I was approached by the GM of Wavecom to move into this position on the departure of the incumbent. Before transferring roles, I successfully trained my replacement in the warehouse. In each of the two years I have been in this position, I have comfortably outperformed the sales figures achieved previously in this role. I have worked hard to build my own network of contacts in the electronics industry, and have provided excellent customer service in many challenging situations. As Account Managers at Wavecom we are empowered to work towards our sales goals as we see fit, and as such do not use formal CRM software. Having said that, there is a clear understanding of targets and expectations, which I have successfully met, and we maintain shared documentation relating to customer engagement.In this position I have also been requested to manage the Front Office during a period of recruiting when we were without a receptionist. In this secondment I was responsible for managing the flow of sales calls, using MYOB and our other in house workflow software and ensuring each department of the business was kept informed of sales, customer requirements and orders, as well as relating to all customer queries and requests. This included invoicing and receiving payments.

Desiring to gain skills in an industry other than Hospitality, I began working here after Café de Kaurna closed on the completion of the Northern Connector Road Project. Wavecom is a small electronics manufacturing business, engineering and producing a range of testing equipment for the Electrical trade. I worked independently in the warehouse and constantly managed a range of work flows and responsibilities. I am required to check and receipt all incoming deliveries, subsequently assigning them to the correct areas of the business. As part of this, I record into our database all units and equipment sent to us by customers or other third parties for repair or update. I record and store all supplies and parts required for the design and manufacture of our range. It is my responsibility to ensure that stock levels are maintained accurately, and I am required to report on this to the sales and management teams at their request. Each different area of the business (sales, engineering, production, repair) calls on me for all parts and supplies needed for their tasks and I deliver these in a timely manner. I am then also responsible for packing and despatching all customer orders, completed repairs and components needed by third party suppliers. Meticulous records must be maintained of each sphere of activity and I may be required to report on the status of any aspect of these at a moments notice. Following procedure and cultivating an eye for detail are essential to the success of this role, as is the ability to juggle competing priorities and relay and interpret data for different stakeholder audiences.

This business was established on the Northern Connector construction site, to provide for both the office staff and site workforce. I assisted initially with the design and layout of the café, including choosing equipment and selecting suppliers. The staff of the café were given specific financial targets by the owners, and after some initial delays we met and exceeded them. My daily routine involved general customer service, but also onsite deliveries in a lunch van. It was essential that these deliveries took place when the onsite workforce had scheduled breaks. I was responsible for negotiating these times initially with the respective foremen, and then adhering to the arrangements daily. They were a demanding group of stakeholders, but they responded extremely well to the right approach. I was serving tradies covered in mud and then the Project Director in his shirt and tie most days! Again, in this position I was responsible for training new staff in various skills, and prior to my departure trained my replacement to successfully take on my duties.

I am responsible for all aspects of the daily performance of one of the three outlets for this group of Cafes. I work independently to take and fill customer orders, always maintaining a high degree of professionalism under pressure. Performing all the tasks involved requires excellent short term planning and prioritising, and constantly evolves throughout each day. I’m responsible for ordering supplies for my own site and one other, which demands efficient communication skills and adherence to a strict schedule, as well as accurate forecasting of requirements. One of the particular responsibilities I have is to train new staff members, preparing them for their roles. Turnover has increased under my tenure by approximately 20%. I am working here while I complete my studies, or until I am successful in securing a Project team position.

In this role, I was accountable to and worked with the Owner/ Licensee. My particular responsibility was the day to day running of the hotel, in all respects. I needed to balance customer service with many other higher level management tasks, which required excellent focus, time management and prioritising skills. There are many stakeholders involved in the operation of a pub, and I was the first point of contact for all of them. Managing competing interests required significant diplomacy, and the ability to find workarounds on the spot. Leading a team of staff which involved both very experienced and very new members was a positive challenge. I enjoy the process of training and equipping new employees, and watching them grow into positively contributing team members. I was responsible for ordering stock for front of house, and planning functions with back of house when required. Aside from managing the actual time requirements of these tasks, a key requirement of my role was to maintain just enough inventory for the next period. Maximising cash flow while ensuring a never failing supply is an ever present tension in hospitality. I was accountable for successful performance in this area, which I delivered. I was also responsible for reconciling the till daily, and performing a periodic stock take to identify and investigate unexpected variances.

