Shared services / admin
Our Shared Services team deliver world-class human resources and finance services to the entire Marks & Spencer Group.
After a successful relocation to Salford Quays in 2002, this key area of the business has grown to employ 200 people, some of who joined us with no previous HR or finance experience. Only a few miles outside Manchester city centre, Salford Quays is easily accessible by road and the Metrolink tram service.
There are two departments within Shared Services. To find out about the vital services they provide, hear from the people who work in them, and read more about the rewards and benefits we offer.
Profiles
To give you a better idea of what it’s like to work in these departments, we asked a few people to talk about the part they play in the business. To find out what a typical day involves for colleagues in both our HR and Finance Shared Services teams, click on one of the links below.
Resource Administrator Profile
Kristen
I’m a mum of two and joined the Shared Services team last August on a 12-week contract to help recruit 20,000 customer assistants for our stores over the busy Christmas period. However, I enjoyed myself so much that I'm still here and now work from 10 - 2 three days a week, which fits in really well with school hours. Some of the other mums I work with do longer hours or Saturdays as well. I’ve included the following to give you an idea of how my day is organised.
10:00
I’m sat at my desk and logged in, ready to talk to my first customer of the day. I really enjoy talking to applicants, as they are always so grateful for my help. It’s nice to be able to congratulate them as they complete the first steps of our recruitment process.
10:30
What I love about my role as a Resource Administrator is the variety that it brings and the wide range of people I get to help throughout the day. Today I am booking interviews for candidates and tomorrow I’m scheduled to help the stores with their queries. On other days I might be issuing contracts or responding to our online applicants.
11:00
I get a call from an applicant who’s been successful with our telephone screening process and is looking for a job working as a customer assistant in the Blackpool store. I find details of some vacancies that fit her availability and I’m able to arrange an interview for Friday. I really get the feeling that it’s made her day.
12:00
Before I know it it’s midday and my colleagues on the late shift arrive. There’s a real buzz today as the team has met its weekly target, and there’s talk of cakes!
1:00
My team leader has organised an informal one-to-one with me. She’s really happy with the results I’m getting and wants me to think of ways that I can stretch myself to develop my skills even further. Having a team leader who appreciates the work I do really makes me feel that I’m a valued member of the team.
14:00
It’s two o'clock already and I feel like I've only been here five minutes.
Finance Assistant Profile
Karen
I joined the Accounts Receivable team on a temporary contract for three months. My initial role was within the Dishonoured Cheques area where I dealt with customers who had paid by cheque in store, but did not have sufficient funds in their accounts.
The main part of my role was to record the cheques by customer into a database, then send out letters and collect funds. I expanded my skills in all aspects of Microsoft Office, particularly Word and Excel, and using these skills I was able to report and manage risk to the business.
Customer calls were very varied, ranging from people apologising for non-payment and agreeing settlement, to those reporting a stolen cheque book; there’s too many to mention! I developed my interpersonal and negotiation skills and this gave me the confidence to apply for a permanent role in the section.
Now I deal with the Cash & Credit Management facility for our overseas franchisees. It’s a completely different set of customers and means I am communicating with Marks & Spencer stores anywhere from Europe to Singapore.
The variety of tasks keeps me motivated and I’m continually developing my skills. Each person on the team has their own portfolio of clients, which allows ownership, but I work closely with everyone and we all support each other.
Stores Helpdesk Administrator Profile
Steve
I have two parts to my job. The first is to check that store systems are working; the second to answer calls on the helpdesk. There are seven of us in our team and between us we support over 400 stores. So you can imagine how every day is a different challenge.
What a day we had yesterday! I received an email from our data centre at Stockley Park in London to let us know that the calculation of the weekly till results was probably going to be delayed and we would miss our target. Our store colleagues rely on this information and if IT can’t resolve the problem in time, I will have to send an email to all store managers explaining what happened. Although things don’t always run smoothly, I get a buzz out of being part of managing any problems even if I am hundreds of miles away from my store colleagues.
We get about 200 calls per week from stores and every query is different. It could be needing help with financial procedures, accounting for the stock in the store, or handling the banks who deliver cash to the store. I even had a store ring to say that their till wouldn't accept a black American Express card, which is apparently only supplied to their 100 wealthiest customers! It’s great to work as a team. I like being able to help people solve problems and I was proud when the store survey said that we were doing well.
Accounts Assistant Profile
Claire
The Financial Control team performs a really important role reconciling the millions of financial transactions carried out by our customers. The entries we reconcile relate to credit or debit card purchases made in stores, Bureau de Change transactions, tax-free purchases made by international customers who are not liable for VAT, interest-free loans, and we even have a National Lottery outlet in one of our stores to monitor.
