Central England Co-op continues work to bring its purpose to life for colleagues with launch of new learning platform
Posted by james brindle | Published: 17/05/2022
Central England Co-op (CEC) has continued its drive to support the growth and progression of its colleagues by launching a brand new learning management platform.
Following on from the successful launch of its new recruitment platform, www.careers.coop, earlier this year, which has revitalised its recruitment experience, CEC has partnered with learning software company Kallidus for the next stage of its journey to create a sustainable Society for all.
CEC have this week launched ‘Let’s Learn’, a digital platform for its over 8,000 colleagues to keep on top of the latest learning opportunities, make it easier for them to track their progression in the Society and to feel more engaged and empowered in their roles.
CEC is one of the UK’s largest and most successful independent co-operative societies and co-operative colleagues are the key to its success, so recruiting and retaining the right people is vitally important to them.
The new platform has been specifically designed to reflect the culture and values of the organisation and its new purpose to create a sustainable Society for all.
Jen Chance, Head of Talent at Central England Co-op and Project Sponsor, outlined what the benefits of the new Let’s Learn platform are to colleagues, new recruits and the business as a whole.
She said: “We’re delighted to have launched Let’s Learn within CEC and are looking forward to our fantastic colleagues engaging with the new platform and exploring the many benefits it has to offer.
“We set out to create a flexible, inclusive, inspiring, and simple experience where learners can develop the skills they need, are empowered to develop and encouraged to participate. We knew that this would need to include providing high quality digital content, an intuitive experience, and robust data to track progress and return on investment.
“Ultimately, it’s about improving colleague engagement, retention, and progression, to support our Society’s purpose and I’m confident that once our colleagues experience Let’s Learn we will really see our vision start to become a reality.
“I’d like to thank Kallidus for being such collaborative and supportive partners on this project and helping bring Let’s Learn to life and we’re delighted to now share it with our colleagues.”
Kallidus are a multi-award-winning provider of best-in-class HR and L&D technology with over 20 years’ experience and a global customer base.
Philip Pyle, Chief Revenue Officer, Kallidus said of the partnership: “Partnering with a brand as prestigious as CEC on such a business-critical project is super exciting. They were looking for a robust LMS that could support their ambitions of redefining L&D within the organisation, and Kallidus are able to really deliver against these goals.
“Developing a high-performance culture has never been more important to employees; by investing in their people strategy, CEC have secured a future of outstanding talent and excellent results.”
Notes to editors
About Central England Co-operative
Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK with interests in food, funeral, floral and property investment.
Owned by hundreds of thousands of members, its over 8,000 colleagues serve customers across 400 plus trading sites in 20 counties in the East and West Midlands, Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.
Its purpose is to inspire communities to create a sustainable Society for all.
It actively campaigns for the Government to increase sentencing for violent attacks on retail workers and works with FareShare Midlands and hundreds of food banks, generating enough food donations to create over 2.1 million meals for people in need.
The Society embraces inclusivity and equality and is a signed-up member to the Business in the Community (BITC) Race at Work Charter, while it is also fully committed to addressing the impact of climate change and is on track to be Carbon Neutral by 2030.
It invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities through its Community Dividend Fund scheme which has seen over £175,000 shared out between 116 good causes over the past 12 months.
Central England Co-op was named Leading Co-op of the Year by Co-operatives UK in 2021.
Press office contacts: Rob Smyth and James Brindle
Contact details: www.centralengland.coop/press-and-media
About Kallidus
Kallidus are a multi-award-winning provider of best-in-class HR and L&D technology. With over 20 years’ experience and a global customer base, Kallidus deliver people solutions that streamline productivity, build high-performance cultures, and boost employee engagement.