Benefits of a diversity strategy
Tesco’s diversity strategy brings many benefits to the business. It
means, for instance, that Tesco is always aiming to recruit from
the widest possible talent pool, helping it find the best person for
the job. The workforce will have a better understanding of
customer needs as it reflects the same diversity as the customer
base. It also opens up new ideas and opportunities that may arise
from different cultures.
Having a mixture of different age groups within the workforce can
also help to raise morale. The mix of young and older people
brings a broad range of knowledge, experience and social skills to
the company. A diverse workforce is more flexible, since it
consists of a wide range of people from all walks of life, all able to
work together to deliver the best service in all circumstances. It
also leads to better performance and lower costs, since
employees are able to offer a variety of expertise that enables jobs
to be done effectively, improving productivity and reducing waste.
A key part of the strategy is Tesco’s aim to employ people from
disabled or disadvantaged groups. Tesco offers an interview
guarantee to candidates from Remploy, Shaw Trust and WhizzKidz
– three organisations that work with disabled people. This
guarantee means that where Tesco has a vacancy and any of
these groups has a suitable candidate, he or she must be
interviewed. The interview guarantee does not mean a job offer will
be made, but in many cases applicants from these partners get
the job as they are the best candidate. Tesco also offers work
placements to give candidates the experience of working in retail.
Former Tesco Chairman Sir David Reid is chairman of the Trustee
Board at Whizz-Kidz, a charity that supports and empowers
young wheelchair users. Tesco therefore has a strong relationship
with the charity. Whizz-Kidz was chosen as Tesco’s Charity of the
Year in 2006. Research conducted by Whizz-Kidz showed that
many young wheelchair users found it hard to develop adult skills
and outlooks, so the charity provides training to help young
people become more confident and independent.