Stock Manager Review

Throughout the majority of my Tesco career so far I have been in the role of Stock and Merchandising Manager. As a Team Manager I am required not only to ensure my department is performing well and all my colleagues are happy at work but also to be a team player to support other areas of the Store where it is needed. This is one of the great things about working for Tescos, it can be a challenge but at the same time you are not on your own, the whole store is considered at one big team which really gives the feeling of togetherness. It's funny because when I first started on Stock Control it was seen by many as purely a technical one which does not have much of a role to play in the contribution to providing great customer service. This is something I had to change immediately as every task in the department has a strong impact on the customer shopping experience. Essentially my role is to ensure that every product is available for customers to buy during all times of the day and it is of good quality by ensuring my team complete the daily routines (investigating gaps on the shelves, daily product counts, daily unknown loss investigation, full weekly section counts, investigating product we have too little or too much of, reducing any product close to going out of date) are completed to a high standard to keep the system's stock records accurate. I am also responsible to ensure all merchandising activities (altering locations of product groups) are completed to ensure that every product is in the most suitable place, has the right amount of space on the shelf to reflect sales and to ensure everything is well presented for our customers. We have recently had a big project called Grocery Adjacency Range Reset which involved moving just over a third of the stores products to locations which grouped them together better. This is an example of where advanced thorough planning was essential to complete the move as efficiently as possible whilst maintaining the best standards and ensuring it has no negative impact on our customers' shopping trip and the whole store operation. I achieved this by getting everyone, helping with the move, totally on board with what and how we are going to do the task to the point where they felt it was their project too which alone gained both commitment and determination. Even before the move started we knew what we would have to complete each night and all colleagues working in the day were fully aware of everything involved in the move so customers were supported and fully updated on what was happening each day. To keep my colleagues up beat and performing well, we consistently communicate celebrating success and discus opportunities for improvement and come up with SMART next steps together to achieve this as well as consistently linking everything we do with the impact on our customers and always looking for new ways to improve the customer shopping experience. As a Stock Control Manager I have also gained a lot of knowledge of how to investigate and minimise both shrink (unknown loss) and waste by going to other stores to learn from experienced Stock Control managers and trialling some ideas of my own and my team’s which I put forward in Shrink and waste meetings which in turn gets everyone involved and on board to achieved this shared objective. Choosing to work for Tesco is the best decision I have made and I look forward to new challenges and opportunities ahead.

Ask More Than Tell was the best workshop I attended as it is a great way of helping colleagues to develop themselves so they feel its more of their achievement rather than myself simply throwing information at them. I feel that I have picked the right managers to learn from which has helped me become a Leader rather than a Boss. If there's successes we all celebrate as a team and if there's setbacks we discuss solutions as a team, I delegate fairly so everyone including myself has a involvement of the tasks that are needed to be completed and am compassionate when required to be but at the same time challenge people on a lack of effort when needed.

This Programme was fantastic for me as I am the sort of person who reacts when given responsibility. On the first day of my role in store where I had so much responsibility put on me from the start, my professional attitude and maturity changed massively from day one compared to just a week before. Because I am like this I don't feel the normal 'options' would have worked for me as I needed to have the responsibility put on me to react to and with the Programme's help I progressed massively in such a short space of time.

I felt I always received recognition when it was deserved by my managers and they in turn entrusted me with big projects e.g. I was totally responsible with all aspects of the Grocery Adjacency move. Recognition from outside the store is very limited but with Tesco being so big its not surprising and I don't feel I rely on recognition to maintain high standards.

From the start of the Programme until the point where I was signed off as a Team Manager it was great as there were organised training days and there was very good communication to ensure we were all progressing well. After that point however the Programme faded away until recently, most of the candidates weren't even sure if the Programme was still going and I was told by my Personnel Team that the Programme was finished even though the aim was to get us to an Express Store Manager Role.

This is a similar answer to Q5. From the start of the Programme until my Team Manager sign off it was fantastic due to the great communication. After the Team Manager sign off point the Programme faded away until recently, most of the candidates weren't even sure if the Programme was still going and I was told by my Personnel Team that the Programme was finished even though the aim was to get us to an Express Store Manager Role.

When I started I had great support from my Store Manager because he was understanding that I was new to both the role and Tesco and there was great communication between the store and the Programme Manager so the senior team were kept up to date about training events and they had to provide information back about how I was progressing. Rightly so I was still required to push for support when it was needed.

I would like to earn more, however I feel my salary is fair for the job role as I negotiated it when I was requested to fill a Stock Manager position where the department was struggling. I want to earn more but I want to do that by progressing to senior team.

I am fortunate that most of my hobbies outside of work can be done at anytime so I can easily do them around my work times even if I have to go to work at the last minute. These include gym and fitness classes, socialising with friends in the evenings (watching football, Pool, Golf), spending time with family. I used to be a Police Special Constable which again I could do around work time.

Yes

It is a great place to work as it feels like one big team with a real feel of togetherness and if your like me and want to progress, there are the opportunities to do so.

Take time to complete the application to the best of your ability. Do not take short cuts or miss any sections out. Think about what would make Tesco want to employ you. When it comes to the interviews and assessments do your research based on the structure. Think of examples of what you have done in the past that would make you fit in well with us. On the on boarding events you will meet the other candidates. Use this opportunity to get to know each other, exchange numbers and link on social media as you may need to call on each other for support at times.