Check out your Company Bowl for anonymous work chats.
Last week saw our first Virtual Induction of the year which brought together new starters from both Carpetright and the floor room. Our colleagues started to learn all about the business, our purpose, strategy, vision and values through meeting guest speakers, who are super eager to meet our new people and support their joiner experience. We immerse our new starters in product and sales training to help set them up for success when they land in store, to help in the delivery of exceptional customer service. We believe this approach makes a difference to our people and we want them to feel proud in the business they have joined. We promote ourselves as an open and inclusive place to work where difference is valued, so it was great to hear the following: "I looked and applied through a website with roles for people over the age of 50. This was advertised on there and I thought that was important because there's been other roles I've applied for in the past where perhaps experience hasn't been valued. "It will enable me to take my young daughter to school in the morning which is an added bonus due to the store opening hours. I’ve also applied for other jobs, but as you guys can see I think the beard and all the tattoos have put alot of people off."
Congratulations to Graham from our Colchester store, who has recently celebrated 30 years with Carpetright! He said: “I first started my Carpetright career as a Concessions Manager. I then moved to Ipswich working in Sales as their Estimator, before going across to the Haverhill store as a concessions Acting Manager. I’ve also worked at Clacton, then Harwich as Manager for 18 months, and then Sudbury as Deputy Manager and Acting Manager. “I am hearing impaired and had some issues with my disability. Carpetright supported me and my Regional Manager kindly moved me to Colchester, where I am still currently enjoying working as Customer Advisor. "Over the last few years, Carpetright has provided an ear to listen and set up cafes to chat about anything that adversely affects you, and others around you. We have colleagues working all over the UK in different fields and it's good to interact with one another, air our feelings, thoughts and frustrations and strive to make each day better.”
Congratulations to Tommy, Deputy Store Manager at our Edinburgh-Straiton store. He is celebrating 20 years’ service with Carpetright! Tommy said: “I started my Carpetright career in Leith in 2003 in the warehouse. I then moved on to sales, then deputy manager and also store manager. I am now a deputy manager and I've met amazing people on my Carpetright journey. I have been working and learning from many different people in the company, which has been a joy and no two days are the same. Anyone who wishes to join Carpetright with the right mind set will progress within the company and enjoy all the knowledge from all our colleagues.”
Congratulations to our HR Services Advisor, Ellisee , who has competed her first payroll exam. Carpetright funds Ellisee’s course and provides her with time off for her studies. She said: “I’ve had nearly eight years of experience in payroll from a previous job, but since starting Carpetright at the beginning of 2022 I have gained so much more experience. I have even had the privilege to be able to start a Payroll apprenticeship course which I’m currently on a path on and very excited to expand my knowledge." "This does mean that my days have become a lot more busier balancing work and student life but each day is made a lot easier with the friendliness, laughter and help that I receive from my team. I have currently finished my first exam which allows me to move forward into the next two. Once I pass all three, I plan to improve in my role within the payroll department and hopefully in few years I am able to start the next level course and be on the road to becoming a manager.”
Colleagues in our Store Support Office got together last week to enjoy a few rounds of Bingo. It was all for charity of course, with the proceeds going to our charity partner Mind. There were some fun prizes up for grabs for a line, two lines and a full house, and the event raised more than £100. Thank you to everyone who took part and raised money for a great cause!
We’re delighted that the Retail Trust has published an article on their website about the work our HR Business Partner Dawn Fellows has been doing with the Menopause Café. Dawn set up the virtual café for colleagues at Carpetright after her own experiences with menopause and it’s proved extremely popular across the company.
Ever wondered what it takes to get those slick videos onto careers websites? Here’s a throwback peak behind the scenes from the making of our ‘day in the life of’ video for our Deputy Manager role. To keep it very real, we filmed genuine Carpetright colleagues – what a fantastic job they did! See yourself as part of our store management team? Take your next step here
Our last Menopause Café of 2023 took place on Friday (24th November) for our Carpetright colleagues. The café was set up by our HR Business Partner Dawn after her own experiences with menopause. Talking to colleagues and friends at work about her experiences, she realised that other people also wanted someone to talk to and share their experiences with, and understand that they weren’t on their own. Dawn has been running the Menopause Café for our colleagues for just over a year now, taking place every six to eight weeks. There have been activities such as Menopause Bingo, polls, guest speakers from the Retail Trust and short videos, all of which were followed by a discussion amongst the group. Lynn is one of the colleagues who has been attending the café this year. She said: “What I like about the café is the feeling of not being in it alone, and that I’m not going mad. There are great tips and advice, and I can hear about how other people are dealing with menopause. It’s an informal, open space. You don’t have to say anything and there is no pressure to talk, you can just listen.” The café will be back for our colleagues again throughout 2024!
Last week we held a Pride Awards Recognition Day at our Store Support Office and Warehouse in Purfleet, inviting our winners to come along and celebrate their achievements. Our Pride Awards recognise colleagues who go above and beyond to deliver excellent service. Well done to all of the winners who could join us: Alun Lough, Site Service Manager; Anthony Lewendon-Harper, Regional Manager; Carly Poole, Digital Executive; Gary Pratt; Senior In-Home Consultant; Holly Allan, Store Manager Falkirk; Hussain Jilane, IT Support Engineer; and Mansur Mamujee, Store Manager Colindale. We also had two of our previous winners - Jo Marriott, Senior Field Services Manager and Lisa Flood, Hub Manager Croydon - who hadn’t been able to attend their previous Recognition Day. Well done everyone, we hoped you enjoyed your special day!
