Background 

With more than 150 years of retail heritage, Currys is the UK’s last high-street retailer specialising in consumer electronics and white goods. Following a number of mergers the business faced a challenge: uniting its people under one purpose while tackling rising attrition and uncertainty about what it meant to work there.

By 2022, store colleague turnover had climbed from 21.5% to 45.8%. The existing employee value proposition (EVP) – ‘Where tech lovers unite’ – failed to attract diverse talent, with stores over-indexing on young men. Currys needed a transformative talent strategy to strengthen inclusion, reduce attrition and reflect its purpose: helping everyone enjoy equal access to technology. Partnering with People Made, the retailer set out to create a new EVP that would inspire pride internally, attract new audiences externally and align culture with commercial goals.

Approach 

People Made began with deep listening, gathering insights from colleagues across stores, call centres, warehouses and head office. Surveys, focus groups, leadership interviews and market research uncovered the essence of life at Currys and the opportunities for change.

From this four EVP pillars emerged reflecting what mattered most to employees and candidates: caring and supportive teams built on warmth and collaboration; flexibility through hybrid and dynamic working; visible career growth supported by structured training; and a shared commitment to sustainability through recycling, repair and net zero by 2040.

“‘Welcome to Amazing’ turned a fragmented retailer into one united by care, inclusion and growth, proving that when people feel amazing performance follows”

The new EVP, Welcome to Amazing, became the unifying expression of these pillars – capturing both the company’s vision and its renewed people promise. After a soft internal launch at the Peak Conference, it rolled out via a refreshed employer brand identity, a brand ambassador programme training colleagues to share stories on LinkedIn and TikTok, and a resource hub equipping leaders to embed the four pillars in daily practice.

Outcome

Within 12 months the transformation delivered measurable impact: attrition dropped from 17.5% to 13.5%, job offer acceptances rose from 79% to 83% and Currys’ Glassdoor rating climbed from 3.2 to 3.7. Careers site traffic grew 12%, with engagement time up 38%. Female representation in regional management rose by 123%, supported by inclusive hiring training for 90% of managers, while employee engagement reached 85%, placing Currys in the top 3% globally.

The EVP also fuelled new partnerships: Currys became a founding partner of the Digital Poverty Alliance and joined Neighbourly, connecting surplus resources to local community causes. Commercially, its renewed culture and focus on inclusion contributed to a 37% year-on-year profit uplift.

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