How to be the best employer

Ensuring staff engagement is at the heart of any retailer’s mission. In this year’s Sunday Times Best Companies To Work For survey - published earlier this month - retailers fared well. The survey of 230,000 employees covered 70 questions on workplace culture.

Of the top 25 best big companies to work for - those with 5,000 or more employees - about a quarter were retailers, with Mothercare topping the retailer list and fifth overall.

Jewellery chain Beaverbrooks topped the 100 best medium-sized retailer companies to work for list - which covers businesses with 250 to 5,000 employees. It came third among medium-sized firms and has been in the top five for the past seven years. Some 75% of its employees were happy with pay and benefits but, more importantly, 84% said they loved working at the retailer.

Managing director Mark Adlestone scored 90% for staff believing in him. “Whatever external accolade I can get means nothing against your own company holding a mirror up against you,” he says.

Maintaining faith in a recession has been tough, yet engagement scores were not as badly affected as had been expected, according to workplace engagement specialist Best Companies, which carried out the research.

Adlestone believes this was true at Beaverbrooks. “Like many retailers it’s been a tough year. We have had a wage freeze and reduced staff costs by natural wastage, so some stores are operating on lower staff levels, and we thought that may change how people perceive the company,” he says.

But the results prove otherwise. Adlestone says the culture of the business is vital. “We care for the people that work for us. It’s about treating people as adults, listening to what they have to say and constructing forums and focus groups,” he says.

Communication is key. “We are fantastic communicators. There have been tough times in the last 18 months but we have been really straight with our employees and even when it’s bad news they feel empowered,” Adlestone says.

Pets at Home came fifth among the medium-sized retailers and HR director Ryan Cheyne agrees listening to employees is a must. “The key is listening to the feedback and responding. We take it seriously and look deeply at the results alongside our own engagement survey,” he says.

Adlestone admits part of the company’s success comes from its family history heritage and the fact most of the talent is home-grown.

Best Companies says that employee engagement takes years to build and a moment to break. Adlestone agrees. “It’s about basic human respect and realising that the success we have had as a business could not be achieved without the people we have working in the business,” he concludes.