Learning and development
In line with Safestore’s wellbeing strategy, we have continued to focus on personal growth and education of our colleagues throughout 2019.
Our enthusiastic, well-trained and customer-centric sales team remains a key differentiator and a strength of our business.

We are committed to growing and rewarding our people and tailor our development, reward and recognition programmes to this end. Our IIP recognised coaching programme, launched in 2018, had a 2019 upgrade to reflect the increase in the calibre and performance of our teams and was well received by our colleagues in January 2019.
The QUEST sales framework “masterclass” also received its 2019 build to reflect the elevated performance of 2018 and target our high expectations of 2019. The programme was rolled out in May in preparation for the 3rd and 4th quarter season.
The training and development of our store and customer-facing colleagues is an essential part of our daily routines. In 2019, we delivered a further 30,000 hours of training through face-to-face sessions and via our internally developed online learning tool; this equates to over 46 hours per colleague.

All new recruits to the business benefit from enhanced induction and training tools which have been developed in-house and enable us to quickly identify high potential individuals and increase their speed to
competency. They receive individual performance targets within four weeks of joining the business and are placed on the “pay-for-skills” programme which allows accelerated basic pay increases dependent on success in demonstrating specific and defined skills. The key target of our programme, to ensure that close to 100% of our Store Manager appointments are from within the business via our Store Manager Development programme, remains and we are pleased with our progress to date.

Our Store Manager Development programme demonstrates the effectiveness of our learning tools. In a spirit of constant improvement our content and delivery process is dynamically enhanced through our 360 degree feedback process utilising the learnings from not only the candidates but also from our training store managers and senior business leaders. This allows our people to be trained with the knowledge and skills to sell effectively in today’s market place. It also offers the opportunity to gain a nationally recognised qualification from either the Institute of Leadership and Management (“ILM”) or the Chartered Management
Institute (“CMI”) utilising the Apprenticeship Levy.
We are also utilising the Levy to support the development of Head Office colleagues. Currently we have individuals working towards their professional qualification.
Financial wellbeing

Our workplace pension is provided by Scottish Widows, one of the UK’s leading workplace pension providers. We are pleased to offer eligible colleagues the opportunity to make their pension contributions through a salary sacrifice arrangement, recognised as the most tax-efficient way of making pension contributions.
This year, we announced that we will run the Sharesave scheme annually, meaning all colleagues have an opportunity to join a new scheme each year (up to a total contribution amount of £500 per month). This will enable more of our colleagues to share in our success.
In August, we opened entry into our 2019 Sharesave scheme, attracting 93 brand new members. In addition, 53 colleagues who are members of existing schemes also enrolled onto the new 2019 scheme. This means almost half of our colleagues now share in our success by being a member of at least one of our Sharesave schemes.