Wednesday 12 August 2015

Alamba & Pankh put people back on their feet!



 Vitthappa Shiddappa Shirur

A native of Jadramakunte Village, Bagalkot district which lacks even basic amenities like water and power, feeding his mother and brother on a measly salary of Rs.2000 p.m., was a struggle. Added to this, was a tobacco addiction.
The Alamba team discovered him in a candidate mobilization program and after much persuasion and discussion with his family, brought him to Bangalore for the Pankh retail training program. Here, he was trained in basic computer skills and English which found him a job in Nigiris as CSA (Customer Service Associate) on a monthly salary of Rs.7.500/- apart from benefits like EPF and ESI.           

Mubarak Pasha

Born in Nellahalli Village, Mubarak worked with his father in the family-owned kirana store. But a bad debt forced them to give up the store and though Mubarak wanted to work, his disability came in the way.
At Alamba-Pankh Retail training, he learnt Communication English, Basic Computer, Retail and Life SkillsTraining. After this, he found employment in Hyper City Mall as a CSA (Customer Service Associate) with Rs.9.500/- salary per month and benefits. He was even awarded Best Performer of the Month.
Today, Mubarak has not only cleared his father’s loan, but has also booked a flat and is returning the lost dignity and respect to his family.

Sangeetha Bhimappa Kumbar
Sangeetha Bhimappa Kumbar from Muganur village was afflicted by polio at age 7. She studied till 4th standard post which she joined a girls’ hostel in Hubli to continue her education. She returned home to continue her education for which she borrowed money from friends and relatives, which she used to pay back with her disability pension.
When she heard about Alamba and Pankh project, she attended a training program. Her positive disposition found her a job in Nilgiris as a Cashier. Today, she is looking after her parents and also planning to continue her education.

Sharanappa Y Hadapad

Sharanappa Y Hadapad is from Salapur Vilage which lacks even basic amenities like power, transportation and water. His father is an agricultural coolie Worker and he has 2 siblings apart from his own wife and son. He used to run a hair salon in his village which he had to close due to lack of business. Agriculture was also not an option due to his disability. So he started simply roaming around the village depressed.
This was when Alamba found him and brought him to Alamba–Pankh Center, Bangalore. When he joined the training, he was unable to read, not even Kannada, but he soon picked up Basic English, Kannada and basic computer skills and life skill training.
Today, he works in Nilgiris earning Rs.7,500/- p.m. and all benefits which is helping him take care of his family.
                                   

Monday 13 July 2015

WINGS OF INSPIRATION: Leelavathi’s Story

If faith can move mountains, so can Leelavathi D.H.

Born to an underprivileged family in Shimoga District, Karnataka, her father could barely support his wife and five children. To further his woes, Leelavathi was afflicted with polio at the tender age of 5. 

Thanks to the support of her family, she managed to complete her B.E and Diploma in Computer Science Engineering course from Bangalore. Luck, however, did not favour her in her job pursuit. IT companies chose to look at her disability rather than her determination and finally, she had to settle for jobs in small BPOs. 3 years later, weary of late night shifts and the constant discomfort of wearing a headset, she quit.


Around that time, Leelavathi’s father attended a Pankh mobilization event and encouraged her to take it further. She underwent retail training for 60 days at Alamba Charitable Trust, one of the partners. Initially, she was diffident about finding a job, as experience had taught her otherwise, but soon her confidence grew along with her aptitude for Life Skills and Retail Modules Training. 

Today, Leelavathi is a CRM Executive at CKC Company. She is thankful to Pankh for helping her to not only dream, but dream big. She aims to rise to the position of Corporate Manager in the Administration Department. It has been just a month, but is already receiving praise for her performance from Vijender Singh, Head HR for CKC

BEST RETAIL PRACTICES IN HUMAN RESOURCES: STAR BAZAAR



Beginning this month, we are featuring activities retailers undertake to keep their employees highly engaged. This ensures job satisfaction as well as a work-life balance apart from creating an environment of camaraderie.

For the first article in this series, we feature Star Bazaar. 

