Career Development

We have a Leadership Development Toolkit with defined leadership competencies and cultural factors to help support the development of our Associates. These competencies and factors are skills and behaviors that have led to long-term success for many of our managers. Personal character and integrity are at the core of our competencies, as is investing the time to build relationships, whether that is with co-workers across the hall or in another country. We strongly believe that these competencies and factors benefit our business overall, and that our results reflect our efforts. We are currently reviewing this toolkit and planning to add more specific inclusion-based components where applicable to further support our commitment in this area.

While our goal is to foster career growth across the organization, we are particularly proud of our results in 2020 in our stores and field offices where 64% of managerial positions¹ were filled with internal promotions. Additionally, we believe that our development programs support Associates in building a career at TJX, and, in fact, 40% of people in managerial positions¹ around the world have been at the company for 10 or more years.  

Our Global Leadership Curriculum offers a consistent development experience focused around our leadership and cultural competencies. With core and elective courses, this curriculum helps Associates gain skills in communications, change management, strategic planning, and more. In 2020, we began reviewing and updating the courses to further align our leadership courses with our inclusion and diversity efforts. Since 2017, the Global Leadership Curriculum had Associate attendance of nearly 19,000 across all of our divisions. Our aim is to develop the potential of Associates at every level, from hourly Associates to management and beyond, so they may enjoy fulfilling careers.

In addition to our Global Leadership Curriculum courses, we offer other learning and development opportunities globally. Our Emerging Leaders program is designed to help high potential Associates at the managerial level prepare to expand their leadership roles. The process consists of targeted assessments, review of feedback, and the creation of an individual development plan. Once completed, these Associates have the opportunity to participate in the Emerging Leader Action Learning, a year-long journey focusing on the skills needed to effectively grow from a leader of others to a leader of leaders. Participants are placed on cross-functional teams, assigned self-directed learning, participate in peer coaching, and spend time with executives, who share their stories and experiences. The program consists of critical skills training and business case scenarios, and culminates in the Associate creating a personalized growth plan.

More senior-level Associates may participate in our Leaders Developing Leaders (LDL) program, a 10-month global development program designed to accelerate leadership readiness. The program offers a variety of opportunities, including gaining exposure to different leaders, TJX businesses, and business units. Participants receive feedback on their leadership style and interactions throughout the process, with the goal of incorporating those learnings into their leadership style. The first phase of the program is project-based where participants are assigned to teams to research and address a current business issue or opportunity. They learn how to navigate the organization through the development of their problem-solving and strategic planning skills, while deepening their understanding of the business and themselves as leaders. The teams develop and present strategic plans to senior management, working collaboratively with other managers from a broad range of functions and geographies. Many of the project recommendations that have come from these LDL teams have been implemented in some capacity.

Regionally, our "development for all" approach in Canada provides Associates the opportunity to build their professional skills and off-price knowledge through workshops, online learning, and individualized coaching. Additionally, Canada offers a Manager in Training Program (MIT), an accelerated program that provides training for new and existing Associates who show strong potential to perform Store Management roles and responsibilities. The six-month program exposes these Associates more deeply to our business practices and helps them develop their leadership skills and competencies. Since the inception of the MIT program, the volume and success of internal promotions has increased significantly.

In Europe, Be Your Best Self is our learning philosophy. We aim to enable our Associates to own and drive their development journey, recognizing that this is as unique as each and every one of us. We offer Associates a range of learning and development options to provide skills and off-price knowledge through workshops, development programs, training, on-the-job learning, and the Graduate, Placement, and Apprenticeship Programmes. We also offer tools for self-learning and provide bespoke coaching for Regional, Country, District, Store, and Assistant Managers.

In addition, the Leader in Me program is designed to help develop high-potential Associates early in their careers and prepare them for more senior roles in the future. Associates learn more about themselves as leaders, as well as how to use these leadership skills in their current roles and for future opportunities. We also have a Senior Leadership Development program in Europe for Vice Presidents and Assistant Vice Presidents, which cultivates leaders who champion and bring our distinctive culture to life. The program develops skills to help leaders thrive in unpredictable circumstances. Participants gain insight into themselves as authentic leaders and gain self-awareness, personal sustainability, and leadership perspective. We expanded this program to include specific workshops on inclusion and diversity. We believe the program builds stronger, more collaborative teams across the organization and elevates the capability of our senior leaders.

In Australia, corporate and processing center Associates can participate in the Be Your Best Self program, a self-led curriculum that enables Associates to drive their own development. Through various tools and manager support, participants are able to discover new skills and interests to assist them in developing a career path, whether that means growing in their current role, or exploring opportunities cross-functionally. We expect to expand this program to our store Associates in 2021.

Calling All Merchants: Training Starts Here

We are particularly proud of our merchant training programs around the world, which we believe are some of the best and most respected in the retail industry. Our programs are designed to support Associates interested in pursuing careers as merchants and develop them as future leaders in our off-price retail business. The merchandising career path provides structured growth potential in Merchandise Planning and Allocation, Merchandise Buying, and potentially management. The path consists of an initial, intensive training curriculum for a role as an Allocation Analyst. Afterwards, there are ongoing development opportunities and mentoring throughout the Associate’s career.

TJX UNIVERSITY FOR MERCHANTS

At TJX University, we offer merchandising Associates learning opportunities through a two-year-long one-on-one coaching program. The program includes mentoring on negotiation skills, store exercises, and a curated curriculum to both further their development in their current role and prepare them for the next step in their careers. The coaching and store exercises typically take place in our own stores, as well as in the broader marketplace. The University teaches a consistent approach to the off-price business model, teamwork, and culture that have been a critical part of our success.

For some of the buyers identified as having potential to rise to a leadership level, we offer a specialized learning experience called the Off-Price Leadership Center (OPLC). It brings together merchants from across our global divisions to get exposure to the critical merchant and leadership skills necessary for success. Focus is on understanding the role; integrating strategic, business, and critical relationship skills; and building a diverse, global leadership perspective.

EXTERNAL PARTNERSHIPS

In addition to our many internal development opportunities, we have established relationships with a variety of organizations to offer additional resources and learning. In the U.S., this includes National Hispanic Corporate Council, Catalyst, Diversity Best Practices, PFLAG, National Association of Asian American Professionals, Human Rights Campaign, and others. Our Associates also have the opportunity to participate in programs offered by some of our partner organizations. We belong to Conexion in Boston, Massachusetts, and, on a national level, The Partnership in the U.S. Conexion pairs Hispanic/Latino Associates with a seasoned mentor at organizations in various industries and provides workshops in leadership. The Partnership offers year-long programs in leadership and cultural navigation for Associates, as well as the Next Generation Executive Program, a five-month training course. We actively bring together Associate alumni of both programs to build a network that can support participants and encourage learning. In 2020, a number of Associates had the opportunity to participate in an external leadership program designed for Black executives and early-mid-career managers. Additionally, in 2020, TJX Europe became members of Business in the Community, a business-led membership organization to help our inclusion and diversity efforts. We also became members of the Business Disability Forum to support our efforts to help those who face barriers to employment thrive at work.