Draft-DETAILED COURSE CURICULUM

RETAIL SKILLs
BACKGROUND:

Our country has a large number of youth dropping out each year from the mainstream
education system due to various reasons after completing class Xth, and they contributes
towards large number of Un-employed group of people, who do not do anything to earn
their livelihood and are liabilities for the families. One of the reasons that they are not
already employed, is non/most of them are not skilled and although they are 10th passed
but are not seen as adequately capacitated person to undertake any kind of available job.

Reliance Foundation is trying to bridge this gap of drop out youth with un-employment
through skilling initiative and doing project on Retail Skilling in collaboration with
Reliance Retail (Fresh & market and Marts) to provide the drop out youth with Retail Skills
and Place them for Jobs locally with Reliance Fresh Outlets.

Objectives:

This programme is aimed at the following:

To sensitize and develop the drop out youth and connect them to main stream
development of the country through process of skilling.
To equip youth with the skills set needed to develop a professional approach in life
to earn their livelihood.
To create a pool of job ready and skilled youth and help them with Job placement
wherever possible.

Content/course design:

SEALs program envisages customized and short duration job oriented courses with a focus
on OJTs( on the job training) as integral part of its curriculum The main modules under its
Retail Training Program would be mainly divided into 3 sections. These are: - namely Life
skills, Behavioral Competency and Job skills and would be covered under a 10 days class
room followed by OJTs.

Life Skills: Life Skills Education is designed to facilitate the practice and reinforcement
of psychological skills in a culturally and developmentally appropriate way. These skills
will help young people become mature thinkers, build positive relationships, take
responsibility and cope with stress. Also it will enable them to deal effectively with the
demands and challenges of everyday life and lay the foundation for responsible adult social
behaviour.

It will share live examples and success stories of characters, who improved their life by
working continuously to excel and improve. The discussion and reflection around the cases
will help youth to bring in changes in thinking towards various dimensions of development
in life and set the ball rolling towards next module on developing behavioral competencies
and soft skills. Also it will help in smooth transition from theory to a more practical
understanding of development of self.

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Behavioral Competencies: What we think and how we think, gets reflected in our actions
and what we do as well as what and how we communicate, becomes the very important
part of any change process. Soft skills forms very important part of our overall development
process, while first module will try set the base for better thinking and understanding, this
module will imbibe some of the core elements of communication, required for the job that
the youth are going to be involved in and will guide them practically through role plays
and action and reflection.

Job Skills ( Retail): In todays world everything is changing very fast and so do the job
requirements and related skills. With respect to the Retail format of business, the module
will touch upon each of core concepts related to Retailing and its sub components and it
will be customized as per requirements of the recruiters. By doing various practical
exercise in groups and individually, role plays, theory and reflections will develop various
competencies of youth to handle the work expected fairly in each of these various
components of business and thereby becoming job ready. The dropped out youth would
also be exposed to basic computer knowledge as part of the Job skills, so that it becomes
easy for them to operate during the OJT and later on during their Job operations.

Methodology:

The programme aims to enhance the ability of a drop out youth, to be able to understand
every aspect of work expected critically and take appropriate actions to enhance his/her
reputation . The programme is more of practical orientation and learning of which the initial
part would be covered in the class room teaching. Main components of the programme
which is based experiential learning concept are:

Interactive class room lectures and demonstration

Case discussions, Situational discussion and analysis.
Learning by doing( Simulations)
Exposure to the different facets of Retail store operations
Role plays on various concepts, subject and issues related to behavior and
reflections.
Creative Exercises
Interactions with experts.
Hands on experience on computers.
Expected Outcome

This Skill development programme would provide an enabling environment with an

appropriate mix of skills, exposure, information and practical demonstrations to the group
of drop out youth and help them become motivated to collectively and individually learn
the various facets of retail operations on one hand and understand the Behavioral
difficulties to work upon themselves.in order to be job ready. The trained youth will then
go through a process of practical On the Job Training (OJT) at Reliance Fresh outlets and
work with existing team members to develop further capabilities. They are expected to
become a good human resources for retail format and earn their livelihood out of it.

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In the next Sections there is an outline of the Course Content, which has been divided into
basically 3 different segment. Total Training would be of class room type and all the three
segment of training which are inter-related could be covered in a period of 10-12 days.

The Trainers are supposed to devise various exercise out of these core elements of the
Contents and make it as participative as much as possible with lot of Role Plays, Fishbowl
exercise and Reflection on learning, along with Theory discussions.

LIFE SKILLS

Duration: 3 Days

Key Components: Basic concept of Life Skills with respect to interpersonal

communication, relationship, values and decision making with
examples and cases.

