It's hectic but enjoyable
Caven Fung Kwok-kei, operations manager at Store Friendly in Lai Chi Kok
I have worked for Store Friendly for almost two years. Before I joined the company, I worked for an American toy firm for five years as a senior sourcing manager responsible for product sourcing and administration, ensuring that the toys were compliant with health and safety standards and met buyer requirements. Though still new to the storage industry, my role requires me to supervise more than 200 people on a daily basis, the majority of whom are sales and customer service representatives. I am in charge of customer service, franchising and operations.
To me, the most challenging part of my job is to maintain a good relationship with customers while ensuring that employees understand our company's policy and follow it through. I provide training on customer service to new hires and existing staff, and review monthly reports prepared by customer service representatives.
Every day is hectic but I enjoy the dynamics of my role, with a lot of opportunities to get out and about and meet clients to generate business. On a normal working day, I spend half of my day outside looking for locations ideal for storage facilities or meeting potential franchisees who are interested in running a storage business.
It takes me a lot of time to explain to clients how to become a franchisee and the kind of support they can expect to get from us, such as marketing, staff training and operation management, while also ensuring that they understand the terms and conditions of being a franchisee.
I also need to do the rounds at different storage locations and talk to existing franchisees to understand the problems they have and to offer solutions. The time in my office is always busy, with a lot of administrative functions to perform. At one time I may have to handle regulatory issues relating to fire safety or sort out documents with different government departments, while at another time I may need to coach staff on how to handle customer complaints or how to operate the storage management system.
However stressed my role may seem, I get a strong sense of satisfaction from my work when I see different teams are working smoothly and the operation is in good order. There is a strong team spirit across different departments in my company. Staff turnover used to be high but, after we implemented a well-structured promotion system, employees have become more motivated and committed to their work and can see prospects working in the company.
