Milly
Video transcript
My name’s Milly Harradine, I’m on the graduate scheme for Waitrose.I joined the Partnership in September 2008 and I’m currently acting Department Manager, Customer Services, in Saltash.
Before I worked for Waitrose I was in the Navy for a year and a half. I left the Navy and applied for several different graduate schemes. When I got to the assessment centre, it was just, it was so well run and the other graduates on the assessment centre were so keen and so passionate about the business, I just thought, you can’t fake that sort of enthusiasm.
The big difference for me between Waitrose and things that I’d done before is the fact that it’s all dependent on your own personal development and how you work best, so there’s that real desire to do the best that you can.
The thing that I really enjoy is managing people. If I see someone in my department or my branch who I think has got potential to go further, then I’ll try and release that potential, and if people come to me and say, oh, I want to be a section manager, I want to be assistant section manager or whatever, then I can help them develop that personally and help them realise their own potential and work as best as they can in a way that suits them, which is what the partnership’s all about, how you, as a person, work in the way that’s best for you.
If you want to work for Waitrose you need to enjoy working with people because in retail everything you do, you work through your people, so you manage through those around you and in a way that’s best for everyone, so you use everyone around you strengths in order to get the most out of your team. Since I’ve worked here I’ve learnt loads and I’ve really enjoyed it. You go on a lot of courses and I’ve really enjoyed them all and learnt a lot from them.
