Edcon HR Internships

Case Study
 IPM HR Internship Workshop
Edcon Retail Academy
November 2007

Copyright Edcon 2005

Where we’ve been

 Business need
o to upskill HR Practitioners (HRPs) at 4 levels:
• HRDP Administrators; HRDP Consultants; HRDP Managers; HRDP
Divisional Managers

 Solution
o HR Development Programme (HRDP), 2005

 Target Population
o mix of internal and external (graduate) candidates

 Programme
o Timeframe: 9 months
o Passmark: 70%
o Envisaged, credits towards a qualification at NQF 5/6
Where we’ve been (cont.)

 Numbers to date
o 2007: Administrators 32; Consultants 16; HRMs 41; DHRMs 9

 Assessment
o Formative assessment
• the learners are given ongoing exercises and feedback
o Summative assessment:
• each learner needs to submit a Portfolio of Evidence (POE) that makes up
70% of the mark, and
• a panel interview session on which the learner is assessed on the POE
submitted and this makes of 30% of the mark

 Whereto from here?

o HRDP will continue
o Parallel HR Internship Programme
Edcon HRDP - Outline
HRDP
HRDP HRDP HRDP
Programme Divisional
Administrators Consultants Managers
Managers
Managing Talent
and the
Leadership
 
Pipeline (2 days)
The HR Balanced
Scorecard (2 
days)
The HR Value
Chain (3 days)
   

Leading and
Managing Change  
(2 days)
The Value
Creating HR
Business Partner
 
(3 days)
The High
Performance
Internal  
Consultant (2
days)
Edcon HRDP – Outline (cont.)
HRDP
HRDP HRDP HRDP
Programme Divisional
Administrators Consultants Managers
Managers
Human Resource
Sourcing and    
Selection (1 day)
Human Resource
Rewarding and    
Retaining (2 days)
New Roles for the
HR Practitioner (2    
days)
Human Resource
Policy and    
Planning (1 day)
Develop and
Counsel (1 day)
   
Proposed Edcon HR Internship

 Purpose
o Experiential training for graduates who majored in HRM/HRD or
industrial psychology at undergraduate level

 Proposed Framework
o Bias to experiential training
o 2 key components to the programme
• 70% generic HR
• 30% specialist electives (if I wish to consider a specific specialist area)
o Passmark: 70%
o Timeframe: 15 months

 Potential Challenges
o Accreditation, to improve attractiveness, credibility and portability of
such a programme
o Assessor qualifications
Framework for Edcon HR Internship

Activity Months Duration

Induction
January 3 days
 Organisational & HR
Store-based HR Experience
 Gaining HR generalist experience in the actual operations January - March 3 months
(e.g., stores, distribution centres, contact centres)
Modules (HR generic)
 Covering the broad spectrum of HR incl. electives below,
Assessments, Workforce Management, e-HR Systems & April - December 9 months
Processes, Leadership Skills, Diagnostic Skills, Project
Management, Performance Management, Chain Functional
Skills

Module (HR specialist electives, choose 1)

 Employee Relations
 Learning & Development
January - March 3 months
 Employee Remuneration & Benefits
 Organisational Development
 Talent Acquisition
Edcon Industrial Psychology Internship

 Purpose
o Professional experiential training for Industrial Psychology (IP)
Masters graduates (2005)
o Compulsory partial requirement for registration as an Industrial
Psychologist

 Programme
o Programme design in accordance with the requirements of
Professional Board for Psychology (PBP) of the Health Professions
Council of South Africa (HPCSA)
o Timeframe: 12 months

 Numbers to date
o 2007: 7
Edcon Industrial Psychology Internship (cont.)

 Assessment
o Monthly written reports on key activities covered in programme for
discussion with the primary supervisor (and quarterly to the
secondary supervisor, external)
• Levels of evaluation: 1. reading, research and comment ; 2. observation
and comment; 3. participation/facilitation and comment
• Coordinators of specific areas of the programme (e.g., ER) are also
required to write a brief comment on the intern’s progress
o For full registration, interns are required to write a Board Exam after
their internship

 Supervisor requirements
o Masters in Industrial Psychology
o Professional registration in Industrial Psychology for at least 3 years
o Appropriate practical experience in supervision
AREA OF STUDY (PBP) ACTIVITY TIME %
1.Orientation & Ethics •Introduction to the Organisation & its 3 Weeks 5%
Structure
•Role of Industrial Psychologist
1.Career Psychology •Talent Management 6 Weeks 20%
•Learning & Development 4 Weeks
1.Organisational •Work Values 1 Day 18%
Behaviour •Leadership 1 Day
•Organisational Climate 4 Weeks
•Organisational Ethics 2 Days
•Team Effectiveness 2 Weeks
•Transformation 1 Week
•Employee Retention 1 Week
•Diagnostics & Change Management 1 Day
1.Personnel •Competency Management 1 Week 16%
Management •Job Profiling & Evaluation 1 Week
•Talent Acquisition 2 Weeks
•Performance Management 1 Week
•Reward & Recognition 3 Days
•Employee Relations 1 Week
•Employee Wellness 1 Week
•HR Metrics & Benchmarks 2 Days
1.Psychometrics •Psychological Assessments 6 Weeks 18%
•Other Assessments 1 Week
•Research 2 Weeks
1.Electives •Ergonomics 5 Weeks 16%
•Consumer Behaviour 3 Weeks
1.Leave 4 Weeks 7%
Sample Extract of Detailed Programme

1. Orientation & Ethics

Coordinator: Joe Soap
Duration: 3 Weeks
% of Programme: 5%

1.1. Introduction to organisation (incl. the Onboarding Programme), incl. its

strategies, goals and objectives, policies and procedures, and
structure and key role players
1.2. Familiarisation with the role of industrial psychologist in organisations
(incl. ethical considerations as contained in the Ethical Guidelines and
Principles for Psychologists, and relevant legislative considerations).
Note also that the intern will receive further training on ethics during
psychometric training, and organisational ethics training.