store manager

Salvos Stores

Working at any of the Salvos Stores is a very busy and demanding role with tasks always needed to be completed, but it is enjoyable and you can be proud of your work at the end of the day.
However (and it is a huge however), there are MANY problems in the business management/operations that will cause you stress as a paid employee or volunteer.
Sales and Money have become the priority and measure for the Salvos Stores. Not unusual for retail, but these store used to be in place to serve the local community through providing affordable quality clothing and household and a helpful and welcoming environment. Now, managers and staff are constantly pushed to 'make and exceed budget' first and foremost.
Communication is appalling. Honestly the worst I have seen of any business or organisation. Instructions and business procedures are passed verbally from Executive through the management levels to the operational floor (store staff), often without documentation, which means you can be given 3 different answers to the same question or process instruction. Not infrequently, queries can be met with no response or the 'because we say so' variants.
Training and development comes in two flavours; online powerpoint style presentations covering general principles and the ad hoc, minimal, in person training in store for the operations side, usually done by the Store Manager while they have to deal with the normal operation of the store. Skills and experience development are left to your own initiative, without any available resources and outside of an individual manager or your work colleagues appreciation, completely unnoticed by the business.
Pay and Conditions for paid employees... To best summarise, paid employees of Store Assistant and Managers are engaged under the Australian General Retail Industry Award. Unfortunately, Salvos Stores business management seem to have only viewed the Pay Guide for the minimum base rate and none of the other conditions/entitlements. Store Assistants are Classification 1, Managers are Classification 6 (or should be). Most Stores are open for trading from 9:00am to 5:30pm. Most Managers need to work in the store from 8:00-8:30am to 6:00pm to meet store needs. Store managers are paid for 7.6 hours per day. See the problem?

As said at the beginning, it is enjoyable and many of the people working in stores are great to be around, so can recommend for that.

TECHNICAL SKILLS:
	Command in the principle of air gases distillation
	Command of the process of wastewater treatment
	Planning of corrective and preventive maintenance
	Deployment of TPM (Total Productive Maintenance)
	Cause tree establishment
	Establishment of indicators for various production units
	Lean manufacturing Management: 
o	Just on time, quality, cost, and procurement management
o	Set individual target, train and guide operators for better quality approach
o	Setting up quality control process, 5”M “and 5”S “management.
o	Management of raw Materials
o	Management METHODS (instructions, manuals, procedures, procedures ...)
o	Management MANPOWER (motivation, training, organization, management ...)
o	Management MEANS: machinery, tools, equipment, ability, age, number, maintenance.
o	Management ENVIRONMENT: physical, roughly, temperature, market, legislation, etc…

	Management of industrial risks
	Risk analysis workstation
	Awareness on the wearing of PPE (personal protective equipment)
	Establishment of a GRA (Generic Risk Analysis)
	SAP tool management
	Risk analysis in the field of writing and work permits, implementation of safety barriers for equipment (compliance schedule maintenance, calibration valve
	Control the elements of action (gauge, displays, flip ...), tests of valves, pressure testing facilities to check resistance, thickness measurement of pipes to control internal corrosion that can weaken the pipe (to reduce the thickness ) and lead to a rupture / explosion in case of overpressure.

MANAGERIAL SKILLS
	 Management team
	 Training of technicians (training the dangers of high pressure - 100 to 200 bars, training on high and low temperature - 100 to 250 degrees, training of electrical hazards, hazardous area training, training on the dangers of air gases , training, work permits, training on PPE (personal protective equipment, training on handling cylinders, fire safety training.
	 HRM
	 monthly and annual performance evaluation operators
	 Management training needs of operators for better skills development.
	 Participation recruitment and validation of the technical service operators.
	 Management and validation schedules leave operators.
	Results: absenteeism reduction of 30% and 60% reduction in overtime.

	BUSINESS SKILLS
	Guarantor of timeliness and compliance of the final product delivered
	Representation of the company on professional forums.

Clients: Total, Shell, Perenco, Shlumberger, Weatherford, Hoyer, Air Flow Belgium, OTV, Degremont, Dalkia, KSB, Grundfos.

A Typical Day at Work:
A typical day at Salvos Stores involves a mix of customer service, sorting and pricing donations, merchandising, and maintaining store cleanliness. Employees and volunteers work together to ensure the store runs smoothly, often dealing with a variety of tasks that keep the day dynamic and engaging.

What You Believe You Learned:
Working at Salvos Stores teaches valuable skills in retail management, customer service, and teamwork. Employees also gain a deeper understanding of social responsibility and the importance of sustainability. The experience fosters a sense of community and empathy, as staff interact with a diverse range of customers and volunteers.

Management:
Management at Salvos Stores is generally supportive and mission-driven, focusing on both business goals and the organization's charitable mission. However, managing a large volunteer workforce can present challenges, requiring strong leadership and excellent communication skills to maintain motivation and consistency.

Workplace Culture:
The workplace culture at Salvos Stores is inclusive and community-oriented. Employees and volunteers share a common goal of supporting The Salvation Army's mission, which creates a positive and collaborative environment. The culture emphasizes respect, diversity, and a shared commitment to making a difference.

The Hardest Part of the Job:
The hardest part of the job can be managing the high volume of donations and ensuring that items are sorted, priced, and displayed efficiently. Additionally, balancing the needs and expectations of a diverse group of volunteers and customers can be challenging. The physical demands of the job, such as lifting and moving donations, can also be strenuous.

