"I feel very proud of what I'm doing" Valentina, Shift Manager
Valentina’s working life began in logistics, but she didn’t really enjoy her job. By chance, she happened to live quite near to a Lidl store so decided to apply - and has been here ever since.
Where were you working or what were you studying before you joined Lidl?
I studied for a degree and worked in info tech logistics for a while, but I realised it was not the job for me, so I made the switch to retail and I've been working for Lidl since 2018. My house was very near to a new Lidl store. Very close. And I was looking for a job, so I applied. And here I am!
What does your current role involve?
I help manage the team running the shift and also have my own duties. Things like checking expiry dates and prices, checking what we receive from the distribution centre is correct, managing the safe and making sure that at the end of the day the money is correct.
So what are your main challenges?
We have a target to hit every four or six months. The challenge is to make that target. I would also say trying to improve productivity. That’s challenging too.
Any achievements you're particularly proud of?
I think I’ve learned a lot in this job. And, as a professional, I'm very committed and I enjoy getting feedback from my manager. Because I’m not in my home country, everything is doubly difficult because of the language and even the culture. In Latin culture, we tend to have very hot tempers. Here in England, I learned a different approach and it's quite good. I feel very proud of what I'm doing.
What sort of people would enjoy doing your job?
As a Shift Manager, you need to be like a role model for your team. You need to be effective, you need to be efficient and you need to be seen to be enjoying doing it and be able to trust your colleagues. I enjoy work. I'm not one to complain if the delivery came late, or someone got sick. I try to be happy all the time because I think if you come to work with a smile and not bring your problems or worry about a problem at work, everything will be fine. So it's very important to have a good mood. ‘I can do it today. We can do it’ – that’s my motto.
Is there anything that surprised you about working with Lidl, anything you didn't expect?
Not really, because I've got experience of retail. I think maybe we have different customers, different people, different nationalities, different minds. This is what makes it very interesting because everyone has a different approach. I don't know. Maybe the culture is different at Lidl.
And what’s your work life balance like?
It’s good because I work close to my house. My work life balance means I have time for my hobbies like painting. I like doing oil painting. I love flowers in my house too. I do yoga too. I've got a lot of things I like doing outside of work.
How about training and development?
At the moment because I’m now a Shift Manager I’ve got a few people that I'm training but I have had training myself, yes.
So what does the future hold for you?
I hope I’ll continue to grow with Lidl because I like the company. And in the distant future, when I’m retired, I would like to go back to my country.
Finally, what four words would you use to describe Lidl?
Growing. Professional. Committed. Team.