John Lewis has announced proposals to improve efficiency and customer experience that will mean the loss of around 387 roles, principally in home estimation, fitting and catering.
Under the proposals, around 773 members of staff will enter a period of consultation, and 386 new jobs will be created. According to the retailer, these new positions will enable staff to work more flexibly, with more potential for career progression.
In response to changes in how customers shop for home estimation and fitting services, across both shops and online, John Lweis is proposing to move to a regional model for its curtain, blind, and floor covering estimators and fitters, enabling it to offer a more localised service and more appointments at times which better suit customers. The retailer also proposes to create a single central Customer Administration Hub to manage customer orders, which will replace the current individual branch administration teams. To support the creation of this new team, John Lewis is setting up a new training facility and creating an improved booking system.
In catering, John lewis proposes to extend its new model, which uses a centrally-created menu and requires less on-site preparation.
Dino Rocos, operations director at John Lewis, says: "Our partners are passionate about offering the very best customer service and these proposals will allow us to modernise our business as it adapts to the changing needs of our customers and the role that shops play in their lives.
"The proposed new structure will allow us to harness partners' knowledge and skills, giving them more scope to be in the right place at the right time to deliver great service to our customers when and where it's needed. We understand that for some this will mean a period of change, and we are working with affected partners over the consultation period to give opportunities for redeployment in new roles wherever possible."
