type of training they had received in their employment as casuals in the retail industry.
The respondents were obtained from a first year Anthropology class at the University of
Queensland (40 students); children of my own acquaintances (6 people); my own
acquaintances (14 people); and contacts I had made through my research in the previous
four years (20 people). While these respondents were by no means representative of
casual employees in the industry they were able to provide information on the routine
induction and training received by all employees as a matter of course. They were
employed in a wide range of 'trades', including all of those included in my AAA
categories. They included respondents from 15 years old to 51 years old. They had
worked in the retail industry for up to 23 years. The respondents from the University of
Queensland were particularly useful since I was able to match the information gained
from them with information gained from store managers in the stores where they worked.
I have chosen to present data from specific firms, rather than attempting to summarise the characteristics of each 'trade', since in no case do I have sufficient material to generalise to all shops in a 'trade'. However, the case studies do suggest why some 'trades' are characterised by higher rates of casual employment than others 3. The factors identified in the model in Chapter 2 which are likely to be of importance in affecting patterns of job tenure which have not been discussed earlier in this chapter are: managers attitudes, skills and training needs and the organisational structure of the firm. Each of these are discussed below.
How Identified Factors Shape Patterns of Job Tenure: A Discussion of Recruitment- Induction and Training
The processes of recruitment, induction and training illustrate the ways in which managers' attitudes, skills and training needs, organisational structure and social characteristics of employees intersect, with the factors identified from the A A A data, to shape particular patterns of job tenure. It is clear from the interviews that the practices which are set up by managers both reflect and shape patterns of job tenure. That is, attitudes and expectations regarding how long employees will stay in a firm shape the recruitment and training processes. At the same time the recruitment and training processes are streamlined as much as possible to ensure that staff are inter-changeable and that maximum numerical flexibility can be achieved. The ways in which this is done is partly dependent on the organisational structure of the firm. In particular, large department stores structure recruitment and training in different ways from firms with large numbers of small outlets or from 'independent' firms. The material presented below, while focusing on recruitment, induction and training processes, shows that all of these factors intersect with the social characteristics of the workforce in the shaping of patterns of job tenure in any particular firm.
The largest stores have centralised training programs which they use to ensure that store managers are trained. In rapidly expanding chains this can result in rapid promotion for full-time employees who want to make a career in the industry. As one store manager said:
"In what other industry can someone with no formal qualifications be earning $50,000 a year and have a company car, and be able to move anywhere in Australia whenever they want a change, by the time they are thirty years old?" (Personnel Manager, discount department store).
People are trained both on the job and in centralised courses. However, such promotion opportunities and training programs are not endemic to the industry. In most chains there are two very distinct groups of employees: full-time weekly employees, who are trained for promotion and the casual staff, who remain working on the floor. Trades' with this type of job structure include department stores, fast food and supermarkets. These are all 'mass retailers' which require a limited degree of skill from their floor staff and limited product knowledge. As indicated earlier, the AAA data shows them to employ a large proportion of casuals in sales positions (between 76% and 100%). These staff are predominantly young and/or female and are trained in point of sale techniques only.
From the interviews of casual employees and managers, it is clear that the induction of shop assistants is a brief process. It ranges from an hour to a few days. It involves filling in tax forms, being shown the layout of the shop and where facilities such as toilets are located and being told what to wear and what not to wear. In some cases induction includes learning to use an electronic cash register (ECR), but ECR operation is more often taught on the job or in special training courses off the job. While a few managers interviewed said that shop assistants were competent immediately after induction, most said that it took some additional time even in work restricted to one department (Table 5.1).
Table 5.1
Length of Training in Retail Stores
Shop Type Length of Time to Reach Regular Re- Induction Competence training Car sales 1-2 wks 6 months 3 hrs/wk-t- Cosmetics 4 days 6 months 0.5 dys/6wks+
4 dys/yr Jewellers 1 day 12 months 1 hr/wk Supennarkets
(A) 4 hours 2 months occas
(B) 0.5-1 hour 2 days none
Discount Dept.
(A) 1 day 2 days on-going
(B) 4-5 hours 3 months on-going (C) 0.5-1 hour 2 years (all depts) on-going Department stores
(A) 16 hours 1 month 40 hours in 1st month, on-going (B) 1 day 6 months series of courses
Fabric 4 days 1 week none
Books 1 day 3 months none
Music 5 hours 3 months none
Clothes
(A) 0.5 days 1 day seasonally
(B) 0.5-1 hour 1-3 days on-going (C) 0.5 day 1 months 0.5 days/wk + Hardware 0.5 days 1-12 years limited
Food
(A) 2-3 hours 1 year regular
(B) 2 hours 1 week none.
Scientific 3 months (approx) on-going 2 weeks-i-/year*
(Source: store and personnel manager interviews, estimates based on an 'average' recruit. * Employee not manager)
One of the most extensive and formalised training systems is that conducted by a fast food chain. The program was originally developed by the parent company in the United States of America, but has since been modified to suit local conditions. In each outlet the manager is responsible for most of the training received by new employees. This is
typical of shop assistant training in all firms. The outlet manager in this particular fast food firm (often a franchisee) is assisted in training their staff by training videos, leaflets and 'training for trainers' courses conducted by visiting managers.
The training program recognises that the availability of young people is determined by their own expectations regarding how many hours they can work without disrupting their performance at school and by their parents attitude to their employment. The firm's central management have gone to great lengths to convince parents that the employment of their children is not only not detrimental to their school performance but also that it enhances their social and emotional development. A casual job for two shifts per week is presented to parents as a stepping stone to better things because:
"When you hbe a 15 or 16 year old, you hire their parents as well. They are the ones who determine whether the young person makes their shift or not, or whether they arrive on time. We always ring up the parents of any young person who applies and ask them whether they are aware of the application. Parents have to agree and be aware of the time commitment that the young person is making before we will take them on." (Queensland State Training Manager) The parents of the employee are usually required to attend a training session with the young applicant. At this training session stress is laid on the committment of the recruit to the job. The recruits and their parents are told that the employee must be available for any two shifts outside of school hours in any given week. They are also told that they will not be able to work more than two shifts in any week in case this interferes with their school work. Once uniforms have been issued and safety and security systems discussed, parents and the employee are required to sign a copy of the company policy "just to ensure that they have read it".
Arriving for the first time, a new employee is allocated a job and put through a one to three hour training program in which s/he learns that job. There are eighteen jobs in any one outlet. These include pouring coffee, mopping the floor and wiping tables. In each case a one to three hour training package ensures that the jobs are done in a standardised manner. For example, with mopping the floor the recruit will watch a video on how it should be done. S/he will then be shown by the outlet manager again. S/he will then do the job and show the trainer how it should be done. Matters such as how much water to use, the temperature of the water and the which parts of the floor to mop first are prescribed. As the new employee works more shifts they will acquire the skills to perform a larger number of the jobs until all the jobs have been learnt.
In most Arms training is not specified in this manner. At the other extreme, a store manager of a fabric shop oudined the following training program: