Retail Management Placement Review

I really enjoyed my placement year, there are definitely some departments which were more enjoyable than others, however as it is a rotational placement even if you don't like a department you may only be in it for a few weeks. There are very few placements like this where you will get the opportunity to experience so many departments.

Throughout the majority of departments I have felt very valued by colleagues and given a large amount of responsibility, especially within the store. In store I was given responsibility for running shifts and opening and closing down the store. In departments where you only spend a short amount of time I felt less valued, however I was able to contribute less to these departments due to the short period of time spent here.

I received a large amount of guidance and support and had line managers who I was always able to contact and organise meetings with, whenever needed. I received multiple visits from my supervisor throughout the year when I was in a variety of departments. Any issues I had I knew could be quickly resolved.

Lidl is an extremely fast paced business. In store I was extremely busy, however it often meant never sticking to my 40 hour contract in order to meet the needs of the store. In the majority of departments tasks were planned for me so I was kept very busy, there were minimal departments where I felt I didn't really have enough to do.

A lot of responsibility is given to placement students. I was given responsibility for running shifts in store and managing a team of up to 10 people in store at a time. I was able to take on projects and given freedom to conduct these projects how I wished. I was also invited to store manager/area manager meetings which allowed me to learn a lot more and take this back to store.

I am extremely pleased that I chose this placement. I have worked in so many departments, with a variety of people and feel in the future I will be able to adapt the skills I have learned. I received excellent training and attended workshops, there are very few placements that will provide such opportunities.

Very friendly atmosphere in my region.

Organisation was a mix. I had a clear training plan which I really liked having, however it was not always stuck to. However I feel my region was extremely welcoming of placement students and I knew exactly where I would be spending my time and even had the freedom for the last 3 months to choose which departments to return to.

I felt the company really invested in me. My store manager was excellent and I felt I received a brilliant level of training. I also attended multiple workshops which were useful, however I believe I learned more being on the shop floor. I have attended senior meetings and been able to choose which departments I wanted to experience more of, therefore allowing me to develop areas I am most interested in.

Lidl are definitely a company I will consider for a future role. I have seen many placements/graduates progress within the business and I believe there are a lot of opportunities, however most of these are in sales. I enjoyed my time in sales, so I am happy about this, however there would perhaps not be many opportunities outside of sales.

We met up at the start of the year, again in January and spent 2 weeks together for our time in head office. We are based all over the country so other than these times it is limited, however it is nice to have people to compare and contrast with.

The cost of living was fine as I was able to live at home. My commute could take between 45 minutes - 1.5 hours dependent upon traffic which was the only drawback.

Ok.

There is always a Christmas event and Summer events held for employees. As well as this events are advertised on the Lidl employee page, normally charity events which employees can get involved in.