Our people
Our teams play a significant and often invisible role in the lives of people across the United Kingdom. 24 hours a day they ensure that stores are stocked, that construction sites keep working and that the wheels of commerce keep turning. We deliver the milk and sugar for your coffee, food for your table, furniture for your home, fuel for your car, and many more essential services too.
In short, our people are the unsung heroes who make many of the nation's key supply chains run efficiently, moving, storing and delivering goods as they travel from source to retailers, sites and homes across the United Kingdom. In return we aim to work hard to ensure that working for us works for them.
We do everything we can to provide an inclusive work environment to make sure our colleagues are safe at work and have the support they need to enjoy long and enjoyable careers with Wincanton.
Our people strategy
Our people strategy comprises three main aspects:
Culture and engagement
Our culture supports inclusion, wellbeing, performance and growth.
Key principles
- An environment where people and business thrive, through:
- A diverse and inclusive workplace
- Recognition frameworks celebrating colleague achievements
- The Wincanton Way
- Supporting the wellbeing of all our colleagues
Talent and capability
Developing people capability, growing potential for now and the future.
Key principles
- Pipelines of internal and external talent to meet business requirements
- Career pathways and development programmes for colleagues to fulfil their potential
- Multi-faceted resourcing model
- Developing new skills for customers current and future needs
Delivering growth through business partnerships
A model that’s fit for purpose, enabled by the right technology, the right people with the right capabilities to underpin business performance.
- Dynamic people team partnering with the business and colleagues to meet strategic and individual goals
- 'Self-service' – enabling our colleagues
- Accessible and easy to use technology
- Driving our change agenda
- Trusted processes and governance
Our people proposition
Our people are at the heart of our success. Through a combination of flexible working practices, openness and support we enable them to be their best and to understand the integral role they play in making our operations great places to work.
Wincanton is committed to sustaining a highly engaged workforce.
Our culture is one where colleagues are treated with care and respect. Two-way communication is at the heart of how we operate ensuring colleagues are informed and listened to whether they are involved in delivering day-to-day operational excellence, driving business transformation, or working collaboratively to deliver a company-wide project.
Our aim is to ensure that information is shared at the right time and in the most accessible format, that all colleagues understand the business’ objectives and their role in delivering these and, most importantly, that they are able to share their thoughts and ideas and understand that the company will listen carefully and respond.
We develop and engage our people to ensure that they are fully informed and involved, making Wincanton a great place to work and one where colleagues are motivated to deliver an outstanding level of service for all its customers that makes their businesses better.
This approach helps develop and maintain an engaged workforce who will deliver the best possible service for our customers.
We aim to attract, identify and develop the best talent at all levels across the business to deliver exceptional performance for our customers.
Our fantastic teams are the reason for our success and are crucial to our business. We invest in talent and development to help enable our people to fulfil their potential and help them enjoy full and rewarding careers with Wincanton.
We are passionate about developing our people and providing opportunities for existing and potential colleagues to develop their careers with us whether through ongoing training, learning and development or fast track talent programmes.
We offer range of development programmes tailored to colleagues’ individual career paths and we develop and equip them with the skills they need to perform their roles, covering everything from health and safety, driver training and warehouse skills to leadership programmes and professional qualifications.
- Apprenticeship programmes up to degree level
- Leadership and management development
- Graduate programme/work placements
- Driver licence acquisition
- Personal development
- Job related training
- Health and safety training
The gig economy is a developing and significant trend in the UK labour market and workers want more flexibility. In the UK, it’s estimated that around five million people are currently part of the gig economy and engage in work in a very different way to traditional contracts of employment. Wincanton has unique partnerships in place with specialist organisations that enable workers to work for multiple employers in multiple sectors, offering a new approach to the labour market, supporting our fulfilment resourcing gaps and giving individuals the flexibility they desire.
Wincanton is committed to ensuring that we are in a strong position to attract and retain high calibre candidates. We understand how important it is not only to reward our colleagues with a competitive salary and range of benefits but also to show appreciation for the excellent work they do, the loyalty they show and to be able to celebrate their achievements.
Our Reward & Recognition strategy works hand in hand with our Talent and Development strategy to ensure that we not only achieve this but also create a culture of high engagement and mutual respect.
Our benefits include everything from financial and savings schemes, to health and wellbeing support, to discounts with well-known national retailers to name a few. In addition to a competitive reward package we celebrate and recognise great performance through the right behaviours via our company-wide and local recognition programmes that encourage recognition to be an everyday experience that can be used by management and colleagues alike.
Some of the benefits we offer are:
- We offer a pension scheme to all employees to help you save for your retirement
- Our family friendly policies support working parents
- You can also participate in our cycle to work scheme to make great savings on bikes
- The holiday purchase scheme enables our colleagues to purchase additional leave should they wish to do so
Some of our recognition programmes are:
- Peer to Peer recognition programmes that link to living the Wincanton values allowing our colleagues to celebrate and thank each other for their achievements
- Long Service Awards – celebrating the commitment of our colleagues throughout their career with Wincanton
- The Wincanton Awards – our annual company-wide recognition programme
The health, welfare and wellbeing of our employees is a critical element of our people strategy. We recognise physical and mental health are essential to individual and company success; this is why we take a proactive approach to wellbeing throughout our business.
Wincanton is committed to breaking down stereotypes and stigma, ensuring all colleagues feel valued, supported, included and safe. Through clear messaging, proactive leadership and provision of safe and accessible spaces to talk we empower our employees to look after themselves and each other.
Our Wellbeing programme, designed to support employees to take a holistic approach to their health, incorporates events and wellbeing initiatives such as:
- Our employee benefits platform to access wellbeing content and more.
- Our retailTRUST Wellbeing Hub personalised to support wellbeing needs and interests
- Our employee assistance programme
- Health and wellbeing awareness campaigns
- Employee support groups
- Wellbeing and engagement champions and qualified mental health first aiders
We recognise and embrace the benefits that a diverse and inclusive workplace brings. Our colleagues can expect to be treated fairly, with respect, and for all to have access to the same opportunities.
As an organisation we’re actively engaged in initiatives that promote a career in logistics to those in under-represented groups. This means looking beyond recruitment practices and considers how factors as diverse as work patterns and practices, to uniforms, can play a part in encouraging and enabling more people to enjoy careers that fit their lifestyle and personal circumstances.
Our network of Diversity Champions support and promote diversity on a day to day basis aided by the full support of our Executive and Senior Leadership teams.
We are also proud to support local and national diversity initiatives and to work with respected organisations that promote inclusion:
- Change the race:ratio – we are proud to be among the first 50 signatories to this CBI led charter
- DWP's Disability Confident Campaign – supporting employment of those with disabilities. Furthermore we are working in partnership with our customers and local organisations to offer employment and work experience to those with Autism and learning disabilities
- Armed Forces Covenant Scheme – awarded Silver Award in 2022 thereby supporting ex-servicemen, reservists and their spouses to gain employment outside the armed forces
- Business in the Community – created nearly 40 years ago by HRH The Prince Wales, BITC is the oldest and largest business-led membership organisation dedicated to championing responsible business. Helping members like us to create a skilled and inclusive workforce as well as supporting communities and sustainability
Our network of Diversity Champions across all characteristics support and promote diversity on a day to day basis enabled by the support of senior managers throughout our organisation.