Seven years ago, Russell Timsar gave up a career in marine biology and aquaculture to open his first Subway franchise. Now, he owns and operates seven units across Hobart’s outer suburbs.
With seven Subway stores spread across the suburbs of Hobart, Russell Timsar is no stranger to the world of retail food.
Russell started his franchises after years of dissatisfaction with big corporate culture, and like many small business owners was drawn to the independence of owning his own operation.
After two years in the game, Russell realised the need to professionally train his staff. A string of disappointing experiences with training providers left him cold.
“Their time frames were too long,” Russell said. “They weren’t motivated in their approach.”
It was shortly after these underwhelming experiences that Russell found a kindred spirit in Positive Training founder James Grima.
“James is driven and gets results,” Russell said. “We’ve had a tremendously high level of success since we moved over to Positive Training.”
As a test, Russell divided his business between Positive Training and another service provider for 12 months. At the end of the year a permanent switch was made to Positive Training, who now handle training across all of Russell’s stores.
“They were just able to deliver a really high number of completions,” Russell said.
According to the National Centre for Vocational Education Research, on average, only 40 per cent students complete their traineeships. Positive Training boasts a completion rate of 80 per cent – twice the national average.
The relationship between the two companies has grown over the years as Russell’s business expanded from four to seven stores.
“You feel like you have a partnership with James,” Russell said. “He has a capacity to relate to what you’re going through because he’s been there with his pizza shops. He’s a sounding board on a lot of issues beyond training as well.
“There’s a mutual respect,” he added. “He’s putting himself on the line for his business, just like we are.”
While not a requirement of employment, training is something that Russell has encouraged across his stores.
“We used it as a bit of internal marketing,” Russell said. “The trainer is a great salesman for the course – they really know how to make it exciting for the students.”
There has been a significant uptake in staff members coming forward to undertake the training.
“It’s something I’ve never had before,” Russell said. “A lot of the staff are excited by the course and can see a value in getting a recognised qualification while they work.”
Russell offers his staff the Certificate III in Retail and has found it not only assists with staff retention, but provides a path for developing key staff into management positions.
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