Benefits that work for people in retail
For people working across stores and shifts, benefits only work if they know what’s available, understand how it can help and can access it when they need it.
We make support easy to use and easy to understand, with the option of face-to-face sessions in the workplace so employees can ask questions, talk things through and get a clear explanation of the benefits available to them.
For people working across stores and shifts, benefits only work if they know what’s available, understand how it can help and can access it when they need it.
We make support easy to use and easy to understand, with the option of face-to-face sessions in the workplace so employees can ask questions, talk things through and get a clear explanation of the benefits available to them.
What makes benefits work in retail
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Savings on everyday spending, including major supermarkets and more than 1,000 retailers
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Support that reaches people across stores, shifts and different working locations
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The option of face-to-face sessions, so employees can ask questions and understand what’s available to them
What we see in retail
Turnover costs more than recruitment
When someone leaves, the cost doesn’t stop with finding their replacement. Managers spend time recruiting and onboarding, new starters take time to get up to speed, and experienced colleagues often pick up the extra workload in the meantime.
Research into employee turnover has estimated that replacing someone in a lower-paid role can cost around 16% of their annual salary. Across a large retail workforce, even relatively small improvements in retention can reduce the time and money spent replacing people.
Absence puts pressure on the people who are there
When someone is off and cover can’t be found, the shift still has to run. For the people who are there, that can mean more pressure, less time to get everything done and a harder working day.
That has a knock-on effect for the business too. Service can suffer, managers spend more time trying to fill gaps, and if short staffing becomes the norm it can start to affect morale and retention. Changes to Statutory Sick Pay also mean short-term absence now carries more direct cost for employers.
Money pressure doesn’t stop when the shift starts
Research from the Close Brothers Financial Wellbeing Index found that almost eight in ten UK employees take money worries into work. For someone managing a tight household budget, saving on groceries and everyday spending can make a practical difference.
It doesn’t replace fair pay, and we wouldn’t suggest that it does. But where pay budgets are fixed, helping people make their money go further is one way a retailer can provide some immediate support.
Seasonal colleagues need support from day one
Peak trading brings a lot of new people into stores in a short space of time. They’re learning the job, meeting new people and getting used to how things work, so information about benefits and support can easily be missed.
For someone joining on a short-term contract, especially when money is tight, knowing what help is available from the start can make a difference. It can also help retailers give seasonal colleagues a better experience and improve the chances of them wanting to return.
The questions we hear most often in retail
Retail employers tend to come to us with the same practical concerns. Usually, it’s less about what benefits are available and more about whether people will use them, how they’ll find out about them and how much work it will create internally.
How we help
People need different things at different times. For some, it might be saving money on the weekly shop. For others, it could be getting to speak to a GP, getting help with money worries or simply feeling recognised for the work they do. We bring those areas of support together and make them easy for people to find, understand and use.
Everyday Benefits
Savings at more than 1,000 retailers, including major supermarkets, through discounted gift cards, cashback and everyday offers. Whether someone works full-time, part-time or on changing shifts, being able to save money on groceries and other regular purchases can help their household budget go further.
Reward & Recognition
Our employee reward and recognition programmes help retailers celebrate long service, acknowledge achievements and thank teams for their work. Peer-to-peer recognition also brings people in different roles together, whether that’s a warehouse worker thanking a delivery driver or a store colleague recognising the team responsible for getting stock onto the shelves. It helps people feel valued beyond their immediate team.
Health & Wellbeing
Access to an Employee Assistance Programme, Virtual GP, counselling and occupational health support. For someone working shifts, getting help isn’t always easy to fit around work. Giving people different ways to access support can make the difference to how their day unfolds.
Financial Wellbeing
Financial education, debt guidance and coaching, with access to regulated financial advice through Gee 7 Wealth. We start with whatever someone is dealing with, whether that’s making their money stretch, understanding debt, planning for retirement or considering longer-term financial decisions.
Insurance & Protection
Health cash plans, private medical insurance, group life, critical illness cover and income protection can help people and their families with healthcare costs and financial protection. For some retail employees, workplace benefits may be their first opportunity to access this type of cover, so understanding what’s included and how it works is particularly important.
One Relationship
We work with you to understand your workforce and bring together the benefits and support available to them. You’ll have one relationship with My Group, with a Portal that gives people a central place to find and access their benefits, whether they’re working in a store, warehouse or elsewhere. That makes it easier for employees to understand what’s available without having to search through different communications or remember where each benefit is provided.
A person, not just a platform
A platform gives people access to their benefits, but sometimes they need someone to explain what’s there and how it works.
Our consultants can come into stores and speak to people face to face, whether that’s in the canteen, the stockroom or somewhere else that works for the team. It gives employees the chance to ask the questions they might not ask online.
Am I eligible? Can my partner use this? Will my manager know? Is there a cost?
The aim is to help people understand the support available to them, not to sell to them. Our consultants can also explain services provided by other suppliers, so the conversation is about what the employee needs rather than who provides it.
If you’re looking for a true partnership approach, My Group go above and beyond to work with you. They offer a quality service at an affordable cost. For a large retailer like us this is critical.
Louise Walpole, People Director at Home Bargains
What working with us looks like
Changing or introducing benefits shouldn’t create a big project for your team. We keep the process straightforward and are clear about what we need from you at each stage.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are lots of reasons why someone might leave a retail job, and benefits won’t solve all of them. But they can help with some of the things that affect how people feel about work, including financial pressure, feeling recognised and being able to get support when they need it.
The important part is understanding what your people are using and whether it’s helping, rather than focusing only on how many people have registered.
Benefits need to fit around the way people work. For retail teams, that often means being easy to access on a phone, available outside normal office hours and not relying on a work email address.
Everyday savings, on-demand pay, Virtual GP access and an EAP can all work well for shift-based teams. Other benefits, such as salary sacrifice or pension support, may be more relevant to some employees than others, so the mix needs to reflect the individuals in your workforce.
By making sure the platform isn’t the only way people hear about what’s available.
For retail teams, face-to-face sessions can be particularly useful. They give employees the chance to ask questions and understand the support available to them, while managers have simple information they can share with their teams.
We also keep communicating after launch, so people are reminded about support when it’s relevant rather than being expected to remember everything from day one.
Changing provider can feel like a lot of work, especially if you’ve had a difficult implementation before.
We manage the set-up, migration where needed and communications, and we’ll be clear from the start about what we need from your team and how long the process is likely to take.
Our aim is to minimise disruption for your HR and Reward teams while making the change as straightforward as possible for employees.
Yes. Support can be made available to seasonal and temporary colleagues from the start, including through a personal phone where appropriate.
For someone joining on a short-term contract, simple access to everyday savings, financial support and other benefits can help them understand what’s available without having to wait until they feel settled in.
It also gives retailers the chance to give seasonal colleagues a better experience from day one, which can help when they want good people to return for the next peak period.
Yes. We can provide some information and video content in other languages where needed, depending on the support being provided.
If you have a workforce where language is a barrier, talk to us about what would help. We can look at the options available and how best to make the support easier for people to understand and use.
Let’s talk about your people
Tell us what your teams are dealing with and we’ll help you work out where support could make the most difference.