What’s the first thing you do on a standard day?

The last time I wrote a piece about 24hrs in Retail we had not long moved our Retail office and Logistics teams from West Molesey to Hersham, and I’m pretty sure there is no such thing as a standard day!

So… I thought I would share my thoughts on the last 24hrs in Retail.

Yesterday, the Hersham Retail Team were all at the Hospice having spent the previous month planning, preparing presentations and content for a full day with all the Shop Managers. So once the room was set up, the presentations were in place and I had checked in with the catering team, the day could begin.

The theme for our day was “Working together as a team”. This was a time for our shop teams for feedback, reviewing achievements, sharing ideas, identifying opportunities, planning ahead and having a bit of fun. (I am sure we raised the roof at times). You need energy to work in Retail, it can be a very demanding job, and there was certainly plenty of energy in the room yesterday. Not quite a normal day but all things that fit into a “standard” day somewhere.

How many people would you come into contact with?

On a daily basis there are eight of us based at Hersham, and we have some great volunteers who do a few hours a week to help with Gift Aid, New Goods (currently Christmas cards!!) and researching items for eBay.

We also work with our Income Generation colleagues at the Hospice and the teams in Customer Service, Accounts, People Services, Volunteering, Digital Tech & Data, MarCom’s, Operational Services and Catering to name a few!

What’s your favourite task?

I’m not sure I have a favourite task – I like finding new and better ways to do things in retail and contributing to the team’s overall success.

Which task do you dislike the most?

I recently spent time reviewing, renaming and moving our digital information from the Admin files and folders to SharePoint, which was a bit of déjà vu having archived the mountain of old paperwork in the Distribution Centre. However now that’s done I can once again look back and be reminded to be more diligent with filing, so no-one has to go through that pain again!! (At least – not me!)

What’s the most interesting thing about your job?

My current focus is on helping to create space planning, management tools and training for the shop teams to be able to make more informed decisions, maximise sales and continue to provide much needed income for the Hospice.

The most satisfying thing about my role is seeing someone you have trained using their new skills and then developing others in their team.

Is this the first time you’ve been in a role of this kind?

No. When I worked for Sears Womenswear, I was seconded to the Training Department for a year as a development opportunity. It was a great advantage in my career as an Area Manager.

What do you think other people would be surprised to know about your role?

I am also an IAA (Information Asset Administrator) and am responsible for the information assets and wider information governance within Retail, ensuring that information is held, used or shared appropriately and maintaining the Shop Asset Register.

What skills do you need to do your job?

As a retailer I have worked in shops and retail environments most of my career and you need to have good commercial skills and attention to detail. I have always worked with teams of people, developing them to be able to recognise how to perform to their best, so good training, coaching and communication skills, and customer service is the focus of everything.

As a training officer you have to know and understand what you are training others on in order to identify training needs, recognise how individuals learn and also understand that you never stop learning!

Who have you learned the most from at PAH?

When I joined PAH with a commercial high street retail background and no experience of working in the charity sector, I spent time working in our shops with the teams there. I learned a great deal from the people I met from the shop volunteers and shop teams to the senior retail team who shared their knowledge with me. I recognised that change is inevitable, and in business it is vital, we all have to embrace it, but we should never let go of our values.

What’s the last thing you do before you leave at the end of the day?

Thankfully somethings are always going to be “standard” …. update my “to do list”, empty my waste bin, make sure everything is switched off, windows closed, doors locked, sign out and set the alarm if I’m the key holder that day.