Training and development

We are committed to providing opportunities to enhance team members’ performance at work, promoting a learning culture and investing in training and development to help advance careers.

Wesfarmers’ businesses have primary responsibility for training and developing their team members. This includes job-specific technical training and professional development for full-time, part-time and casual team members.

Building data and digital skills remains a key focus, alongside investment in technologies to enable innovation and productivity. In addition, the divisions have included training for leaders and team members on wellbeing, mental health and inclusive leadership. 

Wesfarmers’ Corporate Office partners with each division to develop senior leaders across the Group through bespoke individual development and larger, group events. We believe this approach helps connect and align leaders to Wesfarmers’ objective and values. 

 


The Wesfarmers leadership model supports self-awareness and continual learning, not perfection. We use this model for talent reviews, succession planning and development investment. For the individual leader, the model helps to focus their ongoing development.

WESFARMERS TALENT DIAGRAM

Group Talent workstreams

Know

  • Annual talent and succession discussion with the Wesfarmers Board
  • Twice-yearly divisional succession and talent reviews focused on leadership teams, critical roles and talent, chaired by the Group Managing Director and Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO)
  • Collective Talent Roundtables held annually with the Wesfarmers Leadership Team to deepen understanding of key succession candidates, discuss opportunities for key talent and share insights on emerging talent
  • Aggregate succession planning, calibration and management of successor development
  • Assessment of candidates for selection/promotion into critical roles to add to bench strength

Grow

  • Bespoke assessments and individual development plans for the Group’s critical leaders, such as managing directors, chief financial officers, profit and loss leaders, chief operating officers and leadership team members, on a rotational basis
  • Biannual development reviews with each division, chaired by the Group CHRO and attended by divisional HR leaders and GM Leadership and Succession, with a focus on highest impact experience, exposure and education to accelerate critical leader and emerging talent development
  • Facilitating talent mobility across the Wesfarmers divisions
  • Digital insight platform; access to a digital library, curated emails on leadership challenges
  • Executive coach and mentor panel, bespoke executive wellbeing assessments, executive transition labs

Connect

  • Induction experiences for new general managers, including Wesfarmers induction workshops and On-Country cultural experiences connecting general managers to the Group's objectives, values and Leadership Team
  • Every two to three years we hold a leadership conference connecting general managers to Group leaders and each other, the Wesfarmers Way and exploring strategic, future-focused topics
  • Virtual Wesfarmers leader series events to connect leaders, share knowledge and learnings across the Group to reinforce leadership capabilities, mindsets and behaviours that are important for Wesfarmers’ success, today and tomorrow
  • Digital resource library for divisional HR team members to access Group Talent resources for developing and managing talent

Include

  • Best practice sharing through community of practice
  • Access to shared Group memberships to leading diversity and inclusion organisations
  • Monitoring and reporting progress; flagging opportunities and risk

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The ‘Include’ workstream reflects activities and resources supported by Group Talent. Work done on diversity and inclusion by the divisions is more specifically outlined in the Diversity and inclusion section.

 Technology talent – data and digital capabilities

Divisions continue to invest in technology talent and building data and digital capabilities within their teams. The Corporate Office provides support by delivering events and creating connected communities to share knowledge, best practices and innovation and to help team members establish a valuable network of peers across the Group, including:

  • annual, in-person technology leaders’ summit catered to divisional Chief Information Officers and their direct reports across multiple disciplines, aiming to reinforce the integral role of technology in business strategy and driving commercial value
  • networking and knowledge sharing events aimed at graduate and early career talent to cascade messaging, share experiences and establish a community of like-minded peers
  • internal spotlight sessions to leverage divisional knowledge and talent through sharing innovation, learnings and best practices across the Group. 

Wesfarmers is also trialling generative AI tools, with a cross-functional group testing an artificial intelligence assistant to support with various tasks and activities, such as scheduling, research, analysis and communication. Additional Gen AI tools will be explored as we continue to look for innovative and intelligent solutions for our business challenges and opportunities.


 

 

GRI 3-3,  GRI 404-2