We care about our people.
We will focus on learning and development, health and wellbeing, and diversity and inclusion to help us ensure that The Works is an engaging and inspiring place to work.
Our brilliant colleagues are what set us apart from the rest, giving our customers an outstanding shopping experience in a challenging and competitive retail environment. We are focused on attracting and holding onto great talent by creating a positive and uplifting culture where our colleagues can thrive.
Every year, our colleagues have their say about their experiences at work in our Make a Difference engagement survey (provided by Best Companies™). The third-party survey asks colleagues to report their views on areas covering Leadership, My Manager, Personal Growth, Wellbeing, Fair Deal and Giving Something Back, with the option to add comments which give us in-depth insights about colleagues’ experiences.
80% of our colleagues completed the survey and we maintained our one-star rating (with three stars being the highest) for ‘very good’ workplace engagement. We’re proud that this led us to being named 10th Best Big Company to Work For in the Best Big Companies 2024 national list.
Learning and development
Our online learning and development site, Can-Do Academy, offers all colleagues easy access to on-demand learning and development opportunities. Compliance, management and leadership skills training is available alongside modules to support personal growth and wellbeing topics. In FY25, our talent development team introduced multiple new initiatives including The Works Welcome induction event, which gives our new starters a warm introduction to the business, and our High Potential Programme, empowering selected retail and Support Centre colleagues to develop into future leaders.
Health and wellbeing
Health and safety (H&S)
The health and safety of our colleagues is always our priority and we take a proactive approach to make sure we improve H&S performance each year. Our online portal and reporting system allows all stores to instantly record accidents, incidents and near misses and our store managers use streamlined H&S checklists to support their regular daily floor-walks to spot hazards and ensure escape routes are kept clear.
At our Distribution Centre, we’ve implemented a change to picking processes, which has reduced accident rates by 61% year on year and earned us a Warehouse Transformation of the Year award
at the Logistics Matter Warehouse Transformation Awards 2025.
Wellbeing
Our wellbeing strategy ensures we focus on all aspects of our colleagues’ wellbeing and outlines the ways colleagues can access support when they need it. All colleagues have access to:
- MyWorks Wellbeing Hub, our communications and engagement platform, which provides quick access to physical, mental and financial wellbeing resources.
- Our Employee Assistance Programme through our partnership with the Retail Trust, which colleagues can access 24/7.
- Wellbeing Warriors, who are specially trained colleagues across the business who can support their peers’ mental wellbeing, act as an impartial, confidential, listening ear and provide unbiased support.
Diversity and inclusion (D&I)
Our D&I strategy sets out four key priorities which we are committed to delivering:
- Further improve our understanding of D&I across our business.
- Improve D&I training and enhance awareness.
- Review our internal processes to ensure barriers to inclusion are removed.
- Ensure everyone at The Works is accountable for their role in creating an inclusive workplace.
