Melksham business named among UK’s best places to work

A Melksham business has been named one of the best places in the UK to work, with staff feedback highlighting its approach to trust, communication and wellbeing.

Gompels, which operates pharmacies on Bank Street and at Spa Medical Centre, has been awarded Investors in People Platinum for the first time, alongside Investors in Wellbeing Gold for its support for staff health and wellbeing.

The business ranked 13th among wholesale and retail organisations assessed by Investors in People worldwide. It reached the highest ‘high performing’ level in eight of the nine areas assessed, while more than nine in ten staff said it was good at building trust and keeping people informed. Nearly nine in ten said it was a great place to work, and staff turnover was significantly below the sector average.

The awards follow a successful year for Gompels’ pharmacy training programme, which has won two national awards for developing the next generation of pharmacists.

Its Single Lead Employer programme, the first of its kind in the UK, employs 44 trainee pharmacists during their foundation year. Trainees gain experience in both community pharmacies and local hospitals.

In September, the programme won the Training and Development Award at the Chemist and Druggist Awards. Three weeks later, it received the Enterprise Award at the Pharmacy Business Awards, where judges noted improvements in pharmacist retention.

The family business has served Melksham for nearly 60 years and has since expanded to operate across the UK. It has also partnered with global companies to supply nutritional products to tens of thousands of patients each month.

Managing director Paddy Gompels said, “I’m very proud of these awards, and prouder still of the people who earned them. We have always put our staff first, because investing in your staff is how you create the conditions for outstanding patient care.

“Pharmacy is an industry under real strain. Funding has not kept pace with rising costs, and pharmacies are closing across the country. For Gompels to keep providing for the community, we must keep investing in the business’s principal asset, which is its people.”

Superintendent pharmacist Andrew Hobson said, “Patients notice when a team is well trained and well supported. Our staff tend to stay with us, so people are served by familiar faces who know them and their medicines. The same goes for our trainees. A pharmacist who is trained well in their first year will look after patients well for the rest of their career.

“On a personal note, I have worked for the company for nearly six years and I am proud to work for such a high-achieving company. We are a family run business and treat our staff and customers as an extension of these family values. I thoroughly enjoy serving our company and the people of Melksham.”

Pictured l-r: Paddy Gompels, Barbara Gompels and Nicholas Gompels

Pictured: members of the team which were nominated for Pharmacy Business Awards from bottom of the stairs up: Tina Freeman, Anthony Pidden, Viv Lloyd, Amy Wring, Sandra Newman, Sue Goddard, and Gruffyd Shewring