We think WCF is a great place to work. We enjoy higher levels of employee retention than average and our most recent employee engagement survey, with an Outstanding eNPS of +54, shows that our staff are engaged and motivated to make a difference.But don’t just take our word for it – these are some of the reasons why we think working for WCF is so special.
WCF is partly owned by its employees, with all
employees having the opportunity to own shares directly as well as benefitting
financially through our Employee Benefit Trust from free shares and an annual
Employee Ownership Dividend that is paid on top of any individual performance
bonuses. More importantly, our employee owners have the opportunity to benefit
from our decentralised structure by enjoying higher levels of autonomy and
responsibility than in a traditional corporate structure.
Working for one of the WCF businesses is more than just working on one site, even if you travel to the same place each day. Many of our employee owners have the opportunity to apply their expertise over several of our businesses. We say that no two days are the same at WCF and we mean it.
WCF is over 110 years old and we take the legacy of
the business very seriously indeed. Every employee owner is motivated to hand
WCF over to future generations of employees in a stronger position for the
future than when they inherited it. Check out how it feels to be an employee owner of WCF. This unique opportunity and encouragement to leave
your legacy is part of our DNA.
With a diverse range of businesses – bulk fuel oil
distribution, retail pet stores, clothing via direct mail, e-commerce and
leisure – selling a huge variety of difference products, our employee owners
can also benefit from a huge range of discounts, including discounted leisure
breaks.
Our
employee owner engagement app allows colleagues from across the group to
share business updates and news and celebrate successes. It has been
instrumental in bringing people together as one WCF family, allowing us to communicate,
collaborate and celebrate our wins.
Our most recent independent employee engagement survey was completed by 89% of employee owners and we achieved an eNPS score of +54 which is considered Outstanding. Our average score across all 27 questions was 8.3, with our Advocacy and Loyalty areas scoring an average of 8.6. The main themes emerging from the survey were a People-First Culture, a Sense of Belonging and Leadership and Expectations. 90% of participants agreed that they had a clear understanding of what is expected of them in their role and 84% that working for WCF motivates them to go Above and Beyond.
Following on from the survey each business is
committed to working collaboratively with our employee owners on the areas
where we scored the lowest to ensure that we are even better next year. These
are around wellbeing and balance, additional communication and continued
manager support and feedback.
WCF, along with 7,000 other progressive business across the UK, are committed to supporting our lowest paid employee owners and in November 2022 we became an accredited Real Living Wage employer. This means that we have a consistent salary starting point regardless of age or length of service. This initiative supports our long-term commitment to support and improve the wellbeing of all our employee owners.
The National Living Wage is the minimum hourly rate employers are allowed to pay employees aged 23 or over, set annually by the Government. The Real Living Wage is different; it’s a recommendation, independently calculated every year by the Living Wage Foundation, and is voluntary on the part of employers. At the end of 2022 the Real Living Wage was £1.40 an hour greater than the National Minimum Wage for over 23.
The Real Living Wage is consistently higher than the Government’s National Living Wage. It’s widely considered to be a more realistic calculation of how much an employee really needs to earn to cover the basic cost of living, which includes expenses such as rent, food, and utilities.
We trust our people to do the right thing by our
customers and our decentralised structure puts the decision making at the heart
of our businesses, including the autonomy to deal with customer complaints in
the best way possible.
Keep an eye on our website for all Current Vacancies available or contact Karen, our Head of People and Culture (karen.kelso@wcf.co.uk), to express your interest.
