Problems of staffing organizations of state and cooperative trade in Bashkiria in 1945 to 1953

The article considers staff training in organization of state and cooperative trade in Bashkiria during the post-war economic recovery. Based on documents of the National Archive of the Republic of Bashkortostan, the article outlines the main trends in human resources policy of the Ministry for Trade and Bashkir Consumer Union in the context of the steady growth of the goods turnover, increasing the assortment, capital construction of new retail organizations. Following the abolishment of rationing, the demands for qualifications of the sales staff grew significantly. Tenders managers, shop directors, merchandisers, accountants and shop assistants had to meet the growing public demands, examine the changes in the structure of demand among people in the city and in the countryside. Their training was provided by cooperative polytechnics, and School for Sales and Cooking. Apart from that, there were training courses and seminars on various aspects of trade. Each trade organization re-certified its accountants and shop assistants. This disclosed considerable faults in the work with personnel. Incompetent people were hired by trade organizations, which led to poor sales of non-scarce goods, shortages in the sales of convenience goods as well as a growth in embezzlement and theft, of which shop assistants were accused regularly. The author comes to a conclusion that it was a lack of attention on the part of the management of the state and cooperative trade to selecting, training and distributing personnel that was one of the causes of failure of the plans for goods turnover.