Developing employees as organisational assets: A Kingfisher case

study
Introduction
Kingfisher plc is one of Europes leading retailers based around three main
sectors - DIY, electrical and general merchandise. The company employs
over 130,000 people in 2,900 stores across 15 countries and has some of the
best known retail brands in Europe, including B&Q, Castorama, Comet, Darty,
BUT, Woolworths and Superdrug among others.

Kingfisher is Europes leading DIY retailer and its third largest electricals
business. It is also exploiting the opportunities of e-commerce through its
new sector e-Kingfisher. This case study focuses on Kingfishers belief that
employees are assets requiring growth and development.
Through the KMDS Kingfisher Management Development Scheme the
company aims to produce managers with a sense of loyalty and pride in the
organisation as a whole, as well as the flexibility to adapt to differing
business cultures. Whilst the KMDS has been designed to recruit external
graduates to the Group, it is now being adapted to recruit the best internal
candidates as well.

The Kingfisher Management Development Scheme

The KMDS represents a key investment by the organisation in its human
assets. The scheme takes high-potential graduates who want to make a
career in retail, and provides them with a range of experiences and training
designed to support their development to become senior managers within
seven to ten years of joining the Group.
The main objectives are:

to support Kingfishers intention to fill 80% of senior management

posts with internal candidates by 2005

to develop a cadre of managers who see themselves and are seen to

be a resource to the Group

to develop managers who will add value to the Groups operations at

every stage of their career, not just on completion of the course.

Recruitment
Investing in a trainee over ten years involves significant cost as well as risk.
The risk includes choosing the wrong type of person and equally importantly
losing the person to another organisation during the training process. For this
reason, Kingfisher places a great emphasis both on where it recruits and on
the person specification used to select the right people.
Graduate recruitment involves marketing the KMDS through visits,
presentations and careers fairs both in the UK and Europe. Candidates
application forms are screened according to set criteria. Selection is then via
a first interview and if successful at that stage, candidates are invited to
spend one and a half days at an assessment centre.
The Person Specification - the Group requires from prospective KMDS
trainees:

excellent interpersonal skills

enthusiasm and drive to become senior managers within 7-10 years

innovative approach to challenges

the ability to analyse and make clear and effective judgements based
on data and other forms of information

an interest in retail, either at a general or specific level (e.g. finance,

supply chain etc.)

a team player who can adapt to different business cultures quickly

and effectively

creativity and ability to work on own initiative

linguistic ability (at least one other language)

a variety of interests and evidence of a wide range of experiences.

Evolving the KMDS programme

The KMDS was launched in 1995 and today has 172 individuals on the
scheme working across the Group. All individuals following the KMDS route
joined in their early 20s. Recently Kingfisher has recognised that there are
benefits in opening up the process to existing high potential young managers
across the Group. This will bring a new set of individuals to the fast-track
process, and motivate existing ambitious employees. It has been decided
that internal recruits will join the process at the equivalent stage of year 3 to
5.
Following an induction in which the KMDS trainee is given a general overview
of retail, they can expect the following training:
Years 0 2

3-6 months in a store

2-3 further placements, one in commercial and afterwards in key

functions

A post-graduate certificate in management studies from Templeton

College, Oxford

A skills tool-box consisting of day-release training to develop personal

skills

A buddy who is already on the scheme to provide help and guidance.

Years 3 5

The opportunity of working in another operating company, perhaps

overseas

Developing the trainees specialist expertise

Continual training through workshop- based training

Technical mentoring by experienced staff.

Year 6

Time to consolidate the skills and expertise learnt, whilst continuing to

receive support and mentoring.

Years 7 10

Preparing for the move from middle to senior management. This

involves one-to-one support and coaching as well as experiencing
different operating companies and departments.

Underlying philosophy of KMDS

'The way you grow the next new successful management cadre is to make
sure that people come through who are able to understand these cultural
differences and not just deal with them at a distance but close up.' says
Louise Sproule, KMDS Resourcing Manager for the Group.
Kevin OSullivan, 23

Current Role: Data Warehouse Analyst, Management Information

Systems Department

Company: Comet

Project: Analysis of information requirements

What was your first role?

'I gained my initial in-store experience at Kingfisher as a sales manager for
Comet. I co-ordinated sales advisers, supervised work shifts and recruited
extra staff to cope with the Christmas rush. It was fairly manic, but provided
a valuable insight into how stores operate, the pressures they face and the
basics of people management.'
What did you achieve?
'My next role as assistant product manager for Comets Marketing
department at Head Office gave me a great opportunity to get involved with
all areas of marketing, advertising, promotions and merchandising. I worked
on building a specific range of products for that year. I had to learn about all
the different products available and analyse previous years sales figures to
establish what was selling and what wasnt. I worked closely with both the

advertising and merchandising departments to produce press and TV ads,

along with in-store display stands.'
How was your trip to France?
'My three week visit to Darty in Paris was a fantastic opportunity to learn
about an international Kingfisher company and to benchmark against my
knowledge of Comet. We visited Dartys Head Office as well as its depots,
stores and after-sales centres, and gained a valuable insight into how the
company operated and, even more significantly, how it had managed to gain
its unrivalled reputation for its excellent customer service.'
Kevin OSullivan is now a supply chain manager in Paris.
Emma Cahill, 24

Current Role: Buyer Designate

Company: B&Q

Project: B&Q Garden Tools, Housewares & Motoring

Tell me about some of your experiences at Kingfisher.

'My initial KMDS placements gave me a clear grasp of the supply chain from
conception to shelf. I gained valuable shop floor experience, contributing to
retail operations at the sharp end. I then spent time in Logistics, managing
stock levels and developing supplier relations. My role as a business planning
analyst gave me a clear overview of how the different components of the
business fit together. After experiencing some very varied roles at Kingfisher,
I arranged to work for one of Superdrugs chief suppliers, P&G, on a three
month secondment.'
How was your secondment?
'I worked chiefly on P&Gs skin care category, which includes brands such as
Oil of Ulay. Part of my research was to analyse where Superdrug stood within
the Skincare market place. I liaised with Superdrugs skin care buyer and
presented my initial findings about the definition and role of the Skincare
category to her. She agreed that a Category Management trial would be
appropriate and went ahead with it. My secondment with P&G taught me
about the upstream part of the supply chain, and the crucial yet complex
relationship between suppliers and retailers.'

Whats it like in Buying?

'After my secondment, I returned to Superdrug as Assistant Buyer for mens
toiletries. I then moved company to B&Q, where I was Buyer Designate first
for lighting products and now for garden tools and housewares. Buying is a
very rewarding and varied career. You can be doing anything: for example,
planning product ranges, working on new product development, calculating
volume requirements, making sure the space on the shelf is as productive as
possible, and being responsible for delivering millions of pounds of sales a
year. I find B&Q very exciting, particularly with its expansion into Europe and
its position at the cutting edge of the market. There are masses of
opportunities here - you just have to maximise them.'
Conclusion
Kingfisher operates the KMDS for two reasons. First, it acts as an incentive to
aid recruitment and retention of high quality external and internal candidates
who can add value to the business throughout the process. Second,
Kingfisher recognises that business success in a competitive market relies on
being flexible and able to operate within different cultures. Therefore, its
future senior managers need skills and expertise which are both portable and
adaptable.
The KMDS, in common with other management training schemes offers an
attractive set of opportunities to the employee whilst at the same time
serving the basic business objectives of the firm. The KMDS chooses as its
emphasis the combination of portable skills and expertise together with the
ability to adapt to different roles, within different stores, departments and
countries.