Stream Lead: Bharat Mistry

Aims

The Graduate Stream aims to increase the number of talented Asians successfully applying to the Tesco Graduate Programme to help to improve our pipeline for future leaders in Tesco.

What are we doing?

We are working with the Graduate recruitment teams in each function to target universities with talented Asian students and promote Tesco as a great place to work as well as an excellent career choice.

We are doing this through:

• Working with the Graduate Natural Work Team to ensure our Graduate Recruitment Programme targets and attracts talented Asian students
• Identifying the Universities which have large numbers of talented Asian Students and working with these universities to raise awareness of what Tesco has to offer
• Ensuring our Asian employees attend Careers Fairs to promote Tesco and share their personal experiences

How can you help?

This is an area where you can easily get involved by:

• representing Tesco at careers fairs held throughout the year at Universities across the UK
• offering to go back to the University you attended and talking about your experiences
• formally supporting the team involved in this activity

If you would like to do any of the above please email asian.network@uk.tesco.com

If not, you can still help just by telling any friends/relatives you have at University in the UK about the great career opportunities available at Tesco and the work that is being done specifically to encourage and support Asians.

Stream Lead: Cathy Devereux

Aims

The aim of the Undergraduate Stream is to provide students with the opportunity to experience and learn skills required in an international retailer and to increase the number of people from ethnic minority backgrounds successfully applying to our Graduate Programme

What are we doing?

We are working in partnership with an organisation called the Windsor Fellowship to run a development programme for 11 students from ethnic minority groups.

This programme targets talented students and provides them with life-skills training in key competencies and skills, such as task management, team working and communication. It also offers employment support, CV building, completing application forms, interview techniques and the opportunity to apply the skills through an internship within a specific department in Tesco.

The programme consists of:

• Two residential seminars
• Two 1 day seminars
• A 6 week internship in a function within Tesco - in Head Office or in Stores
• A mentoring programme

How can you help?

We may be looking at running a similar scheme next year so would welcome your feedback on how we can make this even better. Alternatively, if you have friends or colleagues who are now in the second year of their degree please ask them to keep an eye out for the launch of a 2010 scheme via this website, or email us to register their interest.

Stream Lead: to be appointed shortly

What is Mentoring and what are its benefits?

It is a 121 relationship in which a senior manager, the mentor, with specialist knowledge of a job/function/business commits to giving time to actively support and encourage a more junior person, the mentee.

Mentoring is different from coaching. A coach helps someone to use their leadership skills and knowledge to get more effective results, usually the responsibility of the line manager. Mentoring is about achieving personal growth and development and not just about learning new skills or knowledge. A mentoring relationship:

• is a partnership based on confidentiality and trust
• allows the sharing of information in an open and honest way within a relaxed and informal setting.
• provides the mentees the opportunity to gain knowledge of wider business issues, to look at different ways of working, to broaden their network of contacts
• improves communication, networking and appreciation of business issues across the company
• allows knowledge & experience to be passed on and help develop leaders of the future

The line manager of the mentee and mentor should support the mentoring relationship and allow time to be spent on it. The mentee's line manager should complement the role of the mentor by also having involvement in the development of the mentee.

Mentoring is open to all Tesco employees. The aim of the Mentoring stream of our Asian Network is to facilitate this process for talented British Asians, working in Tesco, as part of their personal development to progress their careers with us.

Role of the Mentee

• Own and drive their own development by being clear what they want from their mentor
• Use the skills and experience of the mentor and follow up on advice and contacts given
• Agree expectations and ways of working, especially in the areas of confidentiality and commitment
• Actively listen and clarify understanding and be open to considering different perspectives
• Keep others informed and ask for feedback on progress

Role of the Mentor

• Readily give their time and resources
• Agree expectations and ways of working, especially in the areas of confidentiality and commitment
• Actively listen and question
• Challenge attitudes, assumptions and outlook to give a fresh perspective
• Draw on own experience and share information and knowledge about the organisation
• Introduce the mentee to others and help them expand their networks
• Help the mentee to arrive at their own conclusions by being collaborative rather than directive

Ways of Working

The mentees objectives will drive the content of the meetings between the mentor & mentee. Before the first meeting with the mentor, the mentee should think about:

• How often they want to meet and for how long and plan dates
• Where to meet - would they be more comfortable away from their place of work
• Meet in person or over the phone, or both
• The information they want to share on their background and past experience
• What they want to get out of the mentoring relationship. Do they want their mentor to be an ambassador, a guide, an advisor, a coach, a sounding board?
• Sharing and prioritising their objectives

The mentee needs to drive the process to get what they need.

Mentoring Tips (for the mentee)

• Demonstrate your openness to coaching and feedback
• Listen carefully to your mentors advice
• Don't be judgemental about your mentors experiences or choices
• Ask lots of questions
• Keep your mentor up to date with your accomplishment and failures
• Share with your mentor the advice that made the most differences to you and why
• Own your decisions: you are responsible for making them, not your mentor
• Take notes and agree next steps - build a record of your achievement and how the mentoring relationship is progressing
• Don't expect a promotion or other reward as a result of a mentoring programme
• Always respect confidentiality

Mentoring Handbook

A more detailed Guide for Mentors & Mentees outlining the process is currently being developed and the link to this will be added in the near future.

