Retail Manager Review

I am the retail manager for the 2nd floor in Fortnum and Mason, I have a floor manager and 2 supervisors working for me, as well as a team of about 25, plus 40 concession team members. I manage the people ensuring that they are getting the development and training that they need and are working comfortably as a team. I work closely with the Buying and Merchandising team to ensure we have the right products in place, that launches of new brands go well and I support the suppliers when they need it, meeting with them regularly. I also work closely with Finance and stock control to manage stock integrity and prevent loss, ensuring processes are in place to manage stock properly. On a weekly basis I write trade reports and on a monthly basis I write business review and board report along with my peers. I walk the floor weekly with different stakeholders, plan and execute morning briefs for the store and work closely with the L&D team to ensure we have the right training in place.

I have been able to further develop my time management skills, looking at different methods such as the Pomodoro method and using this in my day to day work to get the most from my time. I have increased my coaching skills, learning to ask questions in order to empower the team to think for themselves and drive their own development, using methods such as GROW. I have learnt a lot about myself through 360 degree feedback from my team, peers and managers and through taking personality tests. I have then used this information to work on my strengths and to understand my weaknesses and where my team can fill those gaps with their skills.

The program is very good in terms of what I am learning and how useful it is for my role and also preparing me for future roles and I am getting a lot from it. It is much more work than I expected and I think more work than the business I work for is aware of, but through feedback sessions I have been able to make them more aware and my manager has been very supportive. I would highly recommend taking on an apprenticeship, I believe that we never stop learning and any chance to further my knowledge and skills is an opportunity to improve and grow. To have the company support me in this is amazing. The only downside is I wish I had been more aware of the level of work involved at the start of the apprenticeship, a clear guide of how many hours each week I would need to work on learning and assignments.

The program is very well organised, the structure of what we will work through in terms of subjects was clear from the start and the mylife learner portal has a lot of really useful information. However, the portal can seem a little overwhelming at first and it is important to understand that it is there as a resource and does not necessarily have to be worked through to complete the assignments. I have found it to be more of a jumping off point and that other internet resources are more useful when completing the assignments.

I have received a lot of support form my company and my manager. I think we were both unaware of how much work was actually involved so constant communication has been vital to ensure I am getting the time I need. I think the business needs a better understanding of how much work is involved, as sometimes when I come back from some grueling study it feels like peers see it as time off, when in fact I have probably put in more hours than a normal work day.

The workshops are a great overview of what is included in each topic, but there is a lot more study that you need to do alone outside of the webinars and workshops. I would like to have more regular mentor catch ups, but sometimes the issue has been changing schedules at work which have caused me to need to move the meetings. I have completed workshops when on holiday from work and have put in a lot of hours of my own time.

What I have been learning has been invaluable to improving the way I grow as both a leader and a person. Learning about emotional intelligence and seeing what triggers I have has helped me to become calmer and more rational. I feel I have a better vocabulary for expressing myself and am able to share what I have learnt with my team. There isn't anything in the program that I don't find useful, there are many things that I already knew, but the training program has been able to make them clearer or give more meaning to why. There have also been many things that I was unaware of and have been able to bring to my role and the business to improve how we work.

In the past the company had a choir, but I am not aware of any social activities other than this. However, since the start of the pandemic we do have access to an online yoga class once a month which I have joined a few times, we have a Friday time out program which has things like bake along session, however this has never fit with my work schedule and seems more for the head office team than the retail team.

Yes

Fortnum's, of all the companies I have ever worked for, feels like a family. People are extremely friendly and say hello as you move around both the retail space and back areas. The company is offering a lot of support for the well being of it's employees both for physical and mental well being. I feel I am able to have a say in the work that I do and, although sometimes quite bureaucratic so decisions can be slow, I do feel listened to.

If you want to work for Fortnum's you should be passionate about what we do, show that passion and enthusiasm in your covering letter, at the interview and everyday to our customers. We give amazing service and create great memories and it is only through the knowledge, passion and dedication of the team that we can do this. If you are happy in what you do this will always shine through. This advice works for any job or company, but I see it more here than other places I have worked.