Unfortunately this list has gotten too long to not upload. We know that writing this will achieve nothing, other than a generated people team response asking us to email them, but there is no other outlet available to voice just how bad things have gotten. I would never contact senior leadership directly, as this is currently where the problem lies, and when people do stand up and try to be vocal they just get swept under the rug or fobbed off with a "it's on the pad" response.
Reduced salaries and hours
- Whilst we understand the reasoning behind this process, and can see the need to protect the business, you cannot reduce management contracts down and expect the previous goalposts and results to be met.
- These hours have been reduced past the point of viable, there's no amount of "educating the customer" that can replace the White Stuff service experience that we are known and loved for. This is why we are failing to produce the same turnover as our competitors.
- We cannot do our jobs. There is no management aspect, no policy or procedures being delivered, we are literally putting the key in the door and using the till. If you're wanting to trade shops for 8.5-9 hours a day, but we can only work 7 what is the expectation here?
Unrealistic expectations from HQ/AM/Retail team
- Forced (prolonged) lone working despite several incidents that prove this is unfeasible. This affects all managers and customer host supervisors. Not all CHS are at a level (through no fault of their own), to be able to lone trade and feel safe to do so. You can have a 18 year old CHS, or a 58 year old CHS who both feel equally unsupported, and we as managers have no resources to help explain or train them for this situation.
- Workload is again something we understand is very subject to change currently. There is no denial on the stores side that we will know everything that is going to happen, but when the "unprecedented" does happen, we are left in the dark until the last minute and are then expected to execute unrealistic amounts of work with unrealistic resources.
New HQ team brought in under new head of shops/CEO
- Has a purely web based focus, meaning stock is not in shops and therefore we're alienating our core customer from the off
- Stores are not given the correct dispatch/launch dates and are constantly having to change plans around to work around the dribble of product that is making it's way to us. Stock Surgeries helped with this over the Autumn, but to receive an updated delivery schedule 4/5 times a week is impossible to plan with given limited staffing.
Head of shops
- Claims to have come up the ranks from the shop floor, but seems to have lost all visibility on what decisions look like on a shop floor level
- Emphasis on "educating the customer" on new ways of shopping, i.e. not taking cash because of the "pandemic" when this is just another way to cost cut.
- Dates of major promo activities change up to 4 times the week prior and with a days notice. Sale date for Christmas was a disaster. We are under NO illusions that things change, but cannot ask the impossible of already stretched teams.
Significant lack/clarity/consistency of communication in all aspects of the business
- This results in a complete bottleneck situation and information being handed down sometimes third hand
- Area managers choose which comms to give and this results in mass disparity over the areas, senior management seem to think that information is a luxury not a right.
- This is CHs biggest issue, this means being unable to plan anything in a very stressful time. And managers having to explain we have no more information than they do. We cannot support our teams, and there is nobody supporting us.
Welfare
- Massive lack of COVID check in with the retail team. We've had 0 comms, not even a "we're all in it together hope you're okay"
- Mental health first aiders seemed to be the in thing last year, but have been nowhere to be seen on the "front line"
This list is extensive and will be the same whichever retail area/store/team you speak to. The point of this is to not dwell on this, but to publicly highlight that we need to make changes and move forward together. We all want this brand to succeed, but when you have managers that would rather seek out redundancy than continue service, something has gone wrong.
