The Midcounties Co-operative puts focus on colleague safety with roll-out of VoCoVo headset technology

With retail crime increasing nationally and concerns about colleague safety an industry wide challenge, VoCoVo has supported The Midcounties Co-operative to ensure its team remains supported and connected at all times.

The Midcounties Co-operative is a consumer co-operative with 6,000+ colleagues spread across over 220 food retail stores in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Shropshire, the West Midlands, Worcestershire and the surrounding counties.

It also operates Travel, Childcare and Utilities businesses, and is made up of over 700,000 members.

Colleague safety is one of the biggest challenges facing the in-store retail industry. The BRC describes the situation as “out of control”, with incidents of retail violence and abuse growing year on year.

The Midcounties Co-operative is one of the retailers that has been battling this issue. With rising incidences of abuse and theft in stores, it wanted to find a solution that would support their colleagues.

According to Alan Cratchley, Safe Stores Manager at The Midcounties Co-operative, incidents of crime were taking place on an hourly basis in some stores, leading it to explore tools that could help combat the impact of rising incidents and ensure support for its retail teams.

In addition, colleagues were relying on traditional service ring bells to call for another member of the team if they needed help with a customer query. It was important for The Midcounties Co-operative that new tools created a collaborative retail environment that allowed colleagues to instantly communicate with each other easily if needed during a customer interaction. Making instant communication possible would also enable the store to facilitate more upskilling and learning opportunities for all colleagues.

The Midcounties Co-operative identified that VoCoVo’s headset technology, designed specifically for retail and hospitality environments, would help keep colleagues connected, improve safety and boost efficiency across store operations.

After an implementation period that included in-store training, every colleague was supplied with a headset on the shopfloor. Cratchley comments: “The headsets are so intuitive and easy to use that our colleagues took to them right away - and the benefits were immediate. VoCoVo was always on hand to provide extra support, and if we ever need further training in the future, their team has that covered too.”

Since implementing VoCoVo, The Midcounties Co-operative has observed a range of safety benefits that the headsets provide across all its stores. These include:

• The solution helps colleagues to not feel alone during incidents of abuse or violent behaviour by providing access to instantaneous assistance from other colleagues

• The visibility of the device on colleagues can act as a deterrent to criminals

• Colleagues have been able to identify repeat offenders and take preventative action against shoplifting and other threats

• Communication with security teams is now discreet and immediate

Cratchley comments: “VoCoVo headsets have empowered our colleagues to notify each other if they see something suspicious happening or require support from management or security. The technology is central to the processes we now have in place, which ensure colleagues can get the required support from the right personnel when incidents occur.”

Samuel Briggs, Midcounties Cooperative colleague, adds: “Wearing the headsets makes me feel like I'm never alone in the store. Having constant communication with others not only makes me feel safe, but makes me feel an integral part of the team.”

Enhanced safety is not the only advantage that the headsets have delivered to The Midcounties Co-operative stores. Ease of communication between colleagues, regardless of where they are in the store, has also been a key benefit..

“Before we had VoCoVo’s headsets in place, a good example of an inefficient process was a colleague being alerted to a till to handle a customer request, such as a lottery win. That specific colleague had to walk from the till to the cash office, leaving the till area unstaffed to retrieve the prize money, wasting precious time.”

“VoCoVo has streamlined this process and enabled colleagues to contact someone who is already situated close to the cash office. This reduces unnecessary steps and saves a lot of time over the course of a day,” says Cratchley.

The Midcounties Co-operative also took the opportunity to integrate the Message Cast solution offered by the technology. This feature allows messages from management or HQ to be shared with the specific teams, or even the entire network of headsets in a store. For example, in the event of a fault with the alarm system, a message can be cast to the store from head office to notify colleagues and share the required action.

The Midcounties Co-operative stores feature several different services beyond their core retail operations. VoCoVo’s headsets have also made a difference in the areas of:

• Parcel collections - colleagues are able to coordinate pickups from storerooms when customers request collections

• Self-service machines - A colleague can alert someone else when a self-service machine, such as a coffee machine, needs maintenance

• Store-to-store connection - Messages can be relayed to every user across the wider business

Cratchley says: “The headsets have become so integral to our daily operations that they are the very first thing our colleagues pick up in the morning. They see them as an absolute necessity and are making a real difference to morale. Our evolution over the last couple of years has allowed our organisation to lead the way in safety measures to support colleagues.”

Future plans

The Midcounties Co-operative is exploring with VoCoVo the potential to implement a panic button into its headsets to allow colleagues the ability to immediately talk to emergency services or off-site security for reassurance.

“What we’ve achieved so far is just a drop in the ocean. The VoCoVo team is extremely receptive to our ideas for new integrations, and we’re excited to develop the relationship further as the technology evolves,” says Cratchley.

2025 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

In-store technology will be a key focus area at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards, which are now open for entries, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”

He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”

“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”

Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended November's gathering. 

For further information on the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards, please fill in the below form and we will get back to you asap.