Having just read my Sunday Times today, in particular the 100 Best Companies To Work For 2008 (250- 4999 employees) conducted by Best, I was very surprised with the results. My surprise is not with the winners, but with the companies that are missing. I am not being specific to individual companies, but to one of the largest employing sectors in the UK - Retail. More than 3.2 million people work in retail and it is now the UK’s third largest industry behind business services and the health sector, and yet it did not feature once in the Top 100 companies to work for!! Not one retail company!
The only savior came in the form of Mothercare, who came 18th in the Top 20 Big Companies to Work For 2008 (5000 employees+). Surely Mothercare are not the only retailer worth working for in the UK, are they? What has happened to all those other top name retailers? Are they really that poor to work for?
With the continual demand for talent, it isn't a good advert for the retail sector is it? There is nothing like making it hard for yourself is there? All those talented graduates pay good credence to award lists like these and actively target these companies to work for. So is it any wonder the retail sector is always moaning about the lack of talent?