When Aldi store manager Hannah Duncan starts work, the first thing she does is walk through her Northamptonshire store, greeting each colleague from store assistants to cleaners, to make sure everyone is ready for the store to open at 8am. “I’ll ask how they’re getting on, whether there are any issues, do they need any help?” It’s a key point of her day, and something she knows matters, given she started her career at Aldi as one of those very store assistants, aged 21.
Now 34, she’s risen through the ranks to store manager, a role she’s held for the last four years. For her, the diversity of the role and its focus on people is what makes it most enjoyable. The fact she can still get quite hands-on – not always the case as a store manager in retail – is also a big plus, given she works alongside 34 colleagues who are all from different backgrounds. “I really enjoy that element,” she says. “No day is the same – there’s quite a bit of routine but also plenty of variety.”
