Sir John Timpson’s work in the field of attachment tells you everything you need to know about how the business is run today.
The entrepreneur who fostered 90 children at the same time as bringing his signature brand to high streets across Britain believes there are a lot of parallels to be drawn between childcare and the workplace.
His firm now uses an “upside down management” model throughout the business, trusting each colleague to do their job their own way.
They have also replaced the HR department with “people support” whose main role is to help colleagues sort out personal problems including bereavement, addiction, debt and relationship issues.
Support
But more recently it has been his son, James Timpson, who has grabbed the headlines for continuing the corporate responsibility legacy.
Last year the company announced it would offer free suit cleaning for unemployed people going to interviews as well as continuing to help ex-convicts by giving them a second chance.
A tenth of employees are ex-offenders and it runs training schemes in prisons to help people when they get out.
Current crisis
So it should come as no surprise that when the coronavirus crisis hit, Timpson was one of the companies which responded with their employee’s interests in mind.
Rather than laying off staff – always called “colleagues” – they announced they would put them on furlough and top up their salary to ensure they received their pay in full.
The endeavour has cost them £500,000 a week, but as James said in a tweet:
“It’s worth every penny to help our colleagues and their families through some tough weeks.”
He also announced that outlets next to hospitals would open their car parks to NHS workers free of charge, noting that “they need it more than we do at the moment”.
As his father pointed out today, there will be challenging times to come for the high street. But when things get back to normal we should remember that a pound in the pocket of an ethical retailer is a pound towards safeguarding the businesses that are out to make a difference, not just a profit.
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That is the world I grew up in still after WW2. Days when staff, employees of such companies were treated more like family. Customer always right attitude. Works childen’s parties and coach trip days out for employees families. Their own accommodation where workers and wives could could holiday. I remember my parents going to Bournemouth and Eastbourne to stay from Manchester.Lovely to know Timpsons still retain those ethics today and about how founder fostered children. x
I have seen Timpsons at their very best in prisons, and also heard (I think Denis Timpson) at a conference. What an amazing company. Because of their compassion, they have helped so many people in prisons, and I didn’t know about the fostering of those children. God will bless their company. Their principles are wonderful. Lyn
Such a fantastic and consistent example of Corporate Social Responsibility.
This is exactly why I dedicated my book ‘How to get a GREAT JOB when you have a CRIMINAL RECORD’ to James Timpson and why The Rt. Hon. Lord Wilson, Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom confirmed in his preface that he would always patronise Timpson’s.
I hope post #covid19 more employers begin to understand that there is so much more to life and business than mere economic indicators.
I have only every been a very happy customer of Timpsons. The attitude of the founder shines through their colleagues. If I were still in the UK I would still be a customer, I can’t recommend them highly enough. I still use keys cut in their Kingston-upon-Thames branch.