Life Skills abilities helps in understanding and adapting positive behaviour that enables
individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life. The
interpersonal skills that promotes mental wellbeing can lead to a healthy and productive
life, which will help youth to develop themselves further in work and life and maintain a
better relationship with others. It is expected that that Life skills can help in developing
competencies and actual behaviours based on the strengths of individual later on, if they
are aware about the same. Some of these Life skills needs to be worked upon and developed
in order to become a more matured individual.

Communication, relationship and decision making skills;

Thinking, social and negotiation skills; and

Decision-making, interpersonal communication, values, emotions,

These are referred to as generic life skills; they will help youth to deal effectively with the
challenges of life when they work. The competencies around these, is expected to help
youth become mature thinkers, build positive relationships, take responsibility and cope
with stress, when they are at work.

Core Life Skills consists of followings, which needs to be taught through using cases,
role plays, group exercise, and lot of reflection.

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 Social Skills

1. Self-Awareness

2. Effective Communication

3. Interpersonal Relationship

4. Empathy

Thinking Skills

5. Creative Thinking

6. Critical Thinking

7. Decision Making

8. Problem Solving

Emotional Skills

9. Coping with Stress

10. Coping with Emotions

A mix of Role Plays, Case study and reflection exercise, along with some important section
of Theory will form part of the Life Skill sessions, which will open the youth to realize
their weaknesses and to work upon their strengths After completion of each session, all the
things which the team learnt would be counted and repeated one by one for reinforcing the
message.

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SOFT SKILLS:

Duration: 3 Days

Key components: (General Etiquettes, Articulation, Body language and Patient listening)

Communication is at heart of everything we do in business, yet poor communication is a

huge problem for job, causing low morale and poor performance. In the business of Retail
Industry, its all about the initial engagement and how the engagement commences that
determines how the rest of the shopping experience will go. The set of skills and etiquette
that are required by retail sales associates to facilitate positive initial engagements with
customers, is known as Soft skills. It consists of many small components and all have
significant role in enhancing the business results and therefore very important for the
frontline people to understand and act upon accordingly. Some of these are:

Confidence: The confidence to make eye contact and strike up a conversation with
strangers is absolutely essential.

Innate friendliness: Customers dont want to deal with sales associates who have to
force themselves to be pleasant and nice.

Flexibility: When dealing with the public, things can go wrong. One have to be flexible
enough to roll with the punches and think differently sometimes.

Ability to multitask: Sales associates have to juggle customers and their questions and
needs, and at the same time attend to their other store duties.

Patience: Dealing with people means that you will have to take the good with the bad.
The patience to deal with all types of customers is vital.

Articulate: Sales reps must be conversational and have the ability to formulate answers
and provide information when asked.

Respectful: The customer might not always be right, but she is always the customer.
Customers must be treated with respect, even in the most challenging situations.

Proactive: Its never a good idea to wait until a customer is stressed or agitated before
offering assistance. Being one step ahead to gauge when someone needs help is the best
way to minimize a brewing situation.

Positivity: The ability to smile in the face of a long and possibly chaotic day can make a
world of difference to customers.

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Empathy: Being able to look at a situation through the eyes of a customer is an
extremely valuable skill that can enable one to provide the better degree of service.

In this part of the Training, the Trainees would be exposed to basic concepts of
Communication through Discussion on the subject with little theory along with role plays,
practice of some of the basic etiquette in English and Hindi to make customers feel
comfortable and delighted.

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JOB SkILLS:

Duration : 4 Days

INTRODUCTION TO RETAIL

Key Components: (RETAIL,WHOLESALE, ORGANIZED RETAIL,

UNORGANIZED RETAIL, RETAILER , CUSTOMER,
CONSUMER)

Explanation on these key concepts:

RETAIL,WHOLESALE, ORGANIZED RETAIL UNORGANIZED RETAIL

RETAILER, CUSTOMER, CONSUMER

WHAT IS RETAILING?

TYPES OF RETAILING FORMATS

Key Concepts: (RETAIL FORMAT,MERCHANDISE, PERISHABLE GOODS,

NON-PERISHABLE GOODS, APPAREL)

Explanation of Key Concepts:

RETAIL FORMAT:

MERCHANDISE:

PERISHABLE GOODS:

NON-PERISHABLE GOODS:
APPAREL:
RETAILING FORMATS:

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 SUPER
HYPER MARKET DEPARTME
MARKET NT STORES

DISCOUNT CONVENIENCE
STORES RETAILING STORES
FORMATS

SPECIALITY
MALLS
STORES

RETAIL MERCHANDISING

Key Concepts: (MERCHANDISING, RETAIL BUYING, VISUAL

MERCHANDISING, SHRINKAGE)

Explanation of Key Concepts:

MERCHANDISING:
RETAIL BUYING:
VISUAL MERCHANDISING:
SHRINKAGE:

WHAT IS MERCHANDISING?