1. Family Day:

A picnic on August 8, 2014 encouraged better bonding between colleagues and their family members. 



2. Holi Celebration:

Holi, the Festival of Colours was celebrated with great excitement.

3. Kids at Work:

Star Buzz, Star Bazaar’s internal ‘Fun at Work’ committee brought Christmas to life with their employees’ kids in the office with exciting activities and events. 

4. Retail Employees Day:

To celebrate the services of their retail employees and create pride of belonging to the retail community, Retail Employees' Day is celebrated on 12th December every year at Star Bazaar.

This year, employees were captured on camera speaking about their success stories, happy moments and life at Star Bazaar. This was shared with other employees across the country. Everyone was treated to a special meal and cake, followed by some fun activities. Individuals also took this opportunity to appreciate and thank other colleagues for their efforts, hard work and commitment. The result was a beautiful vibrant board proudly displaying hundreds of Thank You notes for colleagues across the organisation.

5. Swachh BHARAT ABHIYAAN – Making a Sweeping statement 

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was announced by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and launched on 2nd October 2014, Gandhi Jayanti with an aim to accomplish the vision of ‘Clean India’ by 2nd October 2019.

Star Bazaar participated in this on 27th October 2014 across all offices, stores and Distribution Centres, where employees cleaned nearby areas, thus contributing towards society by cleaning up the environment.

6. Women’s Day Celebration

To salute their contribution, Women’s Day was celebrated across the entire organization through several events which made them feel special.




Enriching the lives of 4000+ Retail Associates & Customers across 7 Cities and 13 malls in 5 Minutes.

The recommended level of physical activity for adults is usually 30 minutes of light to moderate activity 5 times a week. But what do you do if you have no time to exercise?

This was a question that constantly plagued retail associates around the country. They often stand for hours on end and hardly find an opportunity to incorporate a fitness regimen in their everyday routine. This lack of exercise coupled with work stress would take a toll on their health.

To better the lives of our people and empower them physically and emotionally, this year on June 21, International Yoga Day, TRRAIN in association with Isha Yoga Foundation, introduced a special program to encourage retail associates to invest time in their personal fitness. 

 The program involved 3-5 modules of 5-8 minute Yoga Asanas that retail associates can practice during their breaks, on the way to work and at home. These are simple, easy, do not require much time or effort and still keep one fit and healthy.

The Asanas were aimed at:

i. Energizing the body system
ii. Reduction in Stress and tiredness
iii. Enhancing the functioning of the brain leading to higher alertness

Over 4000 retail associates & customers across 7 cities and 13 malls benefited from this program.

This is one of TRRAIN’s many initiatives towards their commitment to providing health and social security benefits to employees in retail.




Wednesday 10 June 2015

Indian Retail Sales Associates Get a taste Of International Retail.

Like most professionals, front-end retail associates have dreams that extend beyond the retail counter. In 2014, TRRAIN with the help of Landmark Group Dubai took these dreams to new horizons with a 3-day International  study tour for the Top 3 winners of the TRRAIN Retail Awards 2014 - Pankaj Kumar, Vinod Badoni and Farah Khan.



The objective was to give these associates an opportunity to understand retail better through an international lens, understand where they could bring about improvements in their everyday jobs and share their learning with their peers. The intensive itinerary included studying at the Landmark Retail School to expose them to some of the Best Practices adopted by international retailers.

They had an opportunity to meet Mr. Ramnathan Hariharan, CEO Max and Director Landmark Group to understand Retailing in Dubai. They conducted store visits and detailed discussions on operations with Mr. Simon Copper, COO, Centre Point, as well as studied Max stores and Carrefour stores to understand their formats and operations. In addition, they met Mr. Mederic Payne, CEO of Home Centre and visited the Mall of Emirates and Dubai Mall to study in-line stores v/s luxury stores operations.

All 3 winners acknowledged that this was their first international exposure to retail and that they were completely transformed by it. Here are some excerpts.

Q: What did this trip mean to you?  

 Farha: The trip added to my experience. Going to these stores has helped me learn new things. It is totally different from India and was a great eye opener and a great learning.

