ALI Gilbert is looking forward to working with her new partners as Basingstoke branch manager at the much anticipated John Lewis at home store on Basing View.

The 44,000 sq ft John Lewis at home store along with the 25,000 sq ft Waitrose shop are expected to open for business on November 12.

The site, just off Eastrop Roundabout in the town centre, will be the biggest co-located store in the John Lewis partnership portfolio and will provide 369 retail jobs.

Ali gives her thoughts on staff enrichment training:

“I firmly believe that the most important element of any business is its workforce. People are what make a company tick – no business can be successful without the right people behind it, and simply hiring well is not enough. In order to keep your business successful, it is crucial that you keep your staff happy and motivated.

As an employee-owned business – John Lewis and Waitrose form both sides of the John Lewis Partnership, which is not owned by City shareholders but by all of its 93,800 employees – known as partners – this is of particular significance at John Lewis at home and Waitrose Basingstoke.

My focus on our partners begins with the recruitment process. Whilst some employers scour CVs for specific qualifications, I’ve always found that the best way to recruit is by looking for individuals that I believe best reflect partnership values. Skills and processes can be taught, but attitude and work ethic usually cannot.

With the best possible team in place, it’s vital to ensure that you nurture talent at all levels. The Partnership follows the ’70-20-10’ model for development, meaning that 70 per cent of learning should happen on the job, 20 per cent through informal sessions with line management or similar, and the remaining 10 per cent through more formal training courses.

In preparation for John Lewis at home and Waitrose opening at Basing View on November 12, my team of partners is currently taking part in on-the-job training in existing branches to ensure that they are fully prepared for whatever opening day might bring.

Once up and running, I’ll be focusing on three outlets for partner enrichment: democracy, social interaction and partner development.

Democracy is at the heart of our co-owned business and as such I will be organising monthly meetings between one representative from each branch section – elected by the partners themselves – to join Jamie Rodgers, branch manager for Waitrose, and me to discuss processes and procedures to see how we can improve our place of work.

The social element is also important – Basingstoke is only the third example of a co-located Waitrose and John Lewis shop in our history, and Jamie and I want to ensure that our teams are as joined up as possible. Our teams will share back of house space such as locker rooms, an administration office and dining room, and I hope that this will encourage us to embrace a collaborative approach to work life too.

Ensuring our partners have the opportunity to develop their careers is of utmost importance whether that be to move on to other roles in other branches or to enrich their current roles.

Every employee is entitled to an annual appraisal, furthermore, Jamie and I promise that every single partner in our team, at any level, also gets a quarterly meeting with their line manager to discuss a bespoke personal development plan. By keeping the conversation flowing throughout the year, we hope that every partner will truly feel that they have the opportunity to build a successful career with us.

These are just some of the ways that we seek to recognise and reward our partners for their services to our business, and retain the people that make the partnership what it is.

I can’t wait for the people of Basingstoke to get to know my team when we open on November 12.”