---
title: Why Marks & Spencer is unlocking the power of Alumni
description: Alumni could and should be valuable allies in driving transformation and helping retailers emerge stronger.
---

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# [Why Marks & Spencer is unlocking the power of Alumni](https://enterprisealumni.com/blog/marks-spencer-alumni-retail)

 Written by [EnterpriseAlumni](https://enterprisealumni.com/blog/author/enterprisealumni) | Feb 26, 2021 6:46:45 PM

*Their are huge benefits that come from having an engaged workforce, particularly in retail, which is fundamentally a people business and the UK’s biggest private-sector employer.*

To win in a competitive market, you need brilliant people giving outstanding customer service – every day, in every location. The pandemic brought this to the fore, as teams across the country dug deep, went the extra mile and – in our case – delivered some of our highest ever service scores despite the tough circumstances. We’re very lucky to have the team we have.

Family values and engagement are deep-rooted in [Marks & Spencer](https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.retail-week.com%2Fcompanies%2Fmarks-and-spencer&data=04%7C01%7CAmanda.Glover%40marks-and-spencer.com%7Cafe52827e7e34196137708d8da53dc31%7Cbd5c671373994b31be7978f2d078e543%7C1%7C0%7C637499400992177057%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=Mfa4IIBdNd8xseLa0fd1anpLutV8qpDuo4PynIlQSos%3D&reserved=0)’s heritage. Their founders knew the value of fostering a culture where colleagues are valued, involved and given a voice.

“As any marketeer will tell you, word of mouth endorsement is worth so much more than any paid communication”

But until now that has ended abruptly when a colleague leaves us. We want to change this. Our alumni are part of our extended family and have a significant contribution to make.

Research shows the commercial reward of investing in these life-long relationships. One of the clearest and most highly relevant to retail is the benefit of a boomerang hire. 

Returning employees are immediately more productive – in short, they ‘get it’ – and what’s more, their retention rates are 44% higher over three years. Returner hires coupled with alumni recommendations create an efficient pipeline and businesses with evolved programmes report 10% to 15% of annual hires coming via alumni. 

Read the full article in [RetailWeek](https://www.retail-week.com/people/katie-bickerstaffe-why-mands-is-unlocking-the-power-of-alumni/7036862.article?authent=1)

[View full post](https://enterprisealumni.com/blog/marks-spencer-alumni-retail)

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