
At a glance
Explore this case study if:
- You’re looking to streamline performance management
- You’re thinking of transitioning to paperless onboarding
- You need to centralise all your recruitment content
- You’re longing for efficient payroll and time management
Yorkshire Garden Centres’s story
The lowdown
Yorkshire Garden Centres was founded in 2015. Starting with a single site, the company has rapidly expanded, acquiring several more centres and creating a unique family-oriented shopping and leisure destination across Yorkshire. The centres combine retail with dining, play areas, and community events, emphasising a culture of family and customer service. But as they grew they faced typical growing pains: disjointed HR, payroll and time management systems spread across three platforms, stifling efficiency and company culture. We chatted with Neil Barwise-Carr from Yorkshire Garden Centres about their transformation since adopting our platform.
Life before Employment Hero
Initially, Yorkshire Garden Centres struggled with cumbersome systems that were a drain on productivity. Their HR processes, split among different platforms, caused inefficiencies and a disconnected culture. The lack of integration made it increasingly difficult to manage the growing team effectively – though when Yorkshire Garden Centres first embraced Employment Hero, they had only one location, but they were driven by the vision of creating a strong, unified company culture as they expanded. Their culture is firmly rooted in six core values: Team, Excellence, Honest, Respectful, Accountable and Positive. These values were not just words on paper; they were actively cultivated and celebrated.
How it’s going – a flourishing partnership
Since joining our platform, Yorkshire Garden Centres unified their HR functions onto a single platform. This change not only streamlined operations but also nurtured a strong, cohesive company culture as the company expanded. Their dedication to employee well-being was amplified through initiatives like daily huddles, ‘Time to Talk’ catch-ups, and team activity days, all managed through our easy-to-use platform. They used Employment Hero’s features to keep employees informed about these initiatives and collect feedback through custom surveys.
Nurturing employee engagement and community involvement
We’ve also supported Yorkshire Garden Centres to enhance their community involvement and internal recognition systems. The ‘Kindness Pot’ initiative, which supports local charities chosen by employees, became more impactful through our platform’s efficient management of contributions and announcements.
Efficient communication and recognition
Our tools also transformed how Yorkshire Garden Centres communicated with and recognised their staff. A bespoke online weekly team news platform celebrating personal news stories and upcoming events, with impressive statistics showcasing the engagement of their employees. They also wholeheartedly embraced our SWAG app to share this news, so that the majority of their team had easy access. The ‘recognise a teammate’ feature integrated with the platform’s ‘Values’ function which allowed for continuous acknowledgment of employee efforts.
The impact – a thriving culture and a magnet for talent
Since partnering with us, Yorkshire Garden Centres saw a significant improvement in their Employee Net Promoter Score (ENPS), jumping from +45 to +51 year on year. Their entire team is more motivated, leading to a flood of applications for vacancies and a strong foundation for future expansion.
Explore our next-gen platform
If you’re looking to streamline your HR processes and cultivate a vibrant workplace culture, talk to one of our Employment Hero specialists today.
Our next gen platform is an all-in-one HR, hiring and payroll solution designed to flex with your business needs. Learn how we can help you reduce administrative burdens and focus more on what matters: your people.