Human Capital Development
Encouraging ongoing learning and skill enhancement not only improves employees but also positions Central Retail to thrive among constantly evolving business prospects. Therefore, Central Retail must serve as a catalyst for human capital development in key areas aligned with business strategy, such as focusing on technology and customer centric skills in marketing and online sales. Higher-skilled employees can operate with more agility and flexibility, which support Central Retail’s business growth and competitive advantage.
Impact to Business, Stakeholders, and Human Rights
Investment in human capital development can promote a healthy workplace culture which motivates employees to learn. Consequently, employees can achieve higher productivity, creativity, and innovation abilities, all of which are crucial for adapting to industry changes and technological breakthroughs. As employees become more skilled, they can advance in their careers, while Central Retail become more competitive to retain and attract talents. Human capital development can increase Central Retail’s resilience, improving its attractiveness to potential shareholders and investors. Skilled employees can foster strong collaboration with suppliers, lead to the development and deliver improved products and services for customers. Moreover, a highly trained workforce contributes positively to the country’s competitiveness, benefiting the government as well.
Management Approach
Our People Strategy “A Great Place to Work”
The current business landscape is undergoing rapid evolution, presenting numerous sustainability and ESG risks, including heightened competition from SMEs and online retailers, advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) technology, and shifting attitudes towards work. In response, the Company has unveiled the Retailigence Strategy to modernize business operations to align with these emerging trends.
However, as employees are fundamental to the Company's operations, the success of the Retailigence Strategy hinges on accelerated investments in human capital development, particularly in the upskilling and reskilling of employees within the context of emerging ESG challenges. Implementing the Retailigence Strategy alongside robust investments in human capital development will not only bolster the Company’s resilience against risks but also open up new avenues for growth.
Consequently, the Company has introduced a new People Strategy titled “A Great Place to Work,” which weaves sustainability into all facets of people management. A key feature of this strategy is the focus on human capital development through three main pillars: Best-in-Class People Development, Sustainability, and Technology/AI Enhancement. This synergy between sustainability training and technology/AI enables employees to incorporate these critical elements into their daily work processes, addressing risk issues, enhancing efficiency, and fostering innovation. This innovation leads to new products and services that mitigate risks and generate tangible business benefits.
Additionally, other strategic pillars, such as the Effective & Sustainable Rewards Strategy and Healthy Organization, incorporate sustainable human resource management elements. These initiatives are designed to foster human capital development and create an optimal environment for employees to engage in new learning opportunities.
- Healthy Organization: Maintaining the appropriate balance in organizational size and composition to support high-performance and diverse teams.
- Effective Talent Acquisition: Become a “Top of Mind” employer and embrace technologies to enhance candidate journey.
- Robust Talent Management: Implement succession planning and internal career mobility to ensure business continuity and minimize disruption.
- Best-in-Class People Development: Upskill and reskill employees through leading-edge programs, focusing on ESG, functional competency, and future skills.
- Effective and Sustainable Rewards Strategy: Offer a balance between market competitive remuneration, and holistic well-being benefits covering work-life integration and flexibility.
- Fostering a Valued and Engaging Organizational Culture: A positive and open work environment that ensures growth.
- Technology/ Artificial Intelligence (AI) Enhancement: Drive innovation through the adoption of technology and AI, while building the capacity of necessary skills for employees.
- Sustainability: Ensure long-term viability of Human Resource Strategy and reinforce ESG best practices among employees.
Furthermore, Central Retail has analyzed gaps in the overall skill sets, essential competencies, and aspects to support the overall business strategy to determine. The human capital development strategy, which currently includes ten programs. Additionally, core functional skills for employees, such as content creation, omnichannel marketing, effective supply chain management, and negotiation skills for merchandising, are further developed through the CRC Academy, Central Retail’s online training platform.
To provide comprehensive training for employees working in the six key functions below, Central Retail has developed Training Roadmaps to outline the targeted training modules, workshops and practical exercises based on case studies, and mentoring programs to each key function. Subsequently, goals and indicators are set to measure tangible results of the Training Roadmap. Currently, Central Retail has developed 50 Training Roadmaps consisting of 200 courses that involve cross-functional collaboration. The Training Roadmap have been launched in 2023 for employees working in the food business segment as a pilot project. Central Retail plans to expand the scope of the Training Roadmaps to cover other business segments in 2024.
