Warehouse Team Manager Review

I really enjoyed my Industrial Placement with Gist. It has taught me valuable people management skills that I will take on in my career going forward. Although food logistics can be stressful at times it has definitely made me more resilient and made me realise I am a lot more capable than I thought I was. My confidence has improved drastically and I have achieved things I never thought I would during my placement year.

Being a Team Manager at Thatcham was a great experience as I got on with all the other team managers so well. We always motivated and encouraged each other. Without my colleagues my year would have been completely different. The only thing I would say is that you aren't always praised for a good day, which hasn't really bothered me but may bother someone who is motivated by praise from their manager. As a team we work really well together and I couldn't have done it without them.

The mentoring and buddy scheme ran by the Gist Early Talent Team is great. I have received some of the most valuable support from my mentor over video calls & visits which has helped my professional development. It has been good to have the view of someone who doesn't work at the same site as you to give you ideas for your progress. My Buddy has also been on hand whenever I have needed her, even if that has just been to catch up and check on my welfare. However, the only criticism I would have is on-site management support. My direct line manager has been great although we haven't sat to discuss my progress very regularly. But, managers above him haven't necessarily given me a large amount of support. I think this has mostly been down the fact that I have been independent and got on with things myself.

Working in a warehouse is extremely busy. You are expected to complete many many different tasks on a daily basis. I enjoyed this as I like being kept busy and the responsibility I was given. Due to the time-pressured nature of the industry, things have to be done quite immediately which keeps you on your toes. The only criticism I would have is that sometimes you can be SO busy operationally, there is not time to complete other tasks which fall outside of the operation. This just means you need to be more organised with other managers and make sure you have the time to get done what you need to do.

Gist give you as much responsibility or as little responsibility as you would like. You are allocated your own team and expected to complete HR tasks such as 121's, etc. with them. Most days you are not expected to manage the whole warehouse on your own but there is sometimes occasions where you may be expected to be in charge of a large amount of people. At first I found this daunting but you become used to it.

In terms of people management skills, I think these will help me immensely in my onward career. I also attended a couple of training courses which helped me expand my leadership skills. I am unsure as to whether it has helped me in my degree studies (Business Management) but I now have a much wider knowledge of the logistics industry. I think it also made me think about whether logistics is an industry I would like to work in long term.

As I said, my team got on really well which created a good atmosphere. We also have good relationships with our managers which meant we all got on personally as well as professionally. This definitely made my placement experience a much better one. I felt that I could approach anyone on site for help or guidance and they were always happy to assist. We have had a good laugh but also achieved really good things as a team together.

In terms of the Early Talent Team from the moment I went for my Insight Day, they have been extremely organised and brilliant at keeping you in the loop. On site, my placement was set up well but in terms of my development it has been very much down to me and what I want to get from my placement. Most of the time, if there is another department or role you would like to experience, there is a way this can be arranged. The only thing stopping this can be the busy nature of the job.

The company gave me lots of responsibility from the get go. Our induction was brilliant and we also attended a training course earlier in the year. Unfortunately a lot of development opportunities had to be cancelled because of Covid19 and the fact that we were unable to travel between sites. I have been allowed to get involved in almost everything I have asked to. Only criticism is that most of my development ideas have come from my Mentor rather than my managers on site.

Future employment prospects with Gist appear good. If I was to continue onto the grad scheme, the length would be reduced due to my placement year. It would also allow me to spend time at other sites and get to know other sectors of the business. A large amount of senior managers at Gist have come from the grad scheme which is always a very good sign. The only downside I would say is the fact you have to be prepared to move to any part of the country.

As I have been the only placement student on site, I have not been able to make good relationships with many of the other placement students. I get on really well with a lot of my colleagues and we have been able to make arrangements outside of work which has been great. I will definitely stay in touch with a lot of people from my site !

Living in the South has been extremely expensive which has been difficult at times due to the IP wage being quite low. However, I think the experience outweighs this.

I have lived in Reading and being a big city, there is lots of things to do. Luckily, I found housemates that I have got on really well with and this has helped my experience massively.

I generally stuck to 8 hour shifts, except during busier periods which made making arrangements outside of work relatively easy. However, weekend working is expected in return for days off during the week.