AI and Education
Minimizing the risks of AI in education means bridging the ‘relevance gap’ to develop the kind of thinking young people will need to thrive in their careers. ...
Talent
How designer outlet operator McArthurGlen Group is boosting employee loyalty
Having optimized customer experience, the manager of shopping destinations across the UK, Europe, and Canada is securing employee loyalty by recognizing the “moments that matter” in their careers.
McArthurGlen is in a good groove. In a challenging economic environment with discretionary spending squeezed, the designer outlet group still grew sales across its portfolio by 7% last year to a record high. That followed 14% growth in the preceding year. And this trend is set to continue in 2025, with footfall and sales up year-on-year.
The secret of its success? Offering designer-branded products at hefty discounts of up to 70% and providing best-in-class customer experiences. As the company’s Chief People Officer, Estelle Hollingsworth puts it: “We don’t want our customers to think of us as just a luxury retail outlet. Rather, we want them to think of us as a great day out. We’ve built customer loyalty by offering great value alongside an unmatched experience in the moments that matter, whether that’s the incredible entertainment and events we host at our outlets, our fantastic brand mixes, or exceptional service at point of sale.”
Having learned a lot about customer loyalty, the business is deploying the same approach with its employees. It intends to focus its efforts on improving employee experiences during the “moments that matter.” These include a new recruit’s first day, leaving for (and returning from) parental leave, and, of course, promotions, bereavement, illness, and retirement.
“We want to support each of these moments in an extraordinary way, building an emotional connection between the employee and the group, so that colleagues realize we see and value them,” says Hollingsworth.
It’s all about finding these moments, just like we do with customers, that genuinely create a sense of belonging, value, personalization and loyalty.
The value of first impressions
The business invests significant energy in employee onboarding. The evening before their first day, new starters receive personal letters of welcome from senior management and are invited to a welcome dinner. Regardless of where they will work within the business, as part of the official onboarding, everyone also gets to experience one of the retail outlet centers as a customer.
The consideration that companies afford women, in terms of maternity leave, and the periods before and after it, can cement or dissolve loyalty. On top of the company maternity leave and “keep-in-touch” days, McArthurGlen also offers parental coaching to ensure a successful return to work that allows the person to adjust to their new life as a parent and find confidence in balancing work and life priorities.
“It’s all about finding these moments, just like we do with customers, that genuinely create a sense of belonging, value, personalization, and loyalty,” adds Hollingsworth.
Taking care of the workforce
In recent years, McArthurGlen has ramped up its investment in employee well-being and has restructured its People team to identify and prioritize other areas for improvement. An unusual and valued benefit is a £500 well-being allowance that every employee can use to support a healthy lifestyle.
“The top three things our colleagues spend this benefit on are fitness classes and gym memberships, spa sessions and massages, and home gym equipment,” explains Hollingsworth. “The point is that our people can choose what they do for themselves and their families. It is an exceptional benefit. People really love this.”
The business also promotes employee care through its network of well-being ambassadors. “It’s so much more impactful if a peer checks on somebody rather than a manager,” says Hollingsworth. “We’ve trained well-being ambassadors across the company to support others in many different ways. It could be helping someone with finding mental health support tools or assisting a neurodiverse employee in navigating the workplace.”
“A lot of the time, we get distracted by doing things that feel good but don’t bring enough value to our guests, colleagues or the business.”
The bottom-line impact
With the CHRO agenda growing exponentially, it has become crucial to be laser-focused on those initiatives that align most closely with commercial and strategic priorities.
“The profession needs to get better at focusing on what matters most,” says Hollingsworth. “A lot of the time, we get distracted by doing things that feel good but don’t bring enough value to our guests, colleagues, or the business.”
Hollingsworth believes that it’s vital for HR leaders to demonstrate to the CEO and executive team the commercial value of every initiative they undertake. “They’re naturally interested in how our people feel, but what they’re looking for is a clear connection between engagement initiatives and business outcomes,” she adds. “It’s not just about knowing that loyalty and low churn are valuable – senior leaders already understand that. What matters is showing how specific actions will drive greater engagement and why that leads to tangible commercial impact.”
Early data looks promising. In a recent survey, when asked whether they would recommend McArthurGlen as a place to work, 87% of employees said yes, up four percentage points on the preceding year. According to Willis Towers Watson, whose engagement surveys McArthurGlen use, the ‘high-performance’ norm is 84%. Employee survey indicators for engagement, inclusion, and well-being are also trending upward.
That raw experience gave me a real understanding of the operational challenges businesses face. Having operational and commercial acumen gives CHROs an edge when building credibility with the C-suite.
Making experience count
Hollingsworth is a relative newcomer to the retail sector. After 13 years at Air Products and Chemicals and a three-year stint as HR Director at BAE Systems, she held various leadership positions in operations and HR during a six-and-a-half-year career with Virgin Atlantic, before joining McArthurGlen in September 2024.
But these diverse experiences have helped shape her approach. The focus on employee “moments that matter” was inspired by a similar strategy at Virgin Atlantic. And her hard-nosed insistence on understanding and proving commercial value was cemented when working in an operational role at the airline.
“I was previously VP of cabin crew and cabin operations at Virgin Atlantic, and unfortunately, one of the most challenging requirements was to lead the redundancies across the 4,000-strong cabin crew when COVID-19 hit,” explains Hollingsworth.
“That raw experience gave me a real understanding of the operational challenges businesses face. Having operational and commercial acumen gives CHROs an edge when building credibility with the C-suite.”
Hollingsworth is now driving an initiative that encourages employees to widen their professional experience in a similar way. McArthurGlen offers its workforce opportunities to work in different functional and operational roles, building the skillsets to become future leaders.
As she implements new policies and ways of working, Hollingsworth also draws on personal experience. Her professional focus on DE&I and well-being is partly driven by her experience as a working mum of three children.
“A former employer gave me the time and space to work flexibly and initially return part-time. It was a lifeline.”
Offering employees the best possible experience during key moments will not always win them for the whole of their working lives. But it will certainly give them a different perspective on McArthurGlen as a caring and thoughtful employer and make them think long and hard about any decision to leave.
In a sector such as retail, this goodwill ripples through from employer to employee to customer. Hollingsworth’s experience tells her that this makes sense both for her people and for the business.
Expert
Related
From jobs to skills: How CHROs can unlock radical productivity gains
In a volatile world, organizations must adopt a skills-powered approach to talent management to boost agility, resilience, and growth....
Scared of retirement? You don’t have to be
Research-backed insights reveal the hidden challenges leaders face when transitioning from career to retirement, and what organizations must do to support this critical life change. ...
Standard Chartered: 4 tips to crack the jobs-to-skills transition
Discover how Standard Chartered’s skills-powered approach boosts productivity, reskilling, and employee engagement through its Talent Marketplace....
Learn Brain Circuits
Join us for daily exercises focusing on issues from team building to developing an actionable sustainability plan to personal development. Go on - they only take five minutes.
Explore Leadership
What makes a great leader? Do you need charisma? How do you inspire your team? Our experts offer actionable insights through first-person narratives, behind-the-scenes interviews and The Help Desk.
Join Membership
Log in here to join in the conversation with the I by IMD community. Your subscription grants you access to the quarterly magazine plus daily articles, videos, podcasts and learning exercises.