Overall Reviews at Smollan
2,0
Stressfull environment
Typical day at work would be me signing in before 8:00am, going to the shop floor, and doing whats called a floor walk to determine what stock is missing on the shop floor so that i can fill it up. going to tea at 9:30 getting back to filling the shelves at 9hH45 helping the shop's customers in anyway possible going to lunch at 14H00 and going bk to work at 15H00 .
What i learned will be people skills. how to and how not to interact with people. secondly would be the importance of punctuality
Managers as expected are true devils, they disregard other people's lives. they only care about saving money.
Co-workers are really good people. we get along very well.
The hardest part of the job is that it is physically demanding, and at the end of the day i would have to hit my books and study and at times would be too exhausted to even flip through a single page.
The enjoyable part of the job would be interacting with kind, generous and thoughtful customers who at the toughest days make my day.
Prosthere are no pros
Consphysically tiring and hazardous.
3,0
Productive & Fun Place to work
A typical day would be going through my list of TO DO's, the ticking them off as I complete it. Doing adhoc reports which come through at least 3X a week. My Operations Manager manages both KZN and Free State - so I would consolidate the both and forward to the respective persons at head office.
I have increased my knowledge of excel as I only work with spread sheets and formulas 3/4 of the time.
Management- As I mentioned above my Operations Manager manages both KZN and Free State. Under her there are 6 more managers. They have a great work ethic. Everyone works well as a team.
I am the only person here that does the administration-I work well with all the managers. If I am unsure of anything at anytime- thy are always willing to assist.
The hardest part of my job was moving heavy boxes of the Point of Sale.... saying goodbye in January 2014
I enjoy the team spirit here!
ProsFree lunches
ConsHigh aircon - it gets freezing here
5,0
Excellent leaders who place a high value on developing their people
I thoroughly enjoy my job on a day to day basis since it is versatile and complex enough to provide suitable challenges yet fundamentally basic in nature which gives a strong sense of competence and achievement. In the 8 years within this company I have received excellent training and development which has honed my skills to ultimate levels of performance. Management consists of leaders, and not just job-taskers, therefore everyone receives direction in a clear and concise manner which makes it easy to negotiate paths to success by all who have the ambition to seek the fulfilment of their potential.
Prosequipped with technology and knowledge
Consnone i can think of
3,0
Sales business as per usual
Different BU's, different culture. Management across BU's is not standardised. Our Client went through restructure which forced us to do so too. My 3 years in the company was more about surviving than growth. Growth was more intangible because I only got to realize my strength, and the amount of pressure I am able to deal with but the manner in which I thrived in adversity was only recognized via mouth and not in a form of promotion or money. I was doing more than people that had higher ranks than I did consistently. People will use you to their benefit and once they are done with you they will brush you aside.
ProsI personally was not Micro Managed.
ConsIf you are really committed it's hard to manage work and life
3,0
Bad Management
Have over 15years experience in FMCG..across all channels..was employed as a field manager at pioneer foods(which was my dream job working for a big company like this)..was in training 1st month after being employed ..then in 2nd month out on my own..only to discover the area/territory that was allocated to me..it has not been serviced in months..so i had to do lots of running around & cleaning up in the area..only for 'some other reason' i was dismissed in the beginning of 3rd month..up till now still dont know the reason why..which really left me heartbroken..up till now still cant find a rep job because of having this on my employment record at ccma
ProsGood competitive products
ConsCouldnt really trust my colleagues
3,0
Market Manager |
Gauteng | 24 Jul 2012
Enjoyable Workplace
A typical day at work involved travelling to a shopping centre where I would deliver brand merchandise to various stores. Training would take place, where the main intention would be to get staff keen on selling the brand I represented.
I learned about the importance of brand presence in a store. A very important lesson was the importance of balancing admin and human contact.
The interaction between management, colleagues and employees was very limited.
The most enjoyable part of the job was seeing a staff member implement an aspect of my training.
Prosfun job, many benefits, good salary
Consirrelevant admin, lack of management presence, lack of growth, lack of job security
5,0
Very diverse Company with complex systems integrating with Blue Chip Companies. International Growth
I was responsible for the Group Information Technology
10 Departments reporting into me of which 2 was profit centers and the balance service departments
The whole IT was driven from Head Office were all decisions were made regarding the total infrastructure. This includes all hardware, software, networking, printers, servers etc.
We supported 2000 users with a workforce of 25000 in SA.
We had a strong team built over years and minimal staff turnover.
The most enjoyable was having major projects being implemented successfully as well as staff growing into managers or greater employees
4,0
Friendly and productive enviroment
My job entails arriving at work on time, daily duties of ensuring products are visible and on.
I also have to training sales staff on the products and keeping them up to date with any new or existing products and monitor sales made daily and monthly.
I work hand in hand with the people in the store cause they help provide me with the information I require on a daily bases. I don't have any management in the store I have a manger who comes in on a weekly bases to check my progress.
So I get to have management skills cause I have to manage time myself.
ProsI get to manage myself improving my management skills.
ConsLong hours and not having weekends off
5,0
I wish I can go back to working for smollan.
I miss working for smollan and would go back anytime working for the company, it was my most favorite company to work for out of all the places I worked at, I liked the hours, especially working weekends it was not so hectic, which allowed me to have a life of my own, I liked the training and the people I worked with made it a nice company to work for, I was always excited to go to work, and I had a great manager, I never planed on leaving the company, I wanted to complete my contact with the intention of taking the next contract if they offered it, but unfortunately due to covid, I was retrenched.
ProsReasonable working hours.
ConsStock counts.
3,0
There is opportunity for growth in such a large company
My typical day includes various store visits whereby I liaise with both staff and the store managers. Brand positioning product availability and up to date price indicators are key areas to focus on. Driving promotional compliance and training staff are all part of this. This company has a massive product range competing in most categories. Added to that I have a large HR function and administrative responsibility.
ProsBeing in the trade and engaging with staff.
Conswork life balance. Due to the product, there is a constant need for communication regarding availability. You are always on duty.
