I’d have to say that from the six Christmas’s I now have spent in retail, this one for sure is up there with the most chaotic. Chaotic in an awesome way!
December trade has been busy for us as at Te Awamutu and keeping all my team as busy as ever, as I knew it would! It has been really awesome to see all the hard work and planning that goes as far back as August, alive and paying off! It’s a great feeling to see all the dollars in wages I have spent on rostering people, put to good use.
Whilst sales are slower than anticipated, we’re all reasonably happy with how Christmas has gone for us and will no doubt take some time out as a management team post Christmas to debrief.
Each Christmas I do with The Warehouse I continue to learn more about myself and retail. This will make me a greater leader when I’m running my very own red shed from the big chair!
Earlier this month, as I mentioned in my last blog, a group of SMDPers from around the North Island gathered in Taupo for a weekend away. We had an awesome time and it was good to see each other, as we never know how long it could be until we get to make the most of each other’s company again! Sharing our current learning’s in store was a highlight as we are all at different levels of the programme and this certainly adds value.
My highlight of this month would have to be receiving some awesome news.
As on the 31st of January I am the new Assistant Store Manager of The Warehouse Cambridge!
Whilst it will be sad to leave this store and the Te Awamutu team behind, I know that this is the right move for my career. I’m lucky to be staying in the same region where I can continue to capitalise on the support networks that I have built around me.
It’s a big step up from having been in Team Leader roles for the past 18 months, but having learnt what I have (the good, the bad, and the ugly) and identifying my biggest opportunities, this will put me in the best possible position to lead and work with the Cambridge team.
I have a decent holiday booked for Christmas and New Year. I’m heading home to Christchurch which I’m thoroughly looking forward to. When I return I have a huge amount of things I need to work through in Te Awamutu before the end of January but I’m sure I will enjoy every minute of it and make the most of my last few days with the Te Awamutu team.
I hope whatever part of New Zealand you are in, you have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Monday, December 19, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Hi from Te Awamutu
What a busy and fast month November has been in my store. We’re now in what we call at The Warehouse our golden quarter, because it’s the 3 months of the year we serve the most amount of customers and have a fantastic opportunity to impress and retain them for next year!
At the beginning of November, I was given ownership of the fireworks project. Fireworks is really important to our store as we sell a lot of volume over a small 4 day period. Lots or planning, promotion and health and safety requirements goes into Fireworks; so owning this project, provided me with a great opportunity to demonstrate all the learning’s from last year and to build on them. And what great results! We had almost a 10% growth on last year which my team and I were very proud of!
Mid November saw me heading home to Christchurch for a well deserved and well earned 10 day holiday break. I had an enjoyable time catching up with friends and family.
When I returned to store, I caught up with my team and reviewed with my supervisors how we were going with our new Christmas temps and the improvements we were making with store processes. Part of the role of being a Service Team Leader is you get to see first hand the results from developing your team, challenging them to think outside the square and watching the store benefit from this. It’s the part of my role that I enjoy the most!
We currently don’t have an Assistant Store Manager so I’ve had the opportunity to support my Store Manager with large aspects of running the store. I’m currently managing our labour budget on a daily basis and I’ve been busy with rostering all our team for December to February; trying to accommodate everyone’s holiday requests which at times, can be difficult to juggle!
So I’m really looking forward to December and the hustle and bustle that is Christmas shopping. It's why I love my job in retail and it's why I look forward to this part of the year!
And, mid December a group of SMDP's from around the North Island have organised a weekend away in Taupo which will be a great time to catch up, share stories and drink Fanta – lol!
At the beginning of November, I was given ownership of the fireworks project. Fireworks is really important to our store as we sell a lot of volume over a small 4 day period. Lots or planning, promotion and health and safety requirements goes into Fireworks; so owning this project, provided me with a great opportunity to demonstrate all the learning’s from last year and to build on them. And what great results! We had almost a 10% growth on last year which my team and I were very proud of!
Mid November saw me heading home to Christchurch for a well deserved and well earned 10 day holiday break. I had an enjoyable time catching up with friends and family.
When I returned to store, I caught up with my team and reviewed with my supervisors how we were going with our new Christmas temps and the improvements we were making with store processes. Part of the role of being a Service Team Leader is you get to see first hand the results from developing your team, challenging them to think outside the square and watching the store benefit from this. It’s the part of my role that I enjoy the most!
We currently don’t have an Assistant Store Manager so I’ve had the opportunity to support my Store Manager with large aspects of running the store. I’m currently managing our labour budget on a daily basis and I’ve been busy with rostering all our team for December to February; trying to accommodate everyone’s holiday requests which at times, can be difficult to juggle!
So I’m really looking forward to December and the hustle and bustle that is Christmas shopping. It's why I love my job in retail and it's why I look forward to this part of the year!
And, mid December a group of SMDP's from around the North Island have organised a weekend away in Taupo which will be a great time to catch up, share stories and drink Fanta – lol!
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