As the People and Culture Manager within the Watford branch of Primark I head up the HR team within the store. I manage 250 staff and am part of the 19 strong management team. My role includes:Recruitment including advertising, shortlisting candidates, interviews, reference checks, right to work checks, new employee set up on various internal systems and assisting with recruitment for new store openings. Induction and training, employee relations including disciplinary procedure where I manage the investigation and disciplinary procedure in store carrying out the disciplinary meeting, I then follow up with all formal notifications and manage these through to expiration. Rota’s, internal communications, updating all employee records, absence management and return to work interviews, holiday procedure management. Budget management for headcount I forecast the overall annual budget and then review this on a weekly basis producing reports. Payroll ensuring effective payroll for all staff on a daily basis, downloading daily file to Head office team to process on a weekly basis.Employee engagement I hold weekly staff briefing meetings to engage with the team and update on business performance and objectives, I organise quarterly staff recognition awards, organise team bonding activities within the workplace such as Eid celebrations or charity activities such as Breast Cancer Awareness wear it pink day. Store management I often help the store team out, doing store walks, advising on areas for improvement and taking on additional responsibilities when needed. When required I am responsible for open/close of the store. Shopping Centre support attending meeting on behalf of Primark within the Intu Watford Centre to understand the wider retail needs and report back to the business.

As Deputy Manager at the Watford store I assisted the Store manager to support the team and in the day to day running of the store. My role included:Assisting the Store manager with the day to day store and team management, running the front line, ensuring deliveries arrived and stock was correctly placed on shop floor, ensuring POS and campaigns were implemented in the store. I took on responsibility for more of the back office functions also such as; cash office and all personnel issues including wages, rotas and recruitment. I was duty manager in the manager’s absence. The Watford store is closest to Head Office so we often had to manage store walk through, POS implementation, and new initiatives which would disrupt the general running of the store, we had to ensure these were properly managed but caused as little disruption to the customers as possible.

As Deputy Manager for Superdrug I worked in two branches (Watford and Wimbledon) My role included:Ensuring the store delivers the company’s Mission Statement “To be the customer’s favourite, up to the minute health and beauty store, loved for its value, choice, friendliness and fun”. I assisted the store manager with all day to day running responsibilities of the store this included running the store two nights a week as duty manager, rota’s, dealing with staff planning and cover, wages, cashing up, recruitment, stock orders, merchandising, POS implementation. I also took on the role of shrinkage champion and successfully reduced shrinkage in store by tightening up on procedures and raising staff awareness.

I worked my way up from Assistant Supervisor to Supervisor in the Kingston store.My role included: As Assistant Supervisor I was given supervisory responsibility of the shop floor operation, ensuring excellent customer service through the effective management of staff and maintenance of high display standards through effective merchandising. When promoted to Supervisor my role then included Assisting with the day to day running of the store, ensuring the manager and staff received my full support, recruitment, cash management, staff training and development, stock management, loss prevention, performance management and customer service.

This was my first role whilst still in education, I worked as a Customer Service Assistant taking on additional responsibility when possible and I was offered a place on the management training scheme.My role included:As a Customer Service Assistant I was responsible for serving and helping customers in store, I was then made Weekend supervisor of the news department and was involved in stock management, staff cover, product merchandising and customer service. I was offered a place on the Management Training scheme which I completed this was both an intensive and comprehensive scheme enabling me to develop my abilities, knowledge and behavioural competencies. The course also increased my business awareness and developed my interpersonal skills.