Forties People

The glittering Personnel Today Awards celebrate the very best in Human Resources practice. Congratulations to Tesco on winning our category, the prestigious Age Positive at Work award, for the organisation that best demonstrates its commitment to age diversity.

"We're pleased to be recognised by the personnel industry for our commitment to age diversity. Personnel professionals play an integral role in changing ageist attitudes and at Tesco we are continually working on initiatives to attract people from all ages and backgrounds. We believe that it is attitude and ability - not age - that makes for great service for our customers," said David Fairhurst.

To attract younger workers Tesco introduced the industry’s first web-based benefits and careers service offering guidance to young people considering a career in retail. Called Debut, it helps students arrange a job swap between their home and university stores. They are also trialling a ‘Save As You Study’ scheme to encourage students to save some of their salary each month, with the amount being matched by Tesco For Older Workers. Tesco have also recently introduced a policy on working beyond retirement and have almost 2,500 staff over the traditional retirement age.

Tesco offer many different working patterns which give a great deal of flexibility. Margarette Spencer, a part time checkout operator at our East Didsbury store, has taken advantage of this by reducing her hours to three days a week following an operation. 76 year old Margarette is a well-liked member of her local community through her 12 years dedicated service – and she is a testimony to a person who lives life to the full and enjoys it. Asked why she continued working past the traditional retirement age, Margarette says she enjoys keeping active and working - and Tesco gives her that opportunity.

Shortlist

After a record number of entries, Personnel Today upped the shortlist from three teams to four so that more organisations gain the recognition they deserve. With the usual abundance of impressive applications, this goes to show how the HR function continues to develop as a strategic and integral part of businesses today.

The four HR teams shortlisted for the Age Positive At Work Award :

Tesco [WINNERS]

London and Quadrant Housing Trust

Land Registry

HBOS

All shortlisted teams were guests of honour at the magnificent gala Awards evening at Grosvenor House, Park Lane, London on November 25th.

Thank you to all those who entered, congratulations to the shortlisted teams - and our winners: Tesco !

Personnel Today Awards

Tesco's champion support