Employee Performance Management
Central Retail strongly emphasizes on skill development and achievement recognitions through employee performance management. This performance management process applies to all employees and conducted annually. At the beginning of each cycle, employees set specific individual goals that align with team objectives and the corporate plan. Mid-year, supervisors meet with each employee to discuss progress, support needs, and opportunities for advancement. Finally, year-end assessments provide a comprehensive overview of individual achievements and areas for development throughout the year, ensuring that all employees receive detailed and valuable feedback. throughout the year aim to address emerging issues and leverage growth opportunities. Consequently, employees undergo performance reviews at least twice a year, following a combined approach during each cycle:
| Objective-based Appraisal: | Objective-based key performance indicators (KPIs) are set for each employee, in line with the broader corporate and business unit objectives and KPIs.This approach ensures that supervisors and employees are aware of their responsibilities in achieving the organization’s objectives related to key areas, including financial performance, customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, sustainability, and people management. |
| Team-based Performance: | Individual employees are assessed based on team-based key performance objectives and targets. This approach emphasizes the importance of every employee to the overall success of the team, while recognizing personal achievements and increasing awareness of corporate objectives. |
| Multidimensional Appraisal: | To provide a comprehensive assessment, feedback on each employee is gathered from various sources, such as colleagues, direct supervisors, and customers. This approach takes into account multiple aspects of the employees’ contributions. |
| Agile conversations: | Central Retail actively encourages year-round coaching and feedback exchanges between supervisors and employees, facilitating opportunities for regular personal development. |
To create human capital development training programs, Central Retail needs to analyze employees’ performances to determine missing skills to achieve organizational goals. Furthermore, the goals and indicators of the program are clearly stated that the efficacy and value of the training can be assessed in a tangible way.
Personnel Development Policy
Project Highlights
Future Skills Development
Central Retail emphasizes transitional skills to prepare employees for digital transformation. The Future Skills Development program is designed to be flexible, consisting of a general module (e.g. digital literacy, data analytics and tools, agile work, etc.) any employees and a customized module for employees in functions requiring specific skills (e.g. human resource data analytics, digital mindset, digital marketing, and social commerce, etc.). In 2023, over 24,000 employees participated in the Future Skills Development program through 25 group training sessions and self-learning courses. Post-training results indicate high employee satisfaction, with more than 75% Net Promoter Score (NPS) and a strong willingness to recommend the Future Skills Development program to colleagues due to the usefulness and applicability of the skills learned. The programs have led to people development cost savings of 9.6 million baht per year as Central Retail relies less on outsourced training programs.
How to be an Impactful Influencer
The ‘How to be an Impactful Influencer’ training program is designed to enhance communication and influencer marketing skills among employees. It offers interactive workshops, role-playing exercises, real-world case studies, and online modules for continuous learning and skill reinforcement. This program supports Central Retail’s strategy to boost brand strength and customer confidence in its products and services via influencer marketing, ultimately leading to higher sales. Additionally, effective influencer marketing strategies can enhance customer loyalty towards Central Retail.
CRC Training Catalogue
The CRC Academy has developed the ‘Training Catalogue’ along with a new curriculum across 10 learning themes. This catalogue serves as a key communication tool to inform various supervisors and departments about the annual training schedule for each employee, offering customization to meet specific needs. Utilization of the catalogue spans from operational-level employees to high-level executives. Currently, the catalogue includes 130 courses, with 105 training courses and 487 classes held in 2023, attended by over 42,800 employees.
The Training Catalogue has been refined to be highly practical and relevant to job tasks, offering significant benefits to employees at all levels. It supports Central Retail’s strategic goals and desired core competencies. Departments are well-informed about the training, covering content, methods, and budgeting. This comprehensive and integrated learning approach has greatly enhanced the capabilities of departments and their staff, enabling effective planning and management of both individual and team learning initiatives throughout the year. Program evaluations have shown satisfaction scores and Net Promoter Scores (NPS) exceeding 80% and 70%, respectively. The increase in training efficiency has led to a significant reduction in human capital development costs of 100 million baht per year.
Leader as Coach
The ‘Leader as Coach’ program is designed to enhance the abilities of employees in leadership positions, fostering a deeper understanding of leadership and coaching skills. It aims to cultivate an open attitude, active listening, a sense of belonging, and contributing to the formation of more effective teams. The program includes coaching simulations, peer-to-peer coaching sessions, and ongoing leadership sharing sessions tailored for management-level employees. Additionally, ‘Leader as Coach’ incorporates sustainability-focused coaching scenarios. This training initiative helps Central Retail reduce training and outsourcing costs by 7 million baht annually.
Safety Management Program
The Safety Management Program is a comprehensive suite of internal safety training initiatives aimed at empowering relevant employees to become certified CRC Safety Trainers, preparing them for OHS officer licenses as recognized by national law. Additionally, Central Retail provides safety training for general employees, including:
- Occupational Safety, Health, and Environment for General and New Employees
- The Committee of Occupational Safety, Health, and Environment of the Workplace
- Safety Officers at the Supervisory Level
- Safety Officers at the Management Level
- Forklift Safety Drive Training
In 2023, 4,908 employees from all levels participated in the Safety Management Program, which helped reduce Central Retail’s personnel development and outsourcing costs by 9.3 million baht.
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