This family owned business consisted of two cafes, one of which (Hola Coffee) I managed on behalf of the owners. As well as responsibility for the day to day running of the café, I was required to track performance of various financial KPIs and discuss these with the owners on a weekly basis. I made changes to product offerings and pricing in order to progress the business towards their desired targets. This kind of monitoring and adjustment is a constant issue in hospitality, and the ability to interpret sales data against cost inputs is vital.

I was employed as a team member in this position, with no specific managerial responsibilities. However, there were instances where I was able to contribute ideas for ways to progress the business forward, and occasions where I was responsible for the operation of the café. It catered to the 2000+ workers on site at the New Royal Adelaide Hospital building site. I worked independently and managed my section of the café, reporting performance to the manager and assisting others where needed. This role required excellent multi-tasking and communication skills, as the pace of work was frantic at times. As has often been the case, I was involved extensively in training new staff members and supervising them until they were regarded as competent by myself and the manager.

Having established this business (see below), I sold it to a Church community group. I was a member of this group, and so remained as a part of the management team and worked to train and equip others to eventually take on the running of the shop. My role became one of mentoring and assisting the manager appointed by the community group, and simply working as a team member. I consider this business, and its hand over, one of my more significant achievements. It is still trading, and has continued to grow since I departed. To me, this indicates that I laid the ground work well and equipped those who came after me to be able to execute their own vision for the business successfully. The manager I trained had previously worked as a public servant, and had no hospitality experience beyond enjoying cooking. As a community owned business, stakeholder management was complex. This was due to the fact that there were a mix of paid and volunteer staff, who had different ideas and expectations of their roles and responsibilities. The café also made a point of welcoming work experience students/ staff, and employed one staff member with a disability. This involved negotiating an extra layer of workplace employment regulation, as well as creating a more demanding team management environment.

I resigned from Bean Bar Franchising in order to start my own business. I began this process by surveying local shopping centres and looking for a suitable empty shop. Having decided on a location, I negotiated a lease and complied with all local council and government regulations for opening a new food business. I designed and renovated the shop, on a very limited budget, obtained by borrowing against our home. I established a Trust and Pty Ltd company, sourced suppliers (from my previous experience predominantly) and set about training my staff. Having begun trading, I worked to increase sales and reduce costs constantly. I monitored performance against my predictions, and worked to understand why there was deviation when it occurred. As this was a completely new start up business, forecasts were initially best guesses, but with trade data these became more accurate. The single biggest issue the business faced was a lack of foot traffic, and hence exposure. I worked particularly hard on different promotional and advertising strategies as a result. Each strategy had to be measurable, with an ability to track income generated against cost incurred. Over time underperforming strategies were discontinued. As the biggest risk my business faced was financial, constant monitoring of this performance was essential.

I was responsible for assisting the Franchisor in any way required in their dealings with the Franchisees. In practice I undertook a range of significant activities. The first of these was the development and writing of the Franchise training manual, which I then used to train all new Franchisees, and the staff to be employed in their stores. When the Franchisee requested, I assisted them in the process of recruiting staff also. Part of my role was monitoring ongoing performance and compliance in existing stores, but it also included the opening of new stores. The Franchisor and I designed each new store, and I assisted in the selection of equipment and choice of suppliers in different locations (including one store in Melbourne). Council regulations vary in different jurisdictions, and I ensured the Franchise met its obligations in each location. I liaised with builders and other contractors regarding the construction of new stores, ensuring a smooth flow of information and communication between all concerned parties. This process was time critical, and involved executing a multi-faceted plan to a strict deadline. Once the Franchisee had committed and a site had been chosen, the process of preparing them and their store began. They needed to complete the training course, then their staff needed to be recruited and trained also. All equipment and supplier issues needed to be ready, but not before the shop was ready for final fit out and installation. Council approvals, lease negotiations and the construction process can all take unexpected turns and slippage must be allocated for this. Every part of this process costs money, and so it must be completed ‘just in time’. The most crucial, and stimulating personally, part of my role was managing this process so that each shop was ready by opening day, with minimum wastage of time and money on the way.

I was initially employed as a barista and was promoted to store manager as opportunities arose. During this time, I demonstrated my ability to manage 3 different stores for the owner, of varying sizes and with varying staffing requirements. My leadership and management skills were enhanced significantly in this position. I was responsible for all aspects of the operation of the store I was located in, and reported weekly to the owner on performance against KPIs, and discussed any notable issues. I took over the management of one store which was struggling, with the task of improving performance. I dealt with one particular problem staff member immediately and resolved several other communication issues. Once we were working as a team again, customer service and sales noticeable improved. c.