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SALT LAKE CITY — A venerable Utah company offers its workers a firsthand look at other jobs in their workplace.
Last week, Harmons Grocery conducated Education Week at all of its 19 stores across the Beehive State. During the period, employees could choose to learn about positions in other departments outside of their normal duties. The program is a chance for employees to gain knowledge and training in a variety of jobs throughout the company after they have been there a little while, explained Veronica Fraga, director of education and development for Harmons.
"We noticed that in the first year we offer a lot of training for new associates, but we noticed that there was no engagement for associates that had been on longer with the company," she said. Once a year for five days, Harmons offers over 200 classes from which associates get to select up to three, she said.
"They get paid for it and they come for two or three hours to the class," she added. "This teaches them not only how other departments function, but it's kind of like being in someone else's shoes."
Fraga said the experience puts a value on what the company does and how the business operates, as well as improving employee morale, product knowledge and customer service. Classes include cooking, artisan breadmaking, baking, software, administrative, and more across the spectrum of how the company operates its business, she said.
"(The program) is so much fun and creates such a buzz around the stores during the week that we have these trainings," said Aimee Smith, vice president for the People (human resources) at Harmons. The classes open the associates' minds to the different positions and departments that help make the company prosperous and help them raise their level of customer service, she said.
"They get exposure to different departments, and we also offer leadership classes, so someone who is not in a leadership role may sign up for a class to learn skills that could advance their career," Smith said.
All associates who've been with the company for at least 18 months are required to take at least one class, Fraga said.
Among the classes offered is "The Science and Evolution of Taste" lead by Chef Aaron Ballard. The class gives participants a chance to learn about how humans taste food and how that sense has evolved over the years.
Senior marketing manager Andelyn "Andy" Walker said she enjoys the experience of learning more about the day-to-day operations of the stores.
"I use (the knowledge gained) at work and as a consumer," she said. "I love knowing what goes into our products and being able to tell that story to the customer. But also being a customer and knowing the care that goes into every product and the ingredients."
For cheese sales manager Matt Deloach, learning about taste helps him serve customers better and gives him a different perspective on food apart from his daily duties as a cheesemonger.
"Taking a class on taste really helps to train my palate," he said. Later in the week, he signed up for a class on salami, which would also inform and broaden his tasting skills, he added.
"What I get out of it is this newfound (knowledge) and learn more about who I am as a person," he explained. "One of the things I love is that we do so much education."
Walker said each year brings another opportunity to become more informed about various aspects of the business, which is very beneficial to herself and the other employees.
"Learning about other people's responsibilities and tasks makes me better at my job and helps me understand the company a little bit better," she said. "It makes me better at my job (by) just knowing and understanding our associates who are working for us and what matters to them and what their day-to-day life is like."
She said having co-workers understand each other's roles helps to create greater synergy within the company. Deloach said education week helps employees realize that every item the company sells has "a story behind it."
"There are so many stories about what's on our shelves that just learning those things is amazingly fun," he said."
