The Annual 2019 - Punchline Gloucester Business Magazine

Happy staff are at the root of our success

Nurturing a talented workforce isn't proving to be a problem for the owners of Highfield Garden World, it's tempting them not to turn over a new leaf that is proving to be the issue. In business in Whitminster since 1992, owner and co- founder Tim Greenway admits that finding staff who know people as well as they know plants is far from easy. With 135 on the books, many of whom are from a small pool of horticultural experts, Greenway has learned that retention is just as - if not more - important than recruitment. "We need people who are as good with the customers as they are with the plants," he said. "We can't compete with the kind of progression someone starting out might get with the likes of John Lewis. "But as an independent business, we have the flexibility to consider changes to working hours for example. "It's doing whatever it takes that is doable for us, but

which adds to job satisfaction for them." And a happy workforce often leads to happy customers, many of whom are as loyal to Highfield GardenWorld as the staff themselves. With a high number of staff on the books for as long as the centre has been open, the personal relationships they make with the regulars are often a real perk of the job. "In retail, especially for an independent business like ours, the most important part of the job is dealing with customers," Greenway said. "Ideally you want staff who really enjoy that side of their work. Many of our customers are regulars, and they enjoy seeing familiar faces when they come. "Having shop floor staff who enjoy those interactions is a win-win all round" l

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