Women in Retail: Your Development at Midcounties
This article will take approximately 4 minutes to read
Published 29 Jul 2021 in Raising Awareness
Are you looking for the chance to develop you career in Retail? Do you love learning new things? Read on to find out more about learning and development opportunities here at Midcounties.
As a Society, we are keen to ensure that everyone who wants to develop has the chance to. Development looks different for everyone. It could be about getting better at your current role, or you may want to progress your career by taking on a new position.
Your Development Options
For our colleagues in Food Retail, we have created the Your Development Options booklet, which summarises all of the different development options available.
Take a look inside to find out more about our LEAP apprenticeship programme and how to apply, resources and training you can dip into on i.Learn and Retail-specific opportunities for colleagues.
So many ways to learn
But learning isn’t just about formal training and courses. Watch the two short videos below from colleagues who have made the move from Team Leader to Store Manager and you’ll hear them talk about the value of learning on the job in helping them progress.
Listen in...🔊
As well as on-the-job learning, there’s always the opportunity to learn from others around the business. A great way to do this is by listening to some of our inspiring leaders who’ve featured in our ‘Thoughts From’ podcast, including Clare Moore, Holly Sawyers, Pete Westall, Rupert Newman and Raj Patel.
Nurturing talent
We are committed to having regular conversations about our colleagues; last year we started our Talent Review conversations to ensure that Retail colleagues with a desire to progress can achieve their full potential. Every quarter, we discuss colleagues at Store Manager level and above who have the potential to progress their career or do a different role and we to make sure they each have a Personal Development Plan to help them achieve their goals.
To find out more about our Talent conversations, Talent Reviews, please speak to your District Manager or request a Career Check-in.
Check-ins and our career framework
If you’d like to discuss your future development, the best starting point is to request a Check-in with your manager. During the Check-in you can discuss the areas you would like to develop and where you want to take your career.
You can also talk to your District Manager or HR about your future.
If you haven’t already, it’s a good idea to take a look at our career framework, which will show you what you’ll need to do to move up to the next level in your career.
Find out more about Check-ins here and the Midcounties career framework here.
Progress your career in Retail 💡
Attend a roadshow
Want to know more about the opportunities available to our retail colleagues (male and female) and how you can climb the career ladder? We will be holding 3 career roadshows for colleagues to attend so pop the dates in your diary:
- 8 September – Oxford (venue TBC)
- 8 September – Virtual
- 12 October – (Venue TBC)
Apply for the Pilot Job Share
Later in the year we will be trialling 2 store manager job shares for a 3-month period (1 in a supermarket and 1 in a convenience store). This is available to any colleague regardless of gender that may already be a store manager or looking for their next career move.
If you’re interested in applying or want to find out more email matt.windridge@midcounties.coop and susan.barguss@midcounties.coop
Inspiring Women in Retail
Each week we’ll be sharing pictures of our inspiring women in retail who are showing continual progression with the Society. 😊
Louise Hawtin – Upper Rissington - CSA to Team Leader
Nicola Wildin, Best of Our Counties promoted to Direct Sourcing Manager
Maggie O’Sullivan joined the Society as Head of Food Marketing