Jump To Section:
Day in the Life at ScotlandShop HQ
Have you ever looked at someone's job title and wondered what they actually do in a day? We have been recruiting recently and it is always hard to describe the eclectic nature of our business, the multitude of random skills required and the importance of a team with shared values and a desire to make the most of every day. So we thought we would share a Day in the Life of each member of the tartan team, starting of course with our Founder and Managing Director, Anna!
I am addicted to exercise so most mornings I run or bike. Angie my Border Collie prefers to run! As I head out there are usually some issues that have been bugging me swirling around in my head and by the time I return I either have a plan of action or my brain has simply calmed down and I have stopped worrying about it. "Control the controllables" as our business coach Phil would say!
Stats - first up I always look at the previous days sales and log these in my spreadsheet. Not a very high-tech spreadsheet but it works for me!
Clear emails & deal with anything urgent. My inbox is totally out of control and our International Brand Manager, Emily, says it "gives her the fear" but generally all the critical stuff gets done at some point. I love a red flag!
Every day is different...film the recruitment video, sort out a few Brexit issues, resolve a supplier issue with Operations Manager Kate, meet with the marketing team and plan the next clan of the month feature. I love a bit of brainstorming so if there is even a sniff of a new idea I love to explore it.
Drink a lot of tea.....I make good tea and terrible coffee for the other members of the team.
Meet with the lovely Hannah and Jenny from Attacat to review SEO performance, go over the next web updates with our developers, test and approve changes made to the website, chat to key partners for any projects we are working on, work on text for print and web (I love a bit of writing), spend some time with Amy who looks after all the scheduling for the marketing team and keeps me right with all the jobs I forget to do.
Steal some biscuits from the Customer Service team - they always have great snacks and I really like hearing what the team are dealing with, what bits of our system are causing them issues and need fixed, and hearing the feedback from customers so we can keep getting better. We rely on customers to tell us what they want and that is really what we have built the business on. Sometimes our stock and production teams curse my desire to always give the customer what their heart desires!
Help out with a few French customers (I speak fluent French so they get special treatment), work with the Edinburgh shop on their latest merchandising or footfall idea, deal with any staff/HR jobs. I love people but am not very keen on the detail so I rely on other more competent team members to keep me right.
At 4pm my son usually pops his head in when he gets off the school bus
Then I panic that I haven't accomplished nearly enough, blast through approving social media themes, email all the people I have forgotten to email, write up all the bits I promised to write then forgot about, email the rest of the team a pile of ideas I have dreamt up to make the project more effective, confirm how we need to monitor the results
Head home (30 second commute so I am very lucky), feed the troops if my husband hasn't beaten me to it, which he has more often than not, taxi kids, slot in a bit of work on the laptop while I wait for them, email some more thoughts to various team members now I have had time to think, and then fall exhausted into bed. I get up early but really after 9pm I am pretty useless ....
Stay tuned as next up to show us her hectic day is Emily our International Brand Manager! In the meantime discover the other important members of the Tartan Team.
