Beaverbrooks the Jewellers has achieved high engagement scores even among staff who earn as little as £15,000 a year, the firm’s managing director told the CIPD’s annual conference.
Mark Adlestone told delegates that in the past six years, the company had come in the top four in its category in the Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For list.
“We scored very highly on fair pay when we entered Best Companies,” said Adlestone. “It is not about the amount of money people are paid. It is about whether people feel valued.”
One of the areas where the company scored relatively poorly when it first entered the competition was its vision and how excited people were about the future of the company.
Adlestone said this had come as a surprise because at the time Beaverbrooks was focused on growth.
He said: “That didn’t excite people because it didn’t touch them – it was too far away from them.”
Since then, he explained, the company has launched its 2020 Vision, which focuses on, among other things, becoming a world-class employer.
Adlestone told delegates that the company places a lot of emphasis on engagement. He visits every store each year, people who are promoted always get a telephone call offering congratulations, there are long service awards and there is a strong ethos of charity giving.
“I am passionate about the people side of the business,” he said. “I am motivated by the people within the business.”
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Mark Adlestone told delegates that in the past six years, the company had come in the top four in its category in the Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For list.
“We scored very highly on fair pay when we entered Best Companies,” said Adlestone. “It is not about the amount of money people are paid. It is about whether people feel valued.”
One of the areas where the company scored relatively poorly when it first entered the competition was its vision and how excited people were about the future of the company.
Adlestone said this had come as a surprise because at the time Beaverbrooks was focused on growth.
He said: “That didn’t excite people because it didn’t touch them – it was too far away from them.”
Since then, he explained, the company has launched its 2020 Vision, which focuses on, among other things, becoming a world-class employer.
Adlestone told delegates that the company places a lot of emphasis on engagement. He visits every store each year, people who are promoted always get a telephone call offering congratulations, there are long service awards and there is a strong ethos of charity giving.
“I am passionate about the people side of the business,” he said. “I am motivated by the people within the business.”