General Management Industrial Placement Review

The placement year is a tough challenge. Aldi are a fantastic employer to work for, but in return expect hard work and commitment. I enjoyed the variety of experience throughout the year, from working in stores to shadowing area managers to project work. Some aspects were more engaging than others, however this would be expected due to the scope of the placement.

It was clear during my store time that some members of staff valued the IP scheme less than others, which at times made it difficult to ensure my specific training requirements were a focus, however this only taught me to be both proactive and independent where necessary. During my co-op time with area managers, I received positive feedback thanking me for my work, and so I believe I was of significant help in those periods. During the head office time, some of the ideas from our project work were implemented, again suggesting that our thoughts were taken on board at director level.

My mentor was fantastic throughout the year, particularly when I was in her store as I saw her more frequently. However, she was extremely approachable, and I spoke to her every couple of weeks when in my first store and during head office time for catch ups and advice. She always offered honest and helpful feedback on both my performance and projects.

The pace of working in an Aldi store is well known to be very fast. I never clock watched, even after working 8+ 10 hour days in a row, as I thrived off the high targets for speed and efficiency. At Christmas in particular, a busy time for any retailer, I was exhausted, yet I took away from the experience a sense of achievement more than anything. When out with Area Managers, for the most part I remained busy, if not with set audit tasks - which seemed to be the majority of the time - I was able to pick the brains of the AMs, which was insightful. I was involved in recruitment, conducting both interviews and contract signings. I also had involvement with regional rollouts, creating Memos for my mentor which were sent out to all AMs, as well as creating presentations to deliver in store manager meetings. During head office, however, the nature of project work led us to be sat at computer desks for 95% of the time. I was lucky enough to have a Store Operations project, which meant I could take my research outside of the office and back into stores, allowing for a change of scenery. Because I had only one project for a number of weeks, the days became somewhat monotonous, and had I not been so interested in the topic I could have easily become disengaged. I think had I been given 2/3 projects to complete at the same time, I would have been able to manage my time better and kept a more enthusiastic outlook right to the end.

By the end of store time I was trained as an Assistant Store Manager, ordering stock and running shifts. I had responsibility for the safe and money controls, as well as daily due diligence tasks. With the Area Managers, I did interviews by myself and also inductions for new starters, as well as many an audit. In head office, the project work I undertook had a potentially big impact across the region.

As a non-business student, I have had the most fantastic insight into retail, from both an operational and logistic perspective. The exposure to each aspect of the company, including property and trading, has been amazing. Doing such long contracted hours has definitely prepared me for the return to university life, as I am sure I will be much more organised with my studies. Aside from practical skills, my confidence has grown exponentially throughout the year. At the beginning of the placement, I was extremely nervous about making mistakes and potentially ruining the chance of returning as a graduate, and being a perfectionist I was very self critical. I have definitely overcome this anxiety and changed massively as a person, thanks to the support I received from my mentor and managers.

In stores, the atmosphere hugely varied from shop to shop, due to the nature of working in retail. I was lucky to get on well with other members of staff for the most part, and so thoroughly enjoyed my store time. Working in a further out part of the region, I was essentially in a bubble which meant I had little exposure or understanding of how different other areas were before working in Darlington. In the office I met all other Area Managers, as well as other departments. Working in a separate room was sometimes boring, particularly as there were only 2 of us on placement. There was one project AM working solely from the workroom, who was a fantastic source of knowledge and conversation, and so it was nice to see a friendly face almost every day.

For the most part the placement was well organised, as the training plan did not change massively from the initial plan we were provided with. At one point our holiday changed and we were not aware, however this didn't cause me too many issues. During some parts of the year did it seem as though no one was sure what we were supposed to be doing, like with the grading period, due to a lack of communication. However, as I know that the company expects for you to be very independent and proactive, I took the opportunity to show some initiative.

I did not receive any particular or specific personal training, however as my mentor knew I was interested in returning to the graduate scheme, she invested more specific effort into my development.

My experience as an IP will definitely only benefit me in a future application to Aldi as I have already been exposed to the company culture and the hard work involved in the graduate scheme. However each region works differently and so I will have to wait and see whether or not my Managing Director will offer either a job or a final interview in the future.

Due to the distance between ourselves during store time, we were in contact however did not meet up outside of work. Even during the head office time, as I was temporarily living in Darlington and she would commute to the office daily, we did not meet up socially. Had there been more of us potentially we may have done, however as a pair it may have been a bit awkward.

I lived with my Granny during the store time, which was beneficial due to the cheap rent. Had I chosen to stay in North Yorkshire and commute, the petrol would have been extortionate as it was not expensed. I moved to Darlington to lodge with a local family for the office time. The rent was cheap enough, however I knew noone and so travelled to see friends and family every weekend which ended up being costly.

Again, moving to Darlington I didn't know anyone and so preferred to travel to socialise. However, being close to Newcastle was nice as I was able to visit friends regularly.

We had a few invites to Area Manager activities later on in the year but I think we would have felt odd and out of place to attend.