Assistant Manager Review

I assist the store Manager in ensuring that day to day targets are met. Help ensure that store practices maximise potential sales targets and manage, coach and develop team to achieve this.

I have learnt some new business and people models and used them in the context of my environment of how to achieve coach and develop team and to look at what I do in a different context. Also how i could consider doing things differently

I find the programme quite confusing. I work best with physical paperwork that is augmented with online resources but found totally on line with lifetime difficult to follow as work is in lots of different places online and as we have no WiFi at work or access using in store pc it has meant that I can only do work at home or on my phone which I find difficult.

After being enrolled for over 6 months I still find that I am confused. With other studies I have done I have had a study schedule or breakdown of what I should do or where I should be. I have none of this. My tutor explains everything at 1 to 1 meetings but by the time I leave I just lost where I am again.

When I signed up to the apprenticeship I was told I would get 2 hours a week during work time to do some work. The only time I have been given is the 2 hours to complete a 1 to 1 meeting with my trainer once a month. My store Manager keeps saying that he can't give me the time as we are short on time so I have no choice but to do all work on my own time in evenings when I finish work or my days off and because I work full time I am finding extremely difficult to get any work done without taking from my private life. I have have been provided with a tablet by my company to do the course but there is no WiFi access at work to use this and the lifetime training is blocked to access on the work pc. When I queried this I was told by my manager to get a bigger phone package that I would have to pay for out of my own pocket. I feel that we need more support in hours and tools from company and at store level to complete these.

Get monthly 1 to 1 either on phone or face to face. Trainer is really good at explaining what I need to do and how I can best use my time. I find the phone time difficult as I need to have access to the training site to follow and as we have no connection at work I have to schedule these outside work hours. I find face to face much better as trainer has everything with them and we can interact more easily

It made me look at how i deal with things now and how I could deal with them differently now and in the future. How I can make changes to my behaviour and others and how i can interact with my team and other colleagues to achieve business targets. Made me more aware of what and how I do things.

No

No

Poundland is a dynamic company that it constantly changing and adapting which is challenging for any manager. However, I don't feel that there is an emphasis on staff development. The apprenticeship program was a great start but I feel it has not been implemented with the support that staff really need to be able to successfully achieve good results. Time is a massive factor there is no commitment weekly for me to complete work. Secondly there is no resource within the stores to access the course materials. Either we need more paper based training materials or mobile connection to access the information at work.

If you want a challenging, dynamic ever changing environment this could well be the place for you. However, if you want a work life balance and development this probably not a place for you.