to work. And we've been recognized by Fortune Magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For for ten consecutive years because we really care about our people. My name is Jill Leonard Tavello, and I am Vice President of Culture and Communication for Stew Leonard's. When we've surveyed our people and asked them like what makes a great place to work, we found out form them that they want to feel appreciated and recognized for a job well done. They want to feel communicated to and feel like they're in on things, you know? So, when stuff is happening around the store, they know what's going on and they know why. They want to feel that they're getting great benefits and that they're being, you know, for their family and for themselves. And they want to feel pride in the workplace. They want to know that, you know, we give to the community and that they're part of something special here. And I think every year when we take this survey of our people, we look at the results very carefully. And we look at the areas that we need to improve on and the areas that we have done really well in. And we just keep meeting with our people and trying to find out what makes you happy because we know that happy people make happy customers. It's not the other way around. You know, and if your people are happy, every day when the customers are shopping here, they're the ones who are really taking care of the customers. So, we want to make sure that, you know, they feel good about the schedule they have, about the benefits that they have, and about the position they have here at the store and that there's room for growth.

>> As Stew Leonard's, we're very proud to promote from within. Eighty-three percent of our managers have been promoted from within. My name is Rena Foche [phonetic]. I'm the Human Resources Manager up at the Newington store. I started almost 23 years ago. It was my very first job, 15 years old. I started in the deli department. So, that was the first seven years of my career part-time throughout high school and college and the deli. And I was promoted to Deli Team Leader. After I graduated college, I was promoted to the Human Resources Assistant. I loved human resources. I love human resources. I, seven years ago they opened a new store in Newington, and I was promoted to the HR Manager. So, we have a job opportunity board where we post every job that is available. We don't base on just on seniority. It's really about your attitude and willingness to grow and learn. We make sure that you have all the training that you need to be successful in your new job. So, whether it's Dale Carnegie or time management or one-on-one job coach, they really spend, they really invest in us to make sure that we feel comfortable and confident in our new jobs and new positions.

>> My name is Elizabeth Arverro [phonetic]. And I've been working here for over seven years. I started in the cashier [inaudible]. I was a cashier when I was in high school. And I worked my way up in the company, up, going up the ladder as a supervisor in the front end. I did customer service and worked in different departments in the store. And now I'm working in the Human Resources Department for over four months. And I really, really like it. I'm very excited about that. I actually have taken advantage of most of the stuff that is provided to us as in career up the ladder. I have gone, applied, and gone up the ladder. I received a scholarship here throughout my college every year for four years. And I also receive tuition reimbursement because now I am taking classes, I'm making MBA courses at UConn. And I'm taking advantage of tuition reimbursement.

>> And we just have lots of opportunities to keep people moving up so that we believe in promoting from within so that people have the opportunity here first instead of just hiring from the outside, to try a new job and to grow as an individual. So, our Future Leader Program is one of the programs we have here for some of our team members who we know we want to advance into the next level. So, they're learning more about human resources and marketing and displays and accounting and all that sort of thing so that they can be a manager some day. So, they're working and getting experiences in these areas. It's tracked. It's a two-year program. And so we feel at the end of the two years, you'd be ready to be a manager.

>> My name is James Casivas [phonetic]. I've been working at Stew's for nine years now. This was my first job, my only job. I started off as a cashier when I was 16. From there after two years I was promoted to supervisor, front-end supervisor and customer service representative. And I was, I did that for two years. Then I was approached to run the beach grill, which we had down here at our local beach. Now, I am in produce learning how to run produce in the future leader program. I've been working side by side with Scott, my manager in produce. He's teaching me how to buy. He's teaching me how to do the schedule. He was teaching me how to keep an inventory, a produce inventory, which is a very, very tight inventory. He is also teaching me how to work the floor, how to build displays. Being in the future leader program I feel very valued as an employee. I feel like they have trust in me. They have faith in me that what I'm doing is the right thing to do. And the path that I'm on is the right path. And that they seem growing with the company.

>> I don't think there's challenges to providing opportunities for your team. I think it's a good thing when you can have lots of different choices for them because they might have started out being a cashier and decided that they're interested in working in the flower department and, you know, making bouquets. And we had somebody who was working in receiving. And we found out she loved to be part of web design. And she got, we moved her over into computers and trained her in that. And so now she's one of the key players, you know, working over in our IT department. So, I think, you know, when you offer opportunities it's a good thing because not only do you bring in new people to a team that is already running. But you also get a whole bunch of fresh ideas. And they get an experience of trying something new.

PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS BASED ON THE TRANSCRIPT PROVIDED ABOVE. THANK YOU!

1. This video contains information about three Stew Leonard's employees who have moved up through the company, but it contains little information on how Stew Leonard's handles succession planning. What advice would you give to the company for creating a good succession planning program?

2. What is the Future Leader Program at Stew Leonard's? How effective do you think this program would be in developing employees and why?

3. What is the difference between job-site and off-site development methods? How does Stew Leonard's use both of these methods in developing their employees?