“Most of my team have been with me for ten years. Our staff retention is something I’m really proud of. We rarely have to recruit new staff. The exception comes in the summer holidays, when we take on students to help cover the peak vacation period. That’s getting harder to do, but we focus on the local area which helps – word of mouth is important.

The key to keeping a stable team and strong staff retention is a friendly environment. We keep standards of health and safety and PPE as high as possible. That’s how you prove to your staff you’re taking them seriously. We have a staffroom and kitchen facilities, so that working here is comfortable. We want everyone to have a sense of self-worth, to feel valued.

Support networks

I encourage my team to come to me if they’re struggling, or having problems, and we’ll always be flexible to meet their needs. That’s what makes people value working for you.

For things we can’t help with, we refer them to GroceryAid. We’ve shared their number, and have a sign in the staff room. Your staff need to know help is available.

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Perks and bonuses

Tea and coffee, and food we bake in-house, are free for staff. On days where we have big deliveries, we’ll order take-out to say thanks.

We have a bonus system in place. In the pandemic this was one week’s salary. We still give everyone a performance-based bonus. It’s decided on things like absenteeism, their flexibility. If they did overtime to help us when we were busy, or their category performs well, we want to reward them.

Safety

Unfortunately, there’s been a rise in crime in our area, and as we often have female members of staff working in the store late at night, we want them to feel safe. We have a security guard come and work in the store at key times. They’re from an external security company. It’s made everyone feel safer.

Moreover, everyone now has headsets. They add to the sense of safety and they boost efficiency in store. It’s easier to communicate and coordinate.

Keep it in house

We rarely outsource. Rotas are displayed in my office and the staff room, and are also sent out through the store WhatsApp. It’s easy to overlook, but having clear communication on things helps with staff retention. It makes working for you easier.

Training we do ourselves, we keep it in house and I’ve never seen the need to go to external suppliers. We’re alcohol licenced. We pass the key information onto the team members, and do updates regularly. We train everyone to food hygiene standards, while we got the security company to give everyone a talk on looking after themselves.

Structure

We try to avoid having a hierarchy where we can, but we trust the more senior team members with looking after the safe and keys when we’re off. Team members take ownership of certain sections. They’ll be responsible for merchandising the section and managing orders. Our store is a puzzle, and every team member has their place, where they can contribute and make a difference.

We gave one of our younger members of staff responsibility for our vaping range. They work with the supplier, Aquavape and the category has surged, we’re making £2,500-3,000 a week. Another team member looks after confectionery. They know what products will surge in demand at Mother’s Day, because they’ve been responsible for the category for a few years.

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