ASDAs Recruitment Process 1.

Job Creation Strategy & Achievements At ASDA we recruit colleagues on the basis of their attitude and personality rather than qualifications and skills. We then train our successful candidates to develop their skills. The recruitment process normally starts 20 weeks prior to a new store opening. The new stores People Service Manager works with the ASDA head office Resourcing Team to recruit local people. At this point we engage with Jobcentre Plus and set up a Local Employment Partnership (LEP). Since 2008, we have employed over 6,900 colleagues through LEPs. We also have an established relationship with Remploy the leading provider of employment opportunities for disabled people and have employed over 200 Remploy candidates since 2008. ASDA commits substantial resources towards the training and development of all of our colleagues. Since 2001, our in-house Stepping Stones development programme has enabled 3,000 hourly paid colleagues to move into department manager roles. Local Employment Partnerships ASDA has committed all of its new stores to LEPs and these are also used for any replacement recruitment for existing stores. Some of the recruitment measures ASDA uses as part of its LEPs include: o o o o Continually reviewing the recruitment process to ensure it is as inclusive as possible. Working to support the Jobcentre Plus in one-to-one mentoring of long term unemployed people to help prepare them for a return to work. Introducing work trials and work experience programmes to give people the chance to reacquaint themselves with the work place. Creating pre-employment training materials that are genuinely relevant to the modern workplace in conjunction with Jobcentre Plus.

Recruitment Process The recruitment and preparation process has three stages: 1. Applicants forms are reviewed (all paper based). 2. Applicants that progress through the first stage go on to the ASDA Magic assessment. Our recruitment squads observe candidates to see if they will fit into ASDAs culture i.e. if they have a positive attitude, would be happy to help and live the companys values.

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3. Candidates who are successful at the ASDA Magic assessment centre and interview then attend a Best Welcome introduction to the business, which covers our history, values and culture. This is followed by role-specific training, which is carried out in neighbouring stores and/or the recruitment centre. Remploy We provide Remploy candidates with additional support before, during and after they have started in their roles. During the recruitment process, this support includes: o o Organising store visits to raise awareness of the different roles available and to see behind the scenes. Store People Managers give presentations to groups of candidates to highlight what it is like working for ASDA and what values and attitude makes a good ASDA colleague. Stores offer short periods of work experience to build-up our candidates confidence in the workplace before applying for a position and attending a Magic assessment session.

2. Colleague Training Strategy All ASDA store colleagues undertake an initial 12-week programme of on-the-job training. This training is role-specific and gives our colleagues the requisite skills to serve customers and perform their job to a high standard. This training also covers areas such as health and safety and legal training. GROW training modules GROW is an optional development programme that is open to all colleagues. These sessions help to develop colleagues abilities by covering both business related areas and personal development. Section Leaders Section Leader roles enable hourly paid colleagues to undertake roles with more responsibility. These colleagues work closely with the manager and lead by example, coaching department colleagues to deliver warm and friendly service and to maintain high standards. The Section Leader role is a step forward for colleagues interested in moving into management roles. Stepping Stones The programme is a seven step development programme that assists colleagues in developing the necessary behavioural and technical abilities they will need to become department managers. A colleague on the programme takes responsibility for a small department whilst working alongside a Department Manager to gradually gain experience in aspects of the role.

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Stores of Learning ASDA Stores of Learning (SOL) are located across the UK. They provide technical and leadership training for managers new to the business and managers changing roles. 3. Recruitment Case Studies ASDA Breck Road Opened in 2005, the approach taken by ASDA to recruitment at our Breck Road store was similar to the governments LEP scheme announced two years later and is regarded as a pioneer of the LEP approach. Breck Road is located in the Everton ward of Liverpool. It is an area that has suffered economic decline through many years of under investment, resulting in a high level of long-term unemployment. ASDA worked with Jobcentre Plus from the start of the recruitment process to ensure local benefit claimants had the best opportunity to work at the store. The Jobcentre prepared applicants for interview and kept in touch with them through all stages of the recruitment process, including after they had started their roles. By the time the store opened, nearly 3,000 applications had been received. Of the 277 jobs available, 75 per cent of the jobs went to people who had recently been made unemployed, of whom 60 per cent were classed as long-term unemployed or on incapacity or disability benefit. In the stores first year of trading, it had one of the lowest absentee records of any ASDA store. ASDA Bootle The heat map below, produced by independent planning consultants, illustrates ASDAs ability to recruit colleagues locally. The green star represents the location of our Bootle store, which opened in 2008. 68% of 328 colleagues live within the wider Bootle area (L20, L21, L4, L9 and L30 postcode areas). The vast majority of colleagues came from within the local authority boundary.

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4. Young Retailer Programme ASDA recently launched a new programme aimed at helping young people gain experience and develop the skills they need to climb the career ladder. The programme will provide: up to 15,000 work experience placements for 14-16 year olds; 15,000 apprenticeships for ASDA colleagues; 28,000 job opportunities ideal for young people; and an opportunity for every single new starter to ASDA to receive a City & Guilds accredited training. ASDAs commitment means that, from May 2010, ASDA will open its doors to up to 15,000 young people aged 14-16 for the chance to experience a weeks worth of real work, as well as giving 15,000 of its existing colleagues the opportunity to gain a nationally recognised apprenticeship. As part of the scheme, every single ASDA store will adopt a local school or college to help introduce young people into the world of work. The programme, which was shaped by interviews and focus groups with more than 100 young people across the UK, means that they will get the opportunity to discover real work from the challenges of stock control and the logistics of delivery, to the satisfaction of providing excellent customer service. Existing ASDA employees will also benefit from a new 12 week apprenticeship programme which will be assessed and validated by learning provider Protocol. It will give eligible colleagues a chance to gain a Level 2 Apprenticeship in Retail Skills equivalent to five good GCSEs.

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