them basic housekeeping skills. In all my 20 years I never imagined retail would be so exciting. All the Partners are so engaged with the whole process. It’s really fulfilling.


Waitrose also has a graduate student from Highlands College; 19 year old Jordan McConnell is in his second year studying a National Diploma in Retail and Business.


Neil Baxter is based at Waitrose St Helier. With 20 years’ retail experience, 12 of which have been spent in Jersey, his role as Department Manager Retail Support sees him focus primarily on Partner recruitment, pay, working hours and contracts.


‘My day starts by gathering the team together for a briefing – we discuss what the priorities are and check that the branch is running efficiently. My role in retail support means I am responsible for ensuring we have enough people in the branch to do the job and that they are in the right place at the right time.’


Recently Neil has been spending more time in the training room than on the shop floor. He is particularly keen on nurturing home-grown talent in Jersey and has been working closely with the States of Jersey Education board. ‘As part of my role I have the opportunity to work with different educational groups – the biggest focus at the moment is the “Alternative Curriculum” school. We work with underprivileged students, mostly 15 and 16 year olds, who have dropped out of mainstream education.’ Some of the students are studying a BTEC in retail and visit Waitrose for a few of their sessions. They learn the basics of retail, the different job roles, pricing and why products sell, why you have promotions and what customers want to buy. Neil works with the head teacher to design the sessions to fit into the curriculum. ‘It is very rewarding – the response we get from the students is unbelievable. We show them around the branch and they are given a £5 voucher to spend on a meal - they are amazed at how far it will go so this also teaches


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‘Jordan speaks to me weekly but is also supported by his mentor Trish Demirasal as part of a 14 week training plan. This has been very successful and we hope to take on another student after Jordan graduates.’


Waitrose encourages its Partners to become specialists in their field. Partners working on the counters, or in the wine section, can obtain a qualification (NVQ equivalent) in-house, which enables them to provide customers with informative advice about which products to buy and how to prepare them.


Nicolae Donciu (opposite) is based at the St Helier branch and is the Beer, Wine and Spirits Specialist.


Nicolae, known as Nick, started his employment with Waitrose at Red Houses as a chef in the café but moved to St Helier when a position became available.


‘It was not my plan to become a Beer, Wine and Spirits Specialist,’ said Nick ‘but my work as a chef and my passion for flavours encouraged me to look out for an opportunity in the art of food and wine matching.’ Although based in a different branch, surrounded by new faces, Nick loves the atmosphere. ‘All the Partners are friendly and welcoming. I quickly became part of the team.’


For Nick a typical day starts with ensuring the shop floor is ready for the customers. ‘I continually check customer feedback and complete orders to ensure that I maintain good stock availability, sorting deliveries, filling the shelves and speaking with


customers. I love the feeling I get when I see the customers returning to the shop time after time, fully satisfied and commenting on the strength of service and my product knowledge. I am always thinking about how I can improve the customer’s experience. I have recently begun to organise tastings which are very popular’.


Becoming a specialist has involved significant training and obtaining qualifications for Nick. After the role was advertised Nick worked with his manager to create a personal development plan. ‘I needed to increase my knowledge in this area so I took advantage of the learning resources available in the Learning Centre, based in Victoria, London. I attended training sessions held in the UK followed by exams. It was with these resources that I was able to learn and strive towards success.’


Waitrose provides online multimedia training for all Partners through a centralised portal. Each Partner has their own ‘branch training’ account, ensuring that training is specific to their needs and that all training is updated, recorded and monitored consistently. City and Guilds accredit the ‘Specialist’ and ‘Product Advisor’ programmes, enabling Waitrose to award ‘Retail Diplomas’ to Partners who complete the programme successfully. Nick holds a City and Guilds Level 3 Diploma in Retail Skills (Sales Professional), a WSET Level 2 Award in Wines and Spirits and WSET Advanced Level 3 Award in Spirits, which he passed with distinction. He is now preparing to complete the next level of this course.


The training support and structure that Waitrose provides is an attribute to Nick’s passion and motivation for his work. ‘Working for Waitrose you are in control of your own development, you are provided with the tools and support you need to progress. Of course you need to be self-motivated and willing to learn new things. Passion is what drives people towards their goals and it is passion which will help you to succeed.’


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