What are we doing?

We will initially be focussing on around 20 British Asians, nominated by their personnel or line managers, working in Stores, Distribution and Head office roles to trial this mentoring process. Based on their development needs we will facilitate linking them to relevant mentors to kick off this initiative.

We will conduct reviews with both mentors and mentees to assess progress, benefits & learnings to feed into a more extensive Mentoring scheme for British Asians in 2010 - 11.

We will be using the Tesco Academy framework for Mentoring which is already being used within our business as part of the Personal Development tool kit.

How can you help?

If you are a senior manager who would be interested in mentoring or a potential mentee who feels that mentoring would help their Personal Development, please get in touch with the Tesco Asian Network on e-mail: asian.network@uk.tesco.com

Contacting us

If you wish to contact us or have any queries regarding the mentoring stream, please e-mail the Tesco Asian Network on: asian.network@uk.tesco.com

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: How can I be a mentee?
A: Ask your Personnel Manager for a copy of the mentoring booklet. This will explain to you how you can get a mentor. If you need further help, e-mail the Tesco Asian Network on: asian.network@uk.tesco.com

Q: How can I be a mentor?
A: There is always the need in our business for mentors who are happy to give up their time to share their knowledge & experience to support colleagues who could benefit from this mentoring. Ask your Personnel Manager for a copy of the mentoring booklet and read through this - particularly the sections relating to the role of the mentor. If this appeals to you and you feel that you have the relevant skills, discuss this with your Personnel Manager. If you would like to mentor a British Asian colleague, please e-mail the Tesco Asian Network on: asian.network@uk.tesco.com

Q: How long does this mentoring last?
A: This depends on your mentoring objectives. If your objectives are to develop a specific skill or to gain a better understanding of a business area or a specific process, this can be achieved in a relatively short time. If however, if your objectives relate to changes in behaviour, ways of working or other aspects of personal development, this could be a longer relationship. It also depends on how frequently you meet your mentor & progress any next steps arising.

Q: What are the benefits of mentoring - to the mentee, the mentor and to Tesco?
A: Some of these have been mentioned in the above content and also detailed in the Mentoring Handbook. Everyone benefits from mentoring:

• Mentee - supports achieving their personal growth & development objectives
• Mentor - satisfaction of helping someone develop through the business through shared experience, knowledge and being able to practice their people skills in a safe environment.
• better retention of talented staff, improved communication, networking and appreciation of business issues across the company. Experience of leaders passed on and to help develop leaders of the future.

Q: Is this mentoring available only for British Asians?
A: No, mentoring is available to everyone in Tesco. However as part of the Asian Network, we are focussing on British Asians, to facilitate this process for this population, who we feel can particularly benefit from mentoring to progress their careers within Tesco.

Stream Lead: Mehool Mistry

Aims

The aim of the Event Stream is hold events throughout the year which raise awareness of the Tesco Asian Network, give employees the opportunity to hear from some key leaders in the business and enable Asians to build their own personal networks to help them in their careers.

What are we doing?

We are holding a number of Regional Events (South, North and Midlands) between now and the end of the financial year. These events are held for a few hours in the evening and will include drinks and canapes. They will be geared towards Work Level 1s and 2s and attendance will be by invitation only.

The first of these took place in July and was aimed at staff in the South. Over 300 people attended and listened to inspirational speeches from Board Members and Asian colleagues. The next event is for our staff in the Midlands and is on the 15th October in Birmingham (see the events page for more details).

In addition to these internal events, we will also be sponsoring selective external occasions to publicise the work we are doing within Tesco.

How can you help?

Of course these events are only successful if people go along to them! If you see an invitation/poster talking about an event, it would be great if you can make sure your colleagues are aware of it.

If you attend an event, please take the time to give us feedback - this will help us to know that we are getting the right messages across and the way in which we are doing this is effective.

Alternatively, if you would like a more active role in helping to organise any of these, please email us at asian.network@uk.tesco.com

Stream Lead: Jas Bassan

Been with Tesco since January 2005

Aims

The Website has been designed to be the main source of information and communication for the Asian Network. It will enable people within and outside of Tesco to keep up-to-date on the work that is happening within the Network and the latest developments. For internal Tesco staff it will also provide tools and information on how to get the most out of their career.

What are we doing?

We launched the website to external and internal audiences in June 2009. Following this, we will be regularly updating the content to ensure the website remains informative and interesting to viewers. Some of the plans we have are:

How can you help?

External

Stream Lead: Maju Giga

Aims

The Communications stream aims to ensure the Tesco Asian Network's messages are communicated to internal and external audiences in a consistent and appropriate way. Our Communications support the overall objective of the network, which is to attract and develop British Asian talent at Tesco.

What are we doing?

We are working with internal and external media outlets to ensure the key messages of the Asian Network reach our target audience.

We are doing this through: