I decided the moment that I came through the doors here that I loved it and that this was where I wanted to be!

posted by Sara Metcalfe
6 November 2015

I started Clarks about 12 years ago as a Sunday girl in the Outlet shop in Worle. I spent about 3 years here but during this time I also helped out in the Street Outlet store as and when they needed extra staff. I decided the moment that I came through the doors here that I loved it and that this was where I wanted to be! There was just so much I could learn! There weren’t any full time positions available in the Outlet store at the time, so I continued to work in Worle, until a position became available here. Finally, I got the job as a Kid’s Team Leader! Following this, I made the natural progression to Kid’s Department Leader. I had the opportunity to work at Crockers as an Assistant Manager, on a 3 month secondment, in order to get some first-hand management experience. This was such a great opportunity for me to strengthen my management skills. Following my secondment, I started working in the Outlet Ladies’ Department, which is the highest turnover department in the store! I was then asked to join the management team to cover a variety of roles including Floor Manager. I am now the second Assistant Manager. I am mostly responsible for overseeing the day to day running of the shop floor and I also manage the majority of our recruitment. Having the opportunities to work in a variety of stores, roles and departments has really provided me with such a broad knowledge of Clarks retail. A few of my colleagues are currently on secondment in Head Office and some of them have helped to implement the new outlet online website, which goes to show the kind of opportunities that are available to us! 

Every day here is totally different! Today, I’m on the open so I’ll pull all the reports and figures and update the whiteboard with our targets and sales focuses. Every morning we hold a start-up meeting with all the staff. The purpose of this is to engage all the staff first thing in the morning and inspire them to sell lots of shoes and deliver exceptional customer service! I’ll also complete a role planner for the day, which indicates which department everyone is assigned to for the day and their lunch and break times. Once everything is organised and the staff are raring to sell shoes, we’ll be ready to open the shop! As the first few hours in the morning tend to be the quietest trading hours, I usually utilise this time to catch up on any paperwork or prepare for any recruitment inductions or interviews.  When you work in retail, time management is a key skill, as the day to day administrative needs have to fit around the trading peaks.  My favourite part of my day is joining my colleagues on the shop floor, helping out wherever I’m needed and ensuring that everything is running as efficiently as possible. I love the hustle and bustle of the retail environment and being able to work with such a variety of people; in a lively team and with so many lovely customers. The buzz that we have within the team makes my job so enjoyable! I work really closely with the rest of the management team and we really complement each other and play to our strengths. I love working with people and showed a real interest and passion for recruitment and managing the recruitment has really allowed me to develop that skill.

I think Clarks are a fantastic employer. I have a little boy and I receive childcare vouchers through Clarks, which is so helpful. My manager is brilliant at making sure we have a work-life balance and are able to get to a few school runs etc. There are lots of things that we benefit from. Aside from continuous development and opportunities within the company and generous salaries and hourly wages, we also get great discount on shoes including a free pair for work! I’m really proud to say that I work in the biggest Clarks outlet store in the world and to work with such a great team of people. It’s also really nice being so close to Head Office, as we have great working relationship and they really value our input and feedback. Having worked in such a fast paced, high turnover, environment, I would never want to work anywhere quiet!

Faye - Street Outlet – Assistant Manager

Categories: Retail | Outlet | Assistant Manager |