"The People Development Partnership will help us strengthen our capability and support colleagues across our People team to deliver their part in the business strategy.
"We know that the world of work is constantly changing. Working closely with the CIPD gives us a brilliant opportunity to work together not only on how we deepen our own colleagues’ expertise, but also how we contribute to the wider profession. We very much see it as a two‐way thing. The CIPD is absolutely helping us strengthen our capability and, we can help develop the profession as well."
Harriet's story
The People Development Partner relationship covers a lot of ground. To take one example, the CIPD helped Tesco on the development of three ‘shared people skills’ – Commercial ‘Know How’; Consulting and Partnering; and Colleague Expert – designed to equip colleagues with the necessary skills to deliver on strategy. These were neatly aligned with the CIPD’s new Profession Map.
Tesco prides itself on giving its colleagues the opportunity to get on. Learning and professional development is a high priority for its people and the business takes its investment in these opportunities seriously. Over the past three years it has supported over 80 colleagues through CIPD’s Experience Assessment, the rigorous process that sees busy HR and L&D practitioners utilise their experience to become CIPD members.
‘The spirit behind this investment is all about giving our colleagues the opportunity to get on – something we are really committed to as a business – and for them to gain recognition for the skills they have,’ says Harriet.
‘It’s also about professionalising our team. We’re very proud of the work we are doing with the CIPD and we know that helping colleagues invest in their development is key to our success. Developing new skills and encouraging colleagues to make time for their own professional development, is not only important in terms of their personal growth, but for the future success of Tesco.’
Outcome
Emma Taylor, Tesco’s UK and ROI People Director believes that colleagues who have engaged in learning on the back of the People Development Partner have become ‘ambassadors’ for the experience and encourage others to take part. ‘They feel invested in and that is very fulfilling,’ says Emma. ‘That’s a basic benefit, but one not to be overlooked. Individuals come into work feeling energised and invested in because of the learning and development opportunities available to them, and so are more confident in the contribution they can make to the business.’
Tesco has also been working closely with the CIPD to develop innovative learning linked to their shared people skill, ‘Colleague Expert’. Learning on areas such as neuroscience and human behaviour supports colleagues in the People team to take more of an evidence-based approach to their work. The onus is on keeping the learning practical so that it can be easily applied.
‘We used to be quite internally focused in terms of our thinking,’ says Harriet. ‘But through our work with the CIPD, we’re better equipped to bring new thinking back into the business which helps us challenge the way we do things so that we get it right for colleagues.
‘The CIPD always give us a good, objective view in terms of what is happening in the world of work outside Tesco. That helps elevate our thinking and gives us different insights, which ultimately helps us get to a better outcome.’
