INDUSTRY FOCUS
Yodel builds on support for Respect Retail campaign
Independent parcel carrier Yodel has reinforced its partnership with industry charity The Retail Trust and its Respect Retail campaign.
Since the partnership began in 2018, the Trust, which is dedicated to safeguarding the health and happiness of retail workers through well-being support, has assisted nearly 1,000 Yodel colleagues - 34 per cent of its workforce -through various services, including over 10,300 interactions across the Retail Trust’s website, helpline, and retail rewards app.
Yodel has facilitated nearly 400 online and in-person counselling sessions in collaboration with the Retail Trust, addressing challenges such as trauma, loss, and anxiety. The partnership also provides helpline support, financial well-being advice, and financial aid. Additionally, employees have benefited from retail discounts and rewards amounting to more than £55,000 since 2018.
Yodel now has access to the Retail Trust’s generative AI-powered well-being dashboard, enabling it to monitor mental health trends, benchmark against industry standards, and assess the financial impact of well-being initiatives in real time.
The carrier is also supporting the Retail Trust’s ‘Respect Retail’ campaign, which aims to combat abuse against retail workers. To help colleagues feel safer and manage difficult situations, Yodel plans to introduce formal training sessions with the Retail Trust in 2025.
In the meantime, the company continues to provide internal briefings on handling challenging scenarios and Yodel’s fleet now features stickers promoting the ‘Respect Retail’ message.
Ali Richardson, HR Director at Yodel, said: “We are incredibly proud to strengthen our long-standing partnership with the Retail Trust, an organisation that shares our commitment to the well-being of our colleagues. Throughout the partnership, the Retail Trust has provided invaluable support to our team members, with great success and feedback. We look forward to rolling out further offerings and competitive benefits for our colleagues in 2025, while standing in support of the Retail Trust’s ‘Respect Retail’ campaign.”
Chris Brook-Carter, Chief Executive of the Retail Trust, added: “We’re helping more and more retail businesses build healthier and happier workplaces by providing their people with new tools and resources to manage their mental, physical, and financial well-being while supporting employers in identifying the right steps to take.
"Yodel is a great example of a logistics brand championing the health and happiness of its staff, so we are looking forward to providing even more support this year as we continue to build on our existing partnership.”
