I work at HTG as the Café Manager on a normal day. However, as a part of HTG’s learning experience, I recently spent a day observing the retail team at Telstra Store Helensvale and learning more about the roles of the people under the HTG umbrella. My day included an insight into all the different positions in retail, including Effective Floor Manager, Customer Service, Sales and Support.
Day Start
We started our day with a ‘day start’, where the team comes together and has an icebreaker to loosen up for the day. On this particular day, we played Pictionary Playdough. In two teams, we had to create a word with playdough. Mine was ‘sunglasses’, and ‘lock’ and my team won (of course)! Then the support manager talked to the group and asked each person what goals they wanted to achieve for the day. They introduced me, and then everyone went to their stations.
Effective Store Manager
Initially, I shadowed Brittany, the Effective Floor Manager. The system the retail team has in place is set up to deliver excellent customer experiences by finding the right solution to every problem and is incredibly efficient. To ensure the right solutions are found efficiently, customers are first greeted by the Effective Store Manager, who directs them to the appropriate sales consultant. The process is seamless.
In the end, my experience on the floor was enjoyable because I got to meet, greet and engage with customers. I even bumped into some people I already knew!
Support Manager
My next role was with Skye, the Support Manager behind the counter. Skye works from three different monitors, each with a different purpose. One monitor was for customers to pay their bills, the second was for the routine administrative purposes, and the third was for product information, pricing and payments. Customer service and efficiency at it’s best!
Sales Consultant
Next, I sat with one of the Sales Consultants, Josh, and he talked me through the Sales Consultant position. After the brief, I met two customers – a lovely married couple. They explained their needs, and while Josh was looking up their info and taking details, I was chatting away with them about their caravan travels and home in Coomera. Even though I enjoyed engaging with the customers, I found sales a little daunting with all the different screens, systems and processes.
I enjoyed learning from Josh. He was good at asking questions to understand customers needs, and always found a solution quickly on how the right product would be able to help them in their day to day life. He made sure that all of his customers left knowing they had found the right solution for their needs.
Little Bit of This
For the rest of the day, I jumped between roles, assisting customers on the floor if I saw them wandering around. Even though I could not help them with specific problems, I still could greet them, get them explaining their problem, and direct them to the person that could assist them. I did a lot more on the counter, where I found out about rostering, goals, how to motivate staff during the day if goals are not achieved.
According to the team, I was there on a slow day – lucky for me! The most memorable customers I met were from Jordan – like me. We ended up having a full conversation in Arabic and spoke about our cultural backgrounds. She referred to me as ‘jar-ee’, which implies ‘now we are friends and neighbours’, and asked if I worked there as she would like to come back.
At the end of the day, it was great to see how well the entire team worked incredibly well together. Everybody has a lot of respect for each other, and a joyful attitude to achieve goals and support each other. Overall, the efficiency of the team was outstanding! It’s amazing to see how much can be achieved when like-minded people unite to reach a common goal.
The opportunities that arise with working for a company like HTG are endless. There are always new doors opening. For me, this has included working in the cafe and having the possibility of experiencing a whole new world of business. Overall, my day as a retailer was an excellent opportunity to develop and learn about new roles, and new ways of doing things. I learned a lot, and have been reflecting on how I could apply some of what I observed, to improve the experience I provide in HTG’s cafe.
Check out some of the other avenues for staff learning and development that HTG offers.
Mariana Hanna