Harrods: Every Employee Can Improve Our Company

When you think of the world’s most famous department store, you think class and exceptional quality, but what about thinking of it as one of the best places to work in the UK? After all, it’s the people that make the business what it is, right? Well, the employees have now spoken, and for the second time in two years Harrods has been named as one of the UK’s Best Places To Work 2018 and the top rated retailer in Britain. Harrods’ people are solely responsible for the powerhouse retailer being one of the UK’s top workplaces for 2018. It’s now been on the list three times (2015, 2017, 2018). And, as well as employees being able to simply say: “I work for Harrods”, their Glassdoor reviews also  celebrate some of the best reasons to work for this well-known British institution, including the great commission structure and training opportunities. To find out more, we caught up with their HR Operations Director, Abi Weeks. Glassdoor: Congratulations on winning the Best Places to Work Abi Weeks. What does it mean to you to have employees and colleagues rave about working at Harrods? Abi Weeks: We are very proud to be recognised as one of the Best Places to Work in the UK, particularly as we are the highest ranking retailer to appear on the list. We are delighted to be at the forefront of our industry in providing varied and fulfilled careers in retail to our employees. Part of what makes Harrods such a special business to be a part of is the variety of roles we are able to offer, all under one roof. Glassdoor: What have you done this year to foster employee trust and engagement at Harrods? Abi Weeks: Every year Harrods HR team challenges itself to improve our employees’ experience of working for Harrods. We recently reviewed our benefits package for our teams and now have thousands of offers from gym discounts to healthcare plans available to every employee to really help them feel the benefit of working for Harrods in their daily lives. We also update staff on the wider business strategy and development at regular all-company Town Halls. For example, we recently showcased some of the new product which will be unveiled when the first stage of ‘The Taste Revolution!’, a redevelopment and restoration of the store’s famous Food Hall, with an engaging talk from the store’s Director of Food & Restaurants. This engagement and feedback process allows us to ensure employees feel part of the success of the store. Glassdoor: Your employees love working here as we see the strong rating on Glassdoor - How do you make this a great place to work day in and day out? Abi Weeks: From day one of their career journey at Harrods, we are dedicated to making sure our employees have the opportunity to build a meaningful career here. We believe that a good work environment is an opportunity to make a meaningful impact on employee’s personal as well as their professional lives. There are a number of things we do, for example, we make sure that a Director attends every Welcome (induction) for new employees and talks about their role and Harrods culture, as well as answering any questions new joiners might have about what it’s like to work for Harrods - the aim of this is to inspire new joiners to maximise their potential. We deliver a range of programmes through our Health & Wellbeing department – such as stress management, counselling services, podiatry, Physiotherapy, as well as the support of an onsite team of doctor, nurse, and occupational health advisers. We know how to have fun. This year we hosted two summer events, where we hired out two theme parks for our employees and their families – all of whom had a great time. And, we are currently getting ready for our yearly highlight of our annual Xmas ball – this year’s theme is Masquerade.   Glassdoor: How do you work with your management teams to make sure employees have great leadership here? Abi Weeks: We feel it’s important for our retail teams to have a clear sense of direction. At Harrods, we have set a clear ‘north star’, a collaborative ambition for everyone to connect to and aspire to achieve. This is to deliver exceptional results by providing an exceptional experience for the Harrods customer every day. We refer to this as ‘#BeExceptional’ and it's great to hear the teams challenging themselves and each other on how they bring this ethos to their daily roles. Harrods has a strong cultural DNA. We pride ourselves on our culture of service excellence and the exceptional experience we provide our customers every day. The leadership team need to live and breathe these values and build loyalty and commitment from their teams and a sense of pride in our iconic brand. Our Directors, like all employees, are custodians of the Harrods heritage and it’s an important part of all of our roles. We work hard as a leadership team to ensure our Directors are as accessible as possible, that’s not always easy but we try to create as many forums as possible to enable this to happen. From daily floor-walks to quarterly all-business updates, senior Directors from across Harrods are involved in all aspects of the business, and meet with employees on a daily basis. This visibility and ongoing engagement is particularly important, not only to ensure that the highest standards are being maintained for customers, but also to show employees that everyone is working towards the same objectives and taking pride in the work that that we are doing as an organisation. Glassdoor: For you, what is the best part about working at Harrods? Abi Weeks: I love hearing stories of how employees have gone above and beyond to give a customer a truly exceptional experience. We recently received an email from a customer who had been caught in a sudden downpour and the espadrilles that she had been wearing were soaked through. The member of staff who welcomed her noticed this and offered the customer a seat while she ran upstairs to the staff bathrooms to dry the client’s shoes under the hand dryer. It may seem like a small thing to do, but the feedback from the customer made us appreciate how it’s the small things that can really make the biggest difference, and made me so proud to be part of such a fabulous team. Glassdoor: What are some of the coolest or most unique perks and benefits you offer? Abi Weeks: All Harrods staff are enrolled in our Harrods Rewards Card scheme, on top of an attractive discount and business clothing allowance to be used in store. We also recently reviewed our benefits package for our teams and now have a range of over 6,500 offers from gym discounts to healthcare plans available to every Harrods and Concession employee to really help them feel the benefit of working for Harrods in their daily lives. Recognition of achievements is extremely important at Harrods. We believe that if you recognise and praise the behaviours that you want to see, then it will inspire other employees to go above and beyond. We hold regular ‘oscars-style’ Abi Weeks ceremonies to recognise members of staff across different areas of the business for exceptional service and top sales people as well as for our the longest serving employees. Glassdoor: What do you look for in informed candidates? What makes someone a perfect fit to work at Harrods? Abi Weeks: At Harrods, we are looking for candidates who want to build a career with us, so we are always thrilled to hear about candidates’ long term career goals.  I’m always impressed by candidates who showcase their commitment to being the best at what they do, whichever area of the business this lies in. Every single employee can improve the way our company works, whether on the shop floor or by providing essential support from other areas of the business. We also look for a customer-focused approach. There are many different types of customers at Harrods, but only one type of customer service: exceptional. Glassdoor: What are some of your best practices when it comes to recruiting the best talent? Abi Weeks: Harrods have a dedicated in-house recruitment team, comprising a skilled team of experts who specialise in retail across all levels, from Sales Associates and Boutique Managers to Store Directors. Existing employees are encouraged and incentivised to recommend a friend, or to become part of our ‘Talent Spotting’ team, reporting back on exceptional service wherever they receive it. Our team also place importance on identifying future talent, and we run various future talent programmes such as School Leavers, offering students fast-tracked, educative and immersive opportunities. We want people to recognise retail as an industry where school-leavers can build long-lasting, varied and fulfilled careers, and this programme allows us to cultivate talent from an early stage. Glassdoor: Recruiting is only one part of the equation. How do you retain talent once they are employees at Harrods? Abi Weeks: At Harrods, we are dedicated to making sure our employees have the opportunity to build a career and not just a job. We encourage employees to apply for other roles within the business, and commit resources to helping staff grow and engage their skill-sets; holding a Careers Week biannually and offering training and accredited educational opportunities through a dedicated learning and development team.  We also run secondment schemes throughout the year. The purpose of these secondments is not only to allow the participant a taste of working in another area of the business, but to allow them to develop new skills and gain experience which may enable them to change the direction of their career should they choose to do so. For instance, a member of the retail team might be given the opportunity to experience working within the marketing team or with Harrods.com.