This year, the UK’s leading retailer has a secret weapon to find an extra 12,000 temporary Christmas staff – Vera on till four!
In the first recruitment trial of its kind, hundreds of Tesco checkout staff will use their years of unrivalled experience dealing with people to identify potential new recruits to work in store for Christmas.
New positions will be available in 780 stores across the UK to ensure shoppers have all the trimmings they need to enjoy the festivities.
Tesco retail director, David Potts, said: "Christmas is our busiest time of year. We are always looking for extra staff to make festive shopping easier for our customers.
"With 12,000 roles to fill this year, this is going to be quite a challenge – so we’re enlisting our existing staff to help us."
The new initiative means staff in the trial stores will be looking out for potential new recruits. They will be encouraging shoppers who show classic retail skills, such as friendliness and helpfulness, to apply for a job.
David Potts explains: "Our shoppers are the first to tell us how to improve what we do. So we know that encouraging them to come and work for us means they will help provide the best Christmas for Tesco customers."
Vera Howland is a checkout operator at her local Ashford Crooksfoot store, in Kent, where she’s worked for eight years. She’s been asked to be on the lookout for retail stars during her shifts.
Vera said: "We’re probably in the best position to check out our customers as so many pass through each day. You can get a good idea of whether they’d enjoy working in our stores by how friendly and chatty they are."
Anyone interested in applying for a position should contact their local store.
Notes to editors:
Tesco is the UK''s largest private sector employer with over 237,000 employees
The recruitment trials will take place at the following stores:
Brooklands Extra, Broadstairs Extra, New Malden Extra, Pitsea Extra, Ashford Crooksfoot, Gallions Reach Extra, Colchester Extra, Lakeside Extra, Eastbourne Extra, Gatwick Extra, Goodmayes Extra, Hayes Bulls Bridge Extra, Ipswich Extra, Purley Extra, Rainham Essex Extra, Romford Extra, Romford Gallows Corner Extra, Sunbury Extra, Whitstable Extra,Yeading Extra
