Every Little Helps

Moving local people into local jobs, here we find out how TESCO Express go that extra mile to recruit the best people for their business.

A regular on the UK high street, TESCO have gone from strength to strength with stores popping up in towns and cities across England. Over the past 12 months, TESCO Express at Bridgewater Place went that little bit further to stand out from the rest of the crowd! They were recognised for their contribution to recruitment and training at the BEST Celebration Awards 2010.

Fresh from his success at these awards, Store Manager, Scott Fairley says: 'We're keen to have local people serving local customers and working with BEST has been the ideal way to do just that. We've developed a great working relationship with BEST: they know the type of person we look for and support us in the recruitment process.'

Easier Recruitment
'The relationship works really well: BEST select candidates who complete a six week work placement with TESCO. Candidates are trained in everything from cash handling and customer service to stock replenishment. Where we have vacancies, those that excel are offered employment at Bridge-water or at another TESCO store; others leave us having benefited from a comprehensive work experience programme. This means we get the best people for the job, many of whom move up the ladder quickly, whilst other candidates get valuable experience which we hope helps them find work elsewhere.'

A Master at Beating the Competition
No stranger to competition (we're reliably informed Scott played golf as an amateur in the 1997 British Masters!) Scott and his team at Bridgewater were nominated by Lynda Atkinson, BEST Centre Manager, Leeds who says: 'The support and training offered to our customers by TESCO is second to none.'

And the last word from Scott?
Winning the award was fantastic! It was a great achievement for the store and the team that help train new staff. Currently, my whole team at Bridgewater were BEST customers so it's a great boost for us all! Most importantly our boss, Operations Manager, Matthew Pickworth, was over the moon!'

BEST work with 14 TESCO stores within West Yorkshire.