Case Study - William Jackson Food Group
Gold Award Winner of 2011 Community Partnership Awards: Good Employer
Employee Engagement
The William Jackson Food Group started in Hull 160 years ago and is a fifth
generation family-owned business. It includes the Aunt Bessie's range,
Hazeldene
salads, vegetable processor Parripack and Jackson's Bakery.
Although the company sites are located all across the UK, the
company has worked hard to build a sense of unity across all
of its divisions. Its employee engagement programme has been
central to this.
A key element of the programme is an annual survey, managed
and benchmarked by external specialists. From the results
gained, a plan of action is developed and the result of this is
monitored over time.
The Group has developed a range of employee activities
including an Employee Volunteering Programme – selecting a
number of external partners that employees can volunteer to
spend time while still being paid.
The programme is open to employees at all levels across the
Group and is managed by the workforce rather than the senior
management team.
Staff development is important to the company and retaining
talent is a priority. The company's management development
programme is a two-week residential course run in partnership
with Hull Business School and features input from academic
speakers and industry experts.
The Employee Benefit Trust is also a key feature of the
engagement programme. Part of this scheme features
confi dential advice and practical support for those facing
diffi cult times arising from serious ill health, financial problems
or other complex issues outside of work. Some of the
outcomes of this service have been life changing for the
individuals involved.
More Information
View all the winning Community Partnership Awards case studies (2011)