ertonline.co.uk February 2


June 2019


Sony has also recently rolled out the eagerly anticipated ‘live streaming’ training programme that it has been working towards.


Martin Jukes, Head of Retail at Avensys


M


r Jukes, who is Head of Retail at Avensys, says that development is a continuing process for every employee, at every level of the Avensys business.


“Our success is based largely on the contribution, commitment and achievements of individual members of our team. We want to support staff in the performance of their day-to-day jobs and to help them to fulfil their potential while they are with us. Training and development contributes to the enhancement of knowledge, skills, competence and working practices. Development is key to the success of everyone and ultimately to the success of Avensys as a whole. “Our staff rota is arranged to ensure that all retail staff are available to attend weekly training and top-up sessions.” The needs of Avensys staff are identified in a variety of ways, like skills audit, by feedback and by staff performance appraisal and every member of staff has a personal development plan that is directly linked to their training plan and objectives. Sales Advisors are trained to have an overview of all products in the retail department, but for customers who need more information about a specific area, there are also members of staff trained who can provide more in-depth knowledge. Mr Jukes uses external sales trainers and things like selling courses and online finance selling skills from Retra. He says he also takes advantage of all training from manufacturers, which offer specific product training. He continues: “We also encourage staff to take part in webinars and


product-related training sessions like cooking. Many Avensys staff have NVQ Level 2 in Retail and NVQ Level 2 in Customer Service. CEDIA also completes training at our centre and we now have eight staff qualified on their Electronic Systems Certified Technician ESC-T.”


S


Eric Floyd, Head of Training for Sony UK and Ireland


ony is an industry leader across several


categories, introductions such


and as


with OLED


and 8K TV it is important that retailer partners are up to date so they can talk to customers on the shop floor with confidence.


“When we train our retail partners,


we are able to demonstrate how Sony is specifically positioned to provide Kando, which means a ‘wow experience’, to our customers,” comments Eric Floyd, Head of Training for Sony UK and Ireland. Sony has just wrapped up its biggest training session of the year, where over 200 in-store sales representatives attended a session in London to learn all about the new FY19 line-up, across Home, Sound and Imaging categories. The manufacturer also rolled out the eagerly anticipated ‘live streaming’ training programme that it has been working towards. This allows Sony to communicate a calendar of events to retailers in advance, and the sessions can be tailored for specific


requirements and requests. The sessions will be archived and easily accessible on its private YouTube channel so they can be shared to in- store reps and used as a reference for the rest of the year. “We’ve had


a really positive


response to the training videos,” continues Mr Floyd. “This is what led to our live stream programme launching last month, which again, is the next phase in making our training as accessible as possible. “We’ve had more and more


retailers approach us wanting to use the content. This is because the videos are benefit-led as opposed to features-led, and they are bite size, so they are easy to use during a busy day in store, or as refreshers.” Sony’s next big project is the annual TV roadshow, where trainers will visit locations across UK, Ireland and the Channel Islands during June and July. The roadshow will focus on the FY19 line-up and help retailers to effectively explain product features to consumers in-store.


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