Pav
Video transcript
I’m Pav Kalia, I’m a systems manager with John Lewis systems. I joined the Partnership 10 years ago. I’d been working as an IT consultant. I started working with the Partnership with one of our major IT suppliers, working to revitalise the account card business: and I was really attracted to the Partnership model, the way John Lewis treats its Partners and the benefits offered.
Being a Partner means, you’ve got a real vested interest in making the Partnership work and the various democracies. You have a real say in the way the company works, and there’s real visibility right to board level in the way the business operates. We’re not there to support faceless shareholders we’re there to really make the Partnership work for ourselves and we see that through the way bonuses are distributed equally amongst our Partners.
Everything I do benefits myself and my colleagues so that does effect the way I work and you see the way Partners behave is to go that extra mile to make sure everything we do benefits the Partnership. The culture in my department is extremely professional but also very friendly, we’re there to get a job done, we know we have to get that job done but we make sure we work together to make sure we deliver on time and to deliver the best systems we can.
The best part of my job is that I can see the real difference that we are making within John Lewis systems. Our team works within head office, now this is the same building as our board directors so there’s real visibility in what we’re doing. Technology provided makes a real difference and we can see that in our website, ecommerce has been at the forefront of internet retailing for the last 10 years.
Within the Partnership, although it is about teamwork, individuals are encouraged to excel and we can see many examples of that at our board level. We have Partners who started in the shop floor and have worked their way up, they’ve been encouraged and trained to take on more senior roles and the Partnership is very good at supporting career progression.
Away from work my friends talk about the Partnership in an extremely positive way. They talk about the customer service they receive - and even though I’m not on the shop floor I feel a great sense of pride in the fact we are all working together deliver that customer service. If you want to join the Partnership you need a real passion about retailing, it’s not just about the money it’s about the benefits that we offer. It’s about working as a team to make John Lewis the best retailer out there.
