Finance course pays dividends

Wolseley UK has invested in the training and development of its staff over many years, in particular, the 1400 or so branch managers who are the public face of well-known trading brands such as Bathstore, Pipe Center and Plumb Center.

The college has helped build the financial acumen of Wolseley UK’s staff by delivering a ‘Finance for Non-Financial Managers’ for over 400 managers, over four years.

Frank Clayton, Wolseley UK’s Operations Training Manager said: “The course has been extremely useful in helping our managers to understand their branch trading accounts and the impact that they have on the bottom line of the business.

“We want managers to use our trading accounts to assess where they are doing well and not so well. They need to check and challenge the figures so that they can fine tune the business and develop it into a well-run machine.

“One of the great things about the course is that it teaches them to think in a much broader way. For example, they are questioning productivity ratios, profits retained and how they can minimise waste in their branches. If they want to employ a new member of staff, they now know they need to produce a business plan with projections that will justify the extra expenditure.

“Our expectation of our branch managers’ is very high; we want them to run their branch as if it is their own business. The course is helping us to develop professional business managers who understand all the figures and have the skill and competence to drive the business forward.

“We fully intend to continue investing in the training because, although we can’t yet put finite figures on an ROI, we are very close to being able to and we know that it’s paying dividends for our business.”