Our Culture

Our values

Our values are central to our business and help us to understand how to put our core purpose into practice. Since we first introduced our values more than a decade ago, they have become a central part of our culture. They make sure that every person at Tesco understands what's important - from how we work together as a team to how customers are at the centre of what we do.

No one tries harder for customers

Understanding people - customers, colleagues, communities - and what matters to them, and then trying to make those things better, is at the heart of Tesco. It's about listening to people and talking to them using all the tools at our disposal, from Clubcard data to social media, then acting by changing and innovating to meet their needs.

We treat people how they want to be treated

We know that looking after our colleagues in a culture of trust and respect is essential to the success of Tesco. Where colleagues feel recognised and rewarded, where they have the opportunity to get on and where they are supported in their development, they in turn try their hardest for customers.

Every little help makes a big difference

It's the value we live by to make sure we serve our customers, colleagues and their communities a little better every day. It really captures how, when we add up all the small things we do, Tesco can make a big difference to the issues that people really care about.

Core Purpose

Customers want great products at great value which they can buy easily and it's our job to deliver this in the right way for them.

That's why we've chosen 'Serving Britain's shoppers a little better every day' as our new core purpose. As a business, serving customers is at the heart of everything we do, from colleagues in our stores to those of us in supporting roles.

In the UK, we serve some 66 shoppers every second, so it's our goal to make sure that every one of those customers experiences just a little better service on each visit.

Little Helps Plan

The Little Helps Plan is a core part of our business and helps us to deliver our purpose of serving shoppers a little better everyday.

The plan sets out how we will make a positive difference to our customers, colleagues and communities, suppliers, shareholders and the environment and is the framework through which we shape our long-term approach to sustainability. It enables us to demonstrate, monitor and improve our performance, both within our own operations and the wider supply chain, as we pursue transformative change and lead industry-wide action to tackle some of the biggest social and environmental challenges facing the world today.

Our Little Helps Plan all starts with :

People– Tesco colleagues and in our supply chain:
It’s about serving customers with affordable, healthy, sustainable Product;
supporting communities in Places where we have a stake;
and working in a way that protects the Planet.

Our pillars focus on a number of priority areas where we are committed to doing the right thing and making a big difference. The Little Helps Plan, as with all other parts of the business, is underpinned by our Code of Business Conduct which ensures we use our values and leadership behaviours to guide our conduct and decision-making so that we are always doing the right thing for each other and the business.

For more information on the Little Helps Plan, please visit our PLC site.

Value in Your Town

We commissioned independent research to understand the role we play in supporting communities across the UK. Measuring our contribution helps us to understand what more we can do to serve our customers a little better.

To read the full socio-economic report and find out more about how we support your local community please visit our PLC site.

Read stories about Our Culture

Flic Lewis

''When opportunities come your way go for it, be open minded and you never know where that path may lead you,''

Read story

Dani & Charlie

“We have the flexibility to work from home on the odd occasion when we need to, but we would both rather work in the office to get the job done, than bring it home with us.”