The planning, buying and selling of the merchandise. Merchandising assures that the
right product is available in the right place to the right people, and at the right time.

MERCHANDISE PLANNING: Seven Rights in Retail

For a retailer, the objective of merchandise planning is clear: achieving the following seven
RIGHTS:

The Right Product

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 The Right Place
The Right Quantity
The Right Quality
The Right Price
The Right Mix
The Right Time

The function of merchandising is to achieve all these rights so that the sales are high and
thus more profits.

Set up & Display:

Tools for Effective Visual

Merchandising

Colors Sizes Props Lighting Mannequin

s

Common Errors in creating the display:

Clutter:
Lack of a Theme:
Too many Props:
Dirty Floors:.
Poor Lighting:

SHRINKAGE IN RETAIL:

Point to ponder:

Visual merchandising is the orderly, systematic and intelligent way of displaying

merchandise in the retail store. To produce good visual merchandising, it is vital to
understand the product and the customer.

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 Shrinkage is the difference between what stock you should have and what you actually
have.

MARKETING & BRANDING

Key Concepts: (MARKETING, PRODUCT, PROMOTION,PUBLIC

RELATIONS, BRAND)

Explanation / Definition of Key Concepts:

MARKETING:
PRODUCT:
PROMOTION
PUBLIC RELATIONS:
BRAND:

THE ROLE OF MARKETING IN RETAIL:

THE RETAIL MARKETING MIX:

i. Product
ii. Price
iii. Place
iv. Promotion

CONCEPT OF BRANDING

UNDERSTANDING THE CUSTOMER

Key Concepts: (CONSUMER BEHAVIOR, SOCIO-CULTURAL

BACKGROUND, PERSONALITY, LIFETSYLE)

Explanation / Definition of Key Concepts:

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR:
SOCIO-CULTURAL BACKGROUND:
PERSONALITY:
LIFETSYLE:

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 The CUSTOMER?
The customer is the lifeline of any retail organization. Hence it is essential to understand
who is a customer and what determines his behavior in buying a product. A customer is a
person, company, or other entity, which buys goods and services produced by another
person, company, or other entity.

FACTORS INFLUENCING CUSTOMERS DECISION MAKING PROCESS

i. Range of merchandise:

ii. Convenience of Shopping at a particular outlet:

iii. Time to Travel:

iv. Socio-economic factors:

v. The stage of the family life cycle:

THE CUSTOMER DECISION-MAKING PROCESS

i. Need recognition Or Awareness

ii. Information Search

iii. Evaluation of Alternatives:

iv. Purchase:

v. Post Purchase Evaluation:

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Some other factors influencing consumer behavior are:

Personality , Lifestyles ,Culture, Social Class, Family and Household

influences:

TYPES OF CUSTOMERS

i. Loyal Customers

ii. Discount Customers

iii. Impulse Customers

iv. Need Based Customers

v. Wandering Customers

CUSTOMER SERVICES

Key Concepts: (CUSTOMER SERVICE, RAPPORT, EMPATHY,

CUSTOMER RETENTION)

Explanation / Definition of Key Concepts:

CUSTOMER SERVICE:
RAPPORT:
EMPATHY:
CUSTOMER RETENTION:

GOOD vs. BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE

RETAIL SELLING PROCESS

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Key Concepts: (OPTIMISM, STORE LAYOUT, CROSS SELLING, UP
SELLING)

Explanation / Definition of Key Concepts:

OPTIMISM:
STORE LAYOUT:
CROSS SELLING:
UP SELLING: PREREQUISITES OF SELLING

i. Attitude:

ii. Positive Self Talk:

iii. Personal Hygiene and Appearance:

iv. Understanding the store:
v. Understanding the Customer:
vi. Product Knowledge

SALES PROCESS
During the first 60 seconds of interaction with customers, the first impression is made and
the tone of the sale is established. This will help:

i. Connect with Customers:

ii. Probe the customers needs subtly:

iii. Presenting the merchandise:
Features and Benefits:

Customers look for information.

The importance of demonstration:

iv. Handling Objections:

v. TRIAL CLOSE

Cross selling:
Up selling:

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vi. CLOSING THE SALE

Observing Buying signals:

Closing a sale is the last step in the selling process.

How do we handle a buying signal?

- First answer the buying signal

- Second, ask a counter question which will lead the customer to a partial decision.

o Effective closing techniques:

. How do we effectively close a sale?
- Direct Closing technique:
- Alternative technique:
- If technique
- Active technique:

The Last Mantra

The most successful people in the retail industry are seldom the smartest or the
best looking, theyre the people who can sell.
Selling is like taking an idea and planting the idea in your customers mind and
making him feel that he thought of it.
An important thing to keep in mind while selling is that
Selling isnt telling. It is about asking questions and really listening to answers.

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