TWO YEARS AFTER receiving an irate call from a customer upset that Bonmarché was closing its only store on the Isle of Wight, chief executive Beth Butterwick called the woman to invite her to cut the ribbon when a new shop was opened on the island. “We obsess about our customers,” explains Butterwick, revealing that the customer is now a brand ambassador, “and want to surprise and delight them.” The organisation focuses on the 50-plus fashion market and there are four ever-present cardboard cut-outs of Bonmarché-clad customers at the weekly staff meeting at its Wakefield headquarters. The focus on the client is a core value that runs across the business, which achieves its best overall results for the My Manager and My Team factors (both ranking 13th on our list of Best Big Companies). “The meeting gives you the opportunity to see what has been done during the past week and what is on the cards for the next,” says logistics manager Wayne Hemingway, whose team played its part in improving departmental interaction by making a video of the life of a garment. Employees agree that work is fun (80%) and that people go out of their way to help one another (78%). Bonmarché encourages charitable activities (82%, ranking ninth), with head of retail Claire Gebski saying of one initiative: “We hold charity fashion shows and we'll showcase our products with customers as the models, while staff model, too”. A staff-nominated “star colleague” receives £200, a bottle of champagne, and a coveted parking space for a month. Employees say their managers express appreciation for a job well done (74%) and talk openly and honestly with them (76%). www.bonmarche.co.uk