During the day I deal with queries involving under or overpayments from internal or external customers. This may involve liaising with our internal IT or tax departments, Marks & Spencer Money, credit card companies, or the banks. The team carries out month-end reconciliations of our internal accounts, posting entries to adjust outstanding items or correct errors throughout the month.
If you enjoy giving great customer service and get satisfaction from analysing figures and logically working through a variety of problems, this is definitely the job for you.
Pensions Administrator Profile
Dan
Working for the Marks & Spencer Pension Scheme is varied, interesting and very challenging. One thing is certain, it’s never dull! I work in a fast paced and professional environment handling customer requests received by phone, letter, email and on a face-to-face basis, dealing with all types of pension and redundancy-related issues. Our customer base includes current and ex-employees, retired staff, plus other departments within the Shared Service, stores, Head Office, the Inland Revenue, other pension providers, banks, solicitors the list is endless!
My team deal with requests for information from this variety of sources using our specifically designed pension system software, Penserver, which helps us generate the information requested. We also use Microsoft applications such as Excel, Access and Word in our day-to-day work.
Having been in pensions for the last eight years, I can honestly say that this is the best role and environment I have worked in, and it certainly helps having such great colleagues!
Accounts Payable Team Leader Profile
Louisa
Trying to describe a typical day isn’t easy; I’ve been with the Company over two years and each day presents its own challenges. I manage the Merchandise payments team within the accounts payable function in Salford Quays, Manchester.
When I mention to friends that I work for Marks & Spencer they automatically think of the stores, and our quality and service, but that ethos doesn’t just apply to our products – it's what our company stands for and that includes Shared Services. My department primarily process suppliers’ merchandise invoices. Quite simply if the product is for sale in store, it’s my team who are responsible for paying the supplier for the stock.
My day generally begins with a quick check of my emails and phone messages. As with any business, the key is communication and as a department we endeavour to exceed our customers’ expectations. I adopt a very hands-on approach and catch up with each member of the team to discuss workflow, deadlines and current issues. Once I’m fully briefed, I update the Accounts Payable manager with the current priorities and success stories, while receiving a cascade of information on current business performance.
My day is then split between my customers, suppliers, the business units and team. I also resolve escalated payment issues, ensuring the department provide timely and accurate management information or provide support, coaching and feedback on performance.
As an operation we continually measure our performance with the aid of KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to highlight pressure points and trends, but as a manager I also measure myself in other ways. I enjoy coaching and empowering others to reach their full potential and am proud of my team and our business, relishing the daily opportunity of working together to keep us ahead of the competition.
Rewards and Benefits
Shared Services
We believe our most valued asset is our people and we make sure to reward them accordingly. We offer a range of benefits. Some will be available from the day you start work, while others are service related, so the longer you’re with us the more you’ll be able to enjoy.
Each element of the benefits package is reviewed regularly to ensure it remains competitive and maintains us as a leading employer.
Discount
You get a generous 20% discount on the Marks & Spencer goods you buy. There is no limit on the amount of discount you receive on your shopping in our stores.
Pension
Our Retirement Plan is one of the best of its type in the UK. If you have worked with us for over a year, you can save up to 15% of your pay in the plan and the Company will match it with double contributions (up to a limit of 12%). This is an excellent opportunity to provide for a secure retirement and even if you decide not to stay in the Company until you retire, you can transfer your investment when you leave. As an extra incentive, if you join the plan within the first year you are eligible, you can pay extra contributions, which we will double (up to a limit of 20%).
Holidays
This starts at four weeks, with the holiday year running from April to March. Your initial entitlement will depend on when you join us in the year and will be pro rata. Your holidays will increase to five weeks after two years' continuous service.
Study Package
We recognise that our people may want to gain professional qualifications, so we provide the opportunity to apply for our educational sponsorship scheme and we have recently been accredited as a CIMA Training Quality Partner. Our scheme offers full or part-time sponsorship for courses that are relevant to your day-to-day job (for example, CIMA or AAT).
SAYE
This is an annual savings-related scheme that gives you the option of buying a certain number of shares at a fixed price. SAYE is available to all employees who have one or more years’ unbroken service as at 1 October.
Bonus Scheme
The annual bonus scheme is open to all employees here at Shared Services. Bonus targets are linked to team and Company performance. The Bonus Scheme is open to new employees from the date they join the Company and they will be eligible for a proportionate bonus, based on the number of full calendar months they work in the financial year. However, we reserve the right to review and where appropriate withdraw the Scheme each year.
Company Car
For selected management roles, there is also the opportunity to take a company car or a cash alternative.
Extras
A range of offers and discounts available exclusively to Marks & Spencer employees. You can take advantage of special discounts on a wide range of holidays, health club memberships, leisure attractions and many more products and services.
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