Living Wage – First Anniversary

It’s been a year since Stiltz gained Living Wage accreditation. We look back on the year, and how being a Living Wage employer has reflected the increasingly employee-centric culture Stiltz has been developing.

Working with older and more vulnerable members of society, we ask a lot of our people. We expect them to know about our products and to always follow clear rules of behaviour. In fact, we ask staff who work in customers’ homes to sign an “Employee Conduct Charter” when they join us to demonstrate their commitment to our service levels.

Stiltz Homelifts is one of the fastest-growing companies in the West Midlands and with increasing turnover comes the need to increase the headcount of the business. From the outset, under the guidance of CEO Mike Lord who has previously owned and operated similar businesses in the area, the focus has been on building a workforce who are happy and committed to the business.

Mike realises this is a two-way street though, saying “We can’t just take, we have to give back to our staff too”. He continues, “We’re constantly reviewing the benefits of working at Stiltz and to date, in addition to the Living Wage we have implemented a company-wide profit-related bonus programme. As we’ve been growing at a rapid rate it means all staff have been benefitting from the three-times-a-year windfall. Some of the other more significant benefits we also offer include a 6 x salary life assurance for everybody and all staff have access to a Cashback Health Scheme which helps with basics such as optical and dental care as well as physio and other complementary treatments”



We also caught up with HR Manager, Teresa Lippitt (pictured) and asked her how things have developed in the intervening year.

1. What differences have you seen in staff retention since the Living Wage was introduced?

We were already paying the Real Living Wage at Stiltz, however, last year we decided to become accredited. We have always believed in voluntarily going above and beyond the government minimum pay and taking a stand to ensure all 

our eligible employees take home a wage which is fair.

2. How does it feel to be one of over 10,000 companies that now pay the Living Wage in the UK alongside the likes of IKEA and Burberry?

We are proud of our accreditation, as a responsible and progressive business, we want to be part of shaping the debate on low pay in the UK. Working alongside these large global brands, we also want to set an example to other UK businesses, who will hopefully follow and pay a wage that is fair and dignified.

3. How important is it for Stiltz to be seen as an employee-centric business?

As an employee-centric business, our people are our most important asset, and as a growing business, we genuinely strive to support and look after the well-being of all our people. With a view to further developing our well-being policies, becoming accredited is part of that journey. Our whole business ethos centres around caring for our customers, caring for our people. We believe accreditation illustrates a sense of our values.

 


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