What does it take to make the list? Three actions for retailers:
In the fiercely competitive retail industry, which businesses are a cut above the rest when it comes to attracting and retaining employees?
At a time when the retail industry is under greater scrutiny than ever, Retail Week teamed up with company review site Glassdoor to create a ranking of the top retailers to work for, according to their own employees.
The retailers that have made the cut vary in terms of sector and size, and eight of them are new entries – so what are the traits that make these businesses inspiring places to work?
| Ranking | Retailer | Average rating out of five | Example employee comment | Last year’s ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IKEA | 4.1 | “It’s just a brilliant place to work. Amazing people, great pay, good opportunities, and overall a really fun place to work.” - current employee | 3 |
| 2 | Screwfix | 4.1 | “Great culture, fantastic life/work balance, support, good salary, relaxed atmosphere, transparency and putting people first. Achievable bonus system, plenty of incentives for the store teams to win and share. Great expansion plans and progression opportunities.” - current employee | New entry |
| 3 | Sweaty Betty | 4.1 | “Positive work atmosphere, incredible staff benefits, great training, generous clothing allowance, encouragement to be healthy and active, great management.” - former employee | New entry |
| 4 | Oliver Bonas | 4 | “Although the company are rapidly expanding it still maintains a personal and close knit atmosphere too. They are also very keen on internal progression, and prefer to promote from within the company. I myself started as a temporary Christmas team member, and two years later I am a supervisor!” - current employee | New entry |
| 5 | Fat Face | 3.9 | “Very friendly and welcoming place to work, shifts are fun and busy, never had a dull day! Plus you get some perks when working there such as discounts.” - current employee | 9 |
| 6 | Hobbycraft | 3.9 | “Fantastic team and environment. Can pick up knowledge of crafts and techniques from colleagues, customers and artisans. Double discount day (50% off in December), charity events.” - current employee | New entry |
| 7 | The Works | 3.9 | Strong leadership. Agile and fast paced. Goal orientated culture, passionate colleagues from store support through to the shop floor and power to influence at all levels - your career, store and team is what you make of it” - current employee | New entry |
| 8 | Harrods | 3.8 | “Excellent company, friendly staff, great benefits, good training, lots of opportunity, people really listen to you.” - former employee | 14 |
| 9 | John Lewis | 3.8 | “Great group of people, opportunity to share you ideas, you feel like part of the process to make a successful retailer.” - current employee | 5 |
| 10 | Schuh | 3.8 | “Great atmosphere to work in. Shifts and overtime pick-up really good and easy. Transferring between stores is the easiest process. Progression in the company is great. Hourly rate of pay is one of the best on the high street.” - former employee | 4 |
| 11 | Charles Tyrwhitt | 3.8 | ”There is flexibility in my role – I can move my shift times if necessary, and work out of the London office when the need arises. There is also the chance to move upwards, sideways and around the business – if an internal opportunity arises for which your skill set is relevant, then you are encouraged to go for it.” - current employee | 11 |
| 12 | Sofology | 3.8 | “People listen to ideas to make things better within the company for the good of the customer and company. New internal academy for progressing internally and plenty of training to make every role stronger.” - current employee | New entry |
| 13 | TK Maxx | 3.7 | “Great culture, motivating, straff are very open and friendly. You own your own development and there’s lots of opportunities and room to change job tasks and responsibilities.” - current employee | New entry |
| 14 | Selfridges | 3.7 | “The salary, commission scheme and other benefits at Selfridges are outstanding in the retail sector. The base salary is currently £9.75 an hour, with 0.5% commission on every sale; this rises to 1% and 1.5% depending on sales targets. The discount is also 35% on own bought stock, and 20% on concessions, so it is a very rewarding job.” - current employee | New entry |
| 15 | Lush | 3.7 | “The products are amazing and actually work. The company gives back a lot and engages both customers and staff in how its products are produced. Managers and supervisors work perfectly in sync.” - current employee | 6 |
Word cloud
We collated all ’example employee comments’, and produced a word cloud showing the most popular terms used in the reviews for the top 15 retailers to work for in the UK. It’s interesting to note that themes like atmosphere, opportunity and training all appear frequently.
Pay and benefits
As the dust settles on National Living Wage rises, retail staff are keenly aware of their salaries as a motivating factor for working in retail.
Ikea, which won the top spot on this year’s ranking, was one of the first retailers to commit to the voluntary living wage in November last year– a fact that has not gone unnoticed by its store staff.
Glassdoor senior analyst Joe Wiggins says: “The living wage at Ikea means that everyone gets paid the same wage regardless of age, and that commitment to equality clearly resonates with people.”
A competitive salary, as well as robust bonus and incentive schemes were flagged by employees at Screwfix, Sweaty Betty, Schuh, Oliver Bonas, Fat Face and Selfridges as stand-out factors that made their businesses a great place to work.
Culture and camaraderie
While the path from shop floor to top floor is well-trodden by many of today’s retail bosses, Wiggins points out that not all of retail’s employees are motivated by a job for life.
“A large part of the retail workforce is part-time staff, for whom a good job is one that fits around the rest of their life as opposed to being long-term career-focused,” he says.
With this in mind, it is perhaps not surprising that a fun working environment and was key for many retail staff when rating their employer.
However, it is not about being there for a good time rather than a long time for employees – shop floor staff at retailers including Hobbycraft and Sweaty Betty flagged being able to sell products they were personally interested in as a strong motivator.
“People enjoy working somewhere that intersects with what they’re passionate about – if an employee enjoys interacting with what they’re selling, that has a big impact,” says Wiggins.
The retail industry has been hit by scandals in recent years ranging from the demise of BHS and warehouse working conditions at Sports Direct, and former Co-op boss Richard Pennycook last week urged retailers to be proactive in shedding the “toxic” reputation the sector has developed.
So being a retailer that employees can take pride in working for has become increasingly important.
“All the retailers in this ranking have strong and respected consumer brands, as well as being well-run companies with good senior management teams,” says Wiggins.
Listen, listen, listen
Screwfix, The Works and Charles Tyrwhitt were just a few of the retailers whose workers valued the opportunities for career progression that their employers offered them.
For retailers looking to improve staff retention, offering opportunities for career development and a clear progression path up the ranks can be a differentiator for employees.
“The highest rated workplaces tend to be the ones where people feel that there is good communication from senior management and they understand a company’s mission and the part they Play in achieving it,” says Wiggins.
“If people feel like they have a voice, no matter what their status or level in a business, it fosters a strong sense of loyalty - people give a lot back if they feel like they’re being listened to.”
Less than half of the retailers ranked in this year’s table made the cut last year, and Ikea, Harrods and Fat Face were the only ones that saw their approval rating by employees go up year-on-year.
It is clear that the winning formula for job satisfaction in retail is hard to crack - but focussing on clear communication, passion and pay are good places to start.
Methodology
Only retailers with at least 30 reviews on Glassdoor have been included. Ratings are out of five. Ratings go to the thousandth and are rounded up. All data from UK employees as of June 21.
1 Reader's comment