Learning
Stop & Shop employees treated to health fair
Approximately 1,500 employees at the Stop & Shop distribution center in Freetown, Massachusetts, were given time off work in July 2008 and treated to hand massages, bone density scans and free health care products during the company's Health, Wellness, Benefits & Safety Fair. The program gave employees the opportunity to discover any hidden health issues and provided tips on leading healthier lifestyles. “Not everyone sees a doctor regularly.” Human Resource Manager Eva Cabral said. “Many of us wait until we are sick to go see a doctor. If we identify just one person with a health problem, then it is all worth it to us.” Many other organizations, including the United Way, Teamsters and Katie Brown, a relationship violence prevention program, were represented at the fair.
Every position has its own specific training. This provides employees with the skills they need for their jobs. Training is designed to support employees’ professional growth and our focus on customers, and to encourage innovation across the company.
Most training activities are handled locally and focus on store-level jobs, as these make up the largest segment of our workforce. We also offer web-based training and educational programs. This allows us to distribute training to a wide audience efficiently and consistently, and to monitor compliance with mandatory training.
Group-wide, we organize a number of programs to develop our best talent:
- Each year the Ahold Retail Academy gives approximately 30 talented managers the opportunity to get together with peers from across Ahold for an intensive one-week study program. The course is run in partnership with Cornell University in the United States;
- The Gerrit-Jan Heijn fellowship provides an exchange opportunity between employees from Ahold USA and Ahold Europe;
- The Ahold Management Program is designed to prepare newer managers at Ahold for the next steps in their careers. Organized in partnership with Nyenrode Business University in the Netherlands, the four-day course develops personal leadership skills and broadens retail knowledge.
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