Having a winning employee engagement programme helps substantially in recruiting the right type of people for Marks & Spencer, according to the retailer’s HR director.

Speaking at yesterday’s London HR Connection event in the City, Tanith Dodge told the audience that engaging with staff is one of the most important strategies for any business and has an overwhelming effect on the bottom line.

Dodge said that having “really aligned and really committed employees” was something the founders of the 127-year-old company, Michael Marks and Tom Spencer, believed in from the beginning: “A happy workforce is a more productive workforce.”

With 85,000 employees worldwide in 43 different countries, M&S receives 130,000 applications a year. Dodge said: “You’ve got to get people with the right attitude. We hire for attitude and train for skill.”

The recruitment tools reflect the strength that the company places on employee engagement. When someone applies online, they are given an ‘experience taster’ through an interactive quiz, where prospective candidates can show how they respond to certain situations — and whether they share the retailer’s values.