The John Lewis Partnership (JLP) is planning to hire more seasonal staff for this year’s ‘golden quarter’ than ever before as part of a drive to enhance customer service.
Some 13,700 seasonal roles are now being recruited for, including 3,000 across 35 John Lewis branches, 8,500 within 315 Waitrose stores, and nearly 2,200 across the retailer’s distribution centres and supply chain network.
JLP noted that the hike in recruitment for the Black Friday and Christmas period was a direct result of its wider investment in “strengthening its customer service and experience”. This includes the opening of its first new Waitrose stores in six years and an £800m investment in John Lewis, which has recently seen an overhaul of its beauty halls.
The group noted that its efforts were already paying off, with John Lewis being named ‘Retailer of the Year’ by Which? this year and the highest-rated retailer in the UK by the Customer Service Institute.
Meanwhile, Waitrose recently scooped The Grocer Awards for both Service and Availability, after winning 20 of the ‘store of the week’ awards across the year.
“We’ve invested heavily to set ourselves up for a great golden quarter, but our excellent service also relies on having brilliant Partners on hand, whenever and wherever our customers need them,” said Jo Rackham, Chief People Officer for JLP.
“Whether helping our customers find the perfect gift for a loved one, or the show-stopper for their Christmas lunch, our seasonal teams play a huge role in spreading the festive magic. They’re rewarding roles, at one of the most exciting times of year to work in retail.”
NAM Implications:
- “strengthening its customer service and experience”.
- JLP are patently fully committed to the Golden Quarter, and beyond…
- The issue for suppliers is the extent to which this represents a major step forward for JLP.
- And for suppliers to assess their own state-of-readiness?
- Over to you…
