Product and scheme training
The principal company's sales team usually briefs distributor salesmen on new products and monthly schemes, often at the godown's morning meeting. Record each briefing as a short classroom program in Learning, enrol the sales team and mark attendance as completion, so a salesman who missed the briefing is visible before he misquotes a scheme to a retailer. Selling skills, such as pitching a new product to a kirana owner and handling objections about credit, deserve a separate program twice a year.
Safety on the road and in the godown
Road accidents are a serious risk for staff who spend the day on two-wheelers and in vans, so road safety should be a mandatory program with a yearly refresher. Godown injuries come mostly from lifting and falling stock. Give each safety program a validity in months; when HR marks it complete, ZeniaHR issues a certificate number and an expiry date, so refreshers fall due on a date rather than on someone's memory.
- Road safety and defensive riding and driving
- Safe lifting and stacking for loaders
- Fire safety and extinguisher use in the godown
- Pallet truck or forklift operation where the godown has one
- First aid for cuts, strains and road accidents
Stock rotation and cash handling
Expired stock is money lost, so godown staff need training in first-expiry, first-out rotation, checking dates at receipt and separating damaged goods. Salesmen, drivers and the cashier need cash handling training: receipts, cheque checks, counterfeit notes and the evening settlement. Every employee also needs POSH awareness, since workplaces with 10 or more employees must have an Internal Committee, and field staff should know how to reach it from the market.
Records that keep up with a field team
A program's compliance view in ZeniaHR divides enrolled staff into completed, in progress and expired, which is the quickest way to see who missed the last scheme briefing or whose road safety certificate has lapsed. Check it at the start of each month, before the month-end push, and enrol joiners in their role's programs during their first week, watching their status move from assigned to completed as they finish.
How to set it up in ZeniaHR
- In Learning, create scheme briefing, road safety, safe lifting, fire safety, cash handling and POSH programs with hours and a validity.
- Mark road safety, fire safety and cash handling as mandatory, each with a 12-month validity.
- Enrol the sales team in every scheme briefing, and mark completion at the end of the morning meeting.
- Enrol joiners in their role's programs in the first week, and put drivers through road safety before they take a van out.
- At the start of each month, read every program's compliance view and re-enrol staff who have lapsed.
Read more about learning and training in ZeniaHR.
Roles this applies to
See training and certification for fmcg distributors and dealers in a demo
We set up your locations, shifts and rules on a video call and show it running for your team. Free for your first 50 employees.
Book a free demoSee pricingFrequently asked questions
What training do FMCG distributor salesmen need?
Product and scheme briefings at every launch and monthly scheme, selling skills for pitching to retailers and handling credit objections, road safety for two-wheeler riding, cash handling and receipts, and POSH awareness. Record each as a program, so HR knows who attended and who needs a catch-up session.
What safety training do godown staff need?
Safe lifting and stacking, fire safety and extinguisher use, first aid for cuts and strains, pallet truck or forklift training where you use one, and first-expiry, first-out stock rotation. Make the safety programs mandatory with a yearly validity, so refreshers come around on time.
How can a distributor track training for staff who are always in the field?
Run short sessions at the morning meeting or on a quiet afternoon, record each as a program, and mark completion straight after. In ZeniaHR, a program's compliance view shows at a glance which salesmen finished, which are part-way and which have lapsed, so HR can catch up with the missing ones within the week.