Pros
-Every store is different, but I've really enjoyed the team I work with: Friendly staff who go out of their way to assist customers even though it's easy to think you can just clean on the sales floor and let the customers be on their merry way. -Training has been very solid. My trainer and the store manager have been very focused on giving me the skills and knowledge I need and even more than that for when I transfer to my home store. -Hours can feel long for full-time staff (9 hours scheduled), but we are guaranteed an hour long break (unpaid) and an additional 15-minute break that's still paid. -The benefits are pretty much what really keeps a lot of the full-time staff at H&M. They have a great work/life balance with vacations days starting at 15 days and increases over time to around 5 weeks. On top of that you get wellness/sick days. If you need to request a day off, most likely you will get approved as long as you request three weeks ahead. You're paid well for working holidays, and you get paid even if you didn't work the holiday. Actually, if you work on a holiday, you're given a day off within the next 2 weeks after. Oh, and of course your birthday is considered a paid holiday you get off and the discount is great! -Insurance coverage is CIGNA and it's very well priced considering how much coverage you can get. You can also get life insurance, retirement plan, car and home insurance, pet insurance, and there's even medical insurance for PT workers. - Opportunities for internal promotion are actually real - Easy to transfer to other stores/locations within H&M. They're actually posted in the break office, so if you know you're moving, this is so handy! It also makes employees feel like they're wanted to stay within the company which boosts morale.
Cons
-The register system is a little outdated. We have to manually audit CC receipts and that's a tedious process that takes management away from helping out on the sales floor. (H&M has announced they're introducing new register systems that do away with this though) - Understaffed during obvious sales hours. For example, I work at a stand-alone H&M in DC and the weather is getting nicer. This automatically means more people will be passing by the store and shopping during lunch hours and after work hours. We should be using this knowledge to have more people working these hours so the registers and fitting rooms are covered and people can remain on the sales floor to boost sales numbers through customer service. Unfortunately this is linked to the company's tight payroll policy/budget. - Schedule can run you ragged. I've worked a closing shift until 11pm and had to be at work by 7am to open the next day. It doesn't happen often, but I wish they implemented a different scheduling strategy.