Workstar

10 October 2007

Prominent learning, recruitment and development brand Retailstar, retail specialist brand of Workstar Pty Ltd, recently announced the launch of its latest online learning series Shopbasics. Comprised of six online short courses, Shopbasics was developed to assist retailers train and prepare casual and part-time staff in the essentials of retail service. Drawing from experience with over 500 retail customers, Retailstar envisages Shopbasics will set the benchmark for retail staff training.

Using their significant involvement in the retail industry, Workstar determined that the seasonal nature of casual and part-time staff and restrictions in training budgets often means such employees were the least prepared to serve customers, maintain safety standards and help reduce theft. In response to this challenge, Retailstar's new online courses were created to be the first level of knowledge a retailer would expect for their staff in a shop environment.

According to Gerard Manion, Executive Director Workstar, "within the retail sector people play a crucial role in store and brand performance. Not only are they salespeople for the product, and representatives for the brand, they also play a fundamental role in loss prevention and are responsible for the health and safety of staff and customers. As a people-driven concept the delivery of effective retail training is therefore crucial to the success of all retail businesses. Shopbasics was developed to ensure a high standard of retail service is established across all staff."

Upon completion of each course, staff will receive a statement of attainment. The courseware is compliant with the Australian Quality Framework (AQF) standard and developed to be engaging and interactive.

The Shopbasics series is made up of six online courses including Shopready, Shoptalk, Shopconnect, Shopview, Shopsafe and Shopwatch.

• Shopready offers employers a flexible, cost effective option of training their staff in the very basics of working in a retail environment. From customer service to OH&S and loss prevention this allows retailers to induct staff and increase productivity from day one across 100% of staff.
• Shoptalk gives retail employers the opportunity to focus staff training on improving customer service, ensuring staff exercise better strategies in customer communication and selling skills.
• Shopconnect is designed to assist staff focus on developing their product/service knowledge and better advise customers on product selection. This translates into an increase in staff confidence and a measurable increase in sales.
• Shopview provides retail staff with the basic information they need to quickly grasp the key areas for improving the presentation of products within their store. Effective product display is essential for retailers to attract customers and increase basket size
• Shopsafe was created in response to the estimated $34.3 billion cost of work-related injuries and diseases to the Australian economy each year. This course presents the essential information for all retail staff to help prevent workplace injuries, and helps staff incorporate safe work practices into their everyday retail operations.
• Finally, Shopwatch targets the effect of theft in retail businesses in Australia. Each year retailers lose up to 25% of their annual profit due to theft, with up to 75% of this loss attributable to theft of inventory by internal employees. The objective of Shopwatch training is to embed processes and policies which deal with stock control, thereby helping to reduce product shrinkage and maximise profits.

Emphasising its ability to create innovative products to meet the evolving needs of modern businesses, Workstar sees the launch of Shopbasics as a pioneering initiative in providing standardised, measurable and cost effective retail training. By utilising Workstar's proprietary software 'Versity', the Shopbasics platform will have testing functionality and reporting capability which will allow businesses to identify strengths and weaknesses in their staff and ensure the implementation of company 'best practice' is consistent.

About Retailstar

Retailstar is the specialist retail brand of Workstar Pty Ltd.

Many of the region's leading employers use Workstar's award winning technology, learning content and consulting services to deliver increased sales, productivity and compliance, whilst reducing training and recruitment costs. Workstar has also been awarded major national and international multimedia projects in education and training and has received global recognition for its solutions and impact on business success.