Pankaj: My life has changed not only professionally, but also personally. I had the chance to meet the senior level people of the Landmark group. It’s like a dream come true.

Vinod: This trip was so great for us.  We learnt a lot of new things in this trip. Especially about Dubai's business culture.

 Q: After this trip, what would you like to share with your other associates in retail? 

Farha: Work harder and with more sincerity and honesty and success will eventually be yours.

Pankaj: Keep doing the good work and always delight your customers. Even you could win the TRRAIN Retail Award and make your company proud. 

Vinod: I keep motivating my colleagues also to perform their best and do something good for others without any expectations.

Q: How do you feel about winning the TRRAIN Retail Awards and getting a chance to visit Dubai?

Farha:  My family is more proud of me and respect me as an individual. My parents are extremely happy. Winning the award has increased my self-esteem and confidence. Life has more meaning. I feel like I have my own identity now.

Pankaj:  Now, everyone in my company knows me by my name, not only in Titan but also across all Tata companies.

Vinod: This trip is one of the greatest achievements of my life and I believe that the knowledge and experience I have gained during this trip will help me to grow in my career and take me to the higher level. I am very thankful to TRRAIN for this lifetime opportunity. After this trip as a National Winner of the TRRAIN Retail Awards 2014, I felt more motivated and confident in my working areas.

A big initiative which has made an even bigger difference. TRRAIN’s commitment to retail employees will continue to break new ground which will encourage every one of them across the country to deliver great customer service.

Monday 8 June 2015

Say Hello to Three of the World’s Best Sales Associates.

Inspired by the TRRAIN Retail Awards, World's Best Sales Associate awards were launched by The World Department Store Forum to recognize outstanding work in the retail sphere across the globe.

The Award Ceremony held in April 2015 in Rome awarded 3 finalists who were selected by a panel of experts, led by B S Nagesh from TRRAIN. The jury’s goal was to honour exceptional performances by a sales associate in fulfilling customer expectations, commitment beyond duty, product knowledge, team work and commercial results. Eva Bunzel, from The KaDeWe Group, won the trophy and shared some examples which demonstrated her passion and dedication to exceptional customer service. She was joined on stage by her CEO AndrĂ© Maeder.

Picking up from where we left off, we’re now going to share the inspiring stories of the 3 winners in the World's Best Sales Associate 2015 award category.

Eva Bunzel from the Kadewe Group - Winner

Eva pioneered the concept ofWellness Shopping’. When the idea was in its pilot stage, she tested it by inviting a regular customer and her friend to a presentation of the latest collections. She combined this presentation with Shiseido beauty treatment as well as catering. That’s where Wellness Shopping all began. She followed up this experiment by inviting twenty best regular customers to the Wellness Shopping session. In cases where the ladies took part with their entire families, Eva organized a tasting in the wine department of the legendary gourmet floor for the men. While their husbands were busy tasting fine wine, their better halves were advised in the latest fashion trends. At the end of that day, a purchase of approximately $ 15,000 was made. The women bought clothing, makeup and shoes and their men bought wines and multimedia products.



Two years ago, Eva received a request from an architect. He wanted her to set-up an apartment for a customer with the assistance of Eva’s personalized shopping service. The request demanded that she arrange everything for the entire apartment, from towels to crockery and cutlery to linens and kitchen appliances. What’s more, the customer had given no budget! Eva took up the challenge and with the help of some hardworking colleagues, successfully completed this job. For this assignment, she transacted about $70,000 and even secured a follow-up order for the decoration of a house.

This is a classic example of how Eva used initiative and innovation to take customer experience to new levels of amazing!

To read the stories of the other 2 finalists in this category, click here.

Roosevelt from Macy’s - Finalist

Roosevelt is no ordinary retail associate; he’s a retail ninja. That’s because Roosevelt exceeds his customers’ expectations every single day. While helping a couple select outfits for an upcoming cruise, Roosevelt took the time to offer multiple options and made sure that they would be the best-dressed couple on the boat. This initiative led the couple to send Roosevelt text messages and pictures saying, "Everyone wants to know where we got our outfits from. We told them they need to go see Roosevelt at Macy’s, White Marsh. Thank you for making us feel like a million bucks. We will be back soon to see you!"

