Dave Forsey Chief Executive 19 July 2012 - Sports Direct International

62 / MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNANCE
Corporate Responsibility Report
Employees Continued
Training and development of employees is of great importance as it
develops the skills of employees and helps increase efficiency.
During 2011/12 the Staff Training and Development Department
continued to use the Training Centre to provide state-of-the-art
facilities for the Group’s employees to flourish into champions.
The objective of this is to give every member of our team the
opportunity to be inspired, stimulated, motivated, and empowered
to do a better job.
State-of-the-art training facilities now available on the Shirebrook
campus include:
• Four specialised training environments
◦ Running
◦ Football
◦ Women’s
◦ SKU (Sports Knowledge Underground)
• 30 specialist Nike training days (SKU) have taken place since
August 2010. During 2011/2012, 13 days have taken place.
• 252 employees have now progressed to graduate level, 153
specifically in 2011/2012.
• 64 graduates have also attended a bespoke post-graduate
training day hosted by specialists in the fields of Running
and Football.
Sports Direct is the World Number One Nike trainer in terms of
percentage completion for a multiple door retailer. All salaried staff
are currently on an average of 92% completion. 100% completion
represents a 15 hour investment of their time to learn about Nike
product, Nike technology and how best to sell it. Sports Direct
also has access to the SKU app for any Apple hardware such as
i-Phones / i-Pads, and 25% of Sports Direct completion rate on
SKU is via these devices.
Health and Safety
The Group is committed to appropriate standards of health and
safety performance. The Board has ultimate responsibility for Group
health and safety performance, and receives updates on incidents
from the Head of Retail Operations on these matters.
There were no environmental prosecutions or work-related
fatalities in the business during FY12. During the Year, 1,711
(2011: 1,689) accidents across the Group were reported to Head
Office, and of these, 65 (2011:59) were reportable to the Health
and Safety Executive. 77% of accidents occurred within the stores
and 25% were slips, trips and falls that occurred within the stores.
The increase in accident figures has coincided with an increase in
the store portfolio. The continued emphasis on health and safety
training within the business has improved awareness of reporting
procedures and recording of incidents under health and
safety legislation.
The Group works with adidas and Puma to compile robust training
programmes to support in-store initiatives and products. In August
2012, 200 people will attend the adidas session and in October
2012, 150 people will attend the Puma session. Dates coincide
with the product releases for the Olympics and European
Football Championship.
New managers and existing managers attend a two-week
residential induction programme at Shirebrook. The programme
covers a mixture of shop floor-based training and classroom
centred activities. Typical subjects covered include merchandising,
administration, delivery process, health and safety, shop closure
process, product training, and retail business skills.
• 251 managers attended induction training during the Year.
A five-day residential course was introduced with the specific aim
to encourage existing employees to progress to management
positions.
• 25 employees have attended since August 2011.
Managers responsible for the footwear department in their branch
have been trained over 14 courses. The Footwear Masterclass is a
three-day residential course focusing on one of the key categories.
Typical subjects covered would include merchandising, staff
efficiency, best practice, health and safety, policies and procedures.
• 53 in the Year.
Training has extended to include our European teams between
2011 and 2012. So far 23 managers have attended a two-week
residential training programme in the UK, comprising teams from
France, Portugal, Holland, Belgium, Iceland and Hungary.
The stores have an electronic reminder system implemented.
This ensures that amongst other things health and safety
checks are carried out before the store can physically close at
the end of the working day. This will, again, increase the profile
of health and safety while improving the recording of such checks
and procedures.
Training is undertaken in-house by a team of qualified and
experienced health and safety officers. Going forward the health
and safety team will continue to train store employees and monitor
health and safety standards, and the Group is committed to
maintaining these standards.