The Most Enjoyable Part of the Job:
The most enjoyable part of working at Salvos Stores is the sense of fulfillment from contributing to a meaningful cause. Employees often find joy in the treasure hunt aspect of sorting donations and the satisfaction of helping customers find unique items. The camaraderie among staff and volunteers, along with the opportunity to make a positive impact on the community, adds to the overall rewarding experience.

The Salvos Store is a complex being, you work there knowing that you're helping the community which makes you feel a sense of pride but the attitude ofmanagement is enough to take away all that with the blink of an eye. 

It is a truly bennificial place where you will be taught assorted tasks to carry out everyday, stock control, moving furniture and ensuring proper OH&S guidelines are met, Dealing with customers and assisting getting furniture into customers vehicles. 

The management depends on the type of day they're having, if they're having a decent day you can expect thenm to stop by for a friendly chat but other days you'd be lucky for them to leave the office and would just send orders through other members of staff, only leaving when there was some sort of problem.

The Co-Workers are mostly Work for the Dole users and are mostly hard working people and are easy to get along with. You come across a few pains in the butt but they're not usually there long either being told to hit the road or they just leave on their own accord.

The hardest part of the job would be some days it can be very phsycially intensive and when you're holding a gigantic piece of furniture while getting yelled at from management of where to put it, it can make the job so much harder. The other downside is a lack of recognition from the management and a complete lack of hope of paid work.

The most enjoyable part of the job is knowing I'm contribuiting to the community and creating new friendships with the people who go through there.

Worked full time for several years.
Saw various unethical behaviours primarily from upper management and state office. Nepotism is rife, lack of respect and care for store staff (i.e. the staff that experience the hardest parts of the job). Overworked and understaffed constantly. 
Upper management truly do not understand the daily stresses of store staff, who are grossly underpaid for the amount of work expected. Very few opportunities for career growth, so work becomes stagnant and repetitive. “Who you know” is more important than “what you know” with this organisation. 
The disrespect for the hard workers reduces morale. Genuine concerns are not taken seriously by HR. State office is unprofessional and incompetent.
Excessive waste is contributed to the environment. Salvos has absolutely no established system for recycling, reusing, or responsibly disposing of waste and refuses to implement such measures despite exhaustive requests from staff.
Managers are not trained adequately and are often promoted based on relationships with upper management rather than talent or merit
The store staff and volunteers are the core of the organisation, and the teamwork amongst all of them is the glue holding this “charity” together. However, issues with bullying from management are common. 

Salvos store is a great place for those looking for causual work or love being envolved with the community and helping others out. Great for getting experince with retail and is a lively and accepting company.
Being envolved with this company I enjoy helping others and making a lively community. The most useful thing I've learned is how to operate a cash register. The workplace culture is amazing, there is so much passion and joyfulness within the store. Everyone litens to each other and jokes are made at the right times and are respectful. The hardest part of doing this job is that Salvos is quite a small shop and sometimes it's hard to find things to do as we all like to be active within the shop and not just standing behind the counter. 
All of our customers are greeted by smiles and welcomes by all the staff. Many of our shoppers are loyal customers who come back every week to buy different types of items for their needs. Lastly the most enjoyable part of my job is greeting others and working with others with amazing personalities and customers as well.

What is the best part of working at the company?
This company as a Not for Profit is above par both in compassionate customer service, meeting peoples retail needs and fair pricing. Managers are helpful, professional and there is a strong team spirit with opportunities to learn even at a beginning stage.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Theres not really too many stresses. Rude customers. Too much backlog of Donations for sorting.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
this is a respectful workplace culture and they are very kind to their customers trying to meet the felt needs and being a listening ear. The work health safety environment is to a high standard with excellent P&Pproced in place. The managers are excellent and the teams of staff and volunteers are very friendly. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Why dont you ask them yourself ?

Busy and happy workplace, providing the best service
to our valued customers.

We all were there for each other and always pitched in if someone (staff or customer) was experience difficulties.

We worked as a team always, we all did everything and I trained both volunteers and work experience people in the role of retail management, register use and empathetic and understanding of customer service which was the most enjoyable part of my job.

A typical day involved reviewing our goals for the day,  sorting, pricing and distributing stock into shop, processing all back office requirements, reporting to area manager on sales status, rostering and wages and liasing with suppliers.

The hardest and most time consuming part of my job was dealing with the rubbish dumped at our shop every night and the cost involved in disposing of it.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Active, energetic job,
Good and friendly management and staff
Enthusiastic, responsible volunteers
Great satisfaction from sales and possibility to help customers

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
It is sometimes a huge volume of donation and not enough people to do sorting

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It is a very friendly and encouraging culture

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
tidying a shop , fullfilling racks with new donations,
sorting new donations, serving customers, organizing work for volunteers,
and delivery of a furniture to customers, answering phone requests, 
banking, sending daily reports to area manager at the end of day

No time to go to the toilet, no time to eat, no security cameras, no good direction or supervision, no option for development. The salary of managers is really low for the work they do. Salaries are not assigned according to the size and amount of work of each store.  Managers of a big store and with a big volume of work are paid the same than managers of a small store. (experience in Brisbane)

I believe that if you are a good worker and you help a Business to make millions of dollars, you should be rewarded or motivated at least.  I know how new managers have been hired for a lot more money than the managers who have been working there for a long time. why? , no idea, friends, family members, who knows. The situation seems really unfair.

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