On another occasion, Roosevelt helped a young man who came to shop for an upcoming interview. Roosevelt made sure to dress him from head to toe and even dropped some advice on what to say in the interview. Suffice to say, the young man was thrilled and also landed the job!

Roosevelt is a powerhouse combination of customer care and product knowledge. He consistently offers his customers style options and educates them on the best and most appropriate accessories for their outfits. His YouTube video series, Roosevelt Knot, which demonstrates his excellent skills in tying ties has gone viral.

On one occasion, he went beyond the "call of duty" and ran the Home Store during the biggest shopping day of the year, Black Friday, while an Executive was out. Now, Roosevelt serves as Sales Supervisor during the Holiday Season.

Little wonder why, for 2014, Roosevelt's sales were nearly $100,000 more than the previous year.


John Kirby from Selfridges - Finalist

What happens when determination, time management, multi-tasking, trend knowledge, drive and strong client networking converge? John Kirby; that’s what happens.

When presented with the opportunity to service a VIP client, who prefers to shop out of business hours and stays until well after midnight, John took up the client and went well out of his way to assist the customer. Additionally, when this client was hosting a party John arranged for her favourite celebrity to attend it.


With expansive product knowledge at his disposal, John was able to create massive amount of product and buying options for his customers. This helped him in increase YTD sales per hour to $635.00 compared to the department average of $269.00.

With a client book of 1000+ members, John continually strives to offer them specially tailored and useful services. Once a client informed John about how he broke his back in an accident. John immediately sent him a get well card and kept him up-to-date with images of new products throughout his recovery, so that he didn’t miss out on anything while he was bed-ridden. Post recovery, the client spent a great deal of money in the store. What’s more, his wife is now John’s client too.

This level of personalization combined with John’s extensive product knowledge has resulted in sales totaling $1m, exceeding his previous year's sales performance by +25%.  


Initiative, insight, innovation and imagination; these are the qualities that make successful leaders. Stay tuned to our next newsletter! Until then, we hope these three stories have inspired you to write your own story. 

Meet the Pankh Rockers!

These Retail Associates Prove That A Disability Can’t Affect Your Ability To Succeed.

When your work is outstanding, acknowledgement naturally follows. That’s exactly what Sandip Makare, Rakesh Dhakta and Veerayya S Halgimath have proven time and again. What’s exceptional is not that all three of them are superstars in their own right, but rather that they are so despite their disabilities.

From Housekeeper to 2-Time Star Performer.

Sandip Makare, who is speech & hearing impaired, completed his training with Pankh in October 2014. Since then, he’s been employed with Reliance Retail - Value format at Nerul, Mumbai. He has consistently displayed hard work, dedication & retail acumen; little wonder why he’s bagged the Star Performer Award twice already.


Meet The Superstar of NM Chocoholics.

Another such example is Rakesh Dhakta. While he has a speech and hearing impediment, his enthusiasm is far from affected by it. Rakesh, a Malad East resident, enrolled for training at the Pankh Smart Center, Santacruz in January 2015. Post training, he has developed innovative ways to communicate with customers like using graphic illustrations for pricing, among others. He works at NM Chocoholics, Hiranandani Garden, Powai, and sometimes single handedly manages the shop too. 





From Associate to 2-Time Star Award Winner and Future Team Leader.

Then there’s Veerayya, a differently abled but highly talented youngster from Dharwad, Karnataka. He found out about Pankh-Samarthanam retail training through a newspaper advertisement and enrolled himself in order to support his poverty-stricken family. That was a good choice for Veerayya whose dedication and consistency at Mega Mart, Bangalore where he is employed, has earned him two Star awards for excellent customer service and one appreciation letter too. He is highly motivated and aims to become a Manager.



Someone once said, “The only disability in life is a bad attitude”. And judging by their attitudes, we’d say they’re empowered!


If you would like a Pankh trainee to become your next superstar employee call us on 022-28443256 (or) write to us at info@trrain.org (or) visit us at www.pankhindia.org