What's your job about?
My current role as a Team Leader focuses on managing a small team within our Warehouse to complete inwards, outwards and customer service for specific customers.
The most important part of my role is communication, keeping the team up to date throughout the day helps us all achieve our customers' requirements.
A typical day for me is to analyse what our plan of attack will be. First thing is making a booking (this is to ensure we have the space and manpower for the customers new stock) for any customers products coming into our warehouse (inwards).
I also prepare the orders that we receive from the customers throughout the day that will need to be picked, packed and despatched.
The majority of our goods comes in containers which are a split between hand unloading loose product and pallets.
Hand unloads generally take a bit longer and can be very physical (who needs a gym membership!!).
Once I have done this it’s time to start the daily rush and dispatching the orders that the team have picked. I ensure they are 100% accurate and then have them ready for the trucks to pick up in the afternoon.
What's your background?
I grew up in the garden city of Christchurch
I attended Christchurch Boys High School which was where I was introduced to rowing which is what shaped the next 8 years of my life! I rowed at school for 5 years then went on to represent all NZ age group teams with the highlight being placing 3rd at the Under 23 World Rowing Championships in the Netherlands.
Rowing at an International level gave me the opportunity to explore a lot of different countries overseas which was a huge perk. Once I finished rowing I coached at Christchurch Boys High School for two seasons which taught me how to manage teams effectively and how to collaboratively achieve common goals which has been very beneficial for my current role.
I got my current role through my older sister’s friend who is currently the Branch Manager of the Hamilton Warehouse. I was around visiting her one day when him and I got talking about Mainfreight as I was unsure where I wanted to start my career.
I had always liked the idea of banking with a financial background but once I was offered a role at Mainfreight I knew it was going to be a good fit for me. I have now been working at Mainfreight for 2 years in Christchurch and am about to embark on the newest stage of my career in which I will be moving up to Auckland to tackle the huge role as the Operations Manager at one of our Auckland Warehouses.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
Absolutely yes. We have people with all sorts of backgrounds in our Warehouse whether that has been choosing to study, play competitive sports or simply from being from cities all around New Zealand.
With the role I am in, some important characteristics are strong communication, confidence to make decisions on the spot and having an extremely hard work ethic.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
As strange as it sounds to most people, I love the challenge of unloading containers as fast as I can (obviously without damaging anything!) Trying to find efficiencies to complete tasks faster keeps you thinking, plus you get to be out in the fresh air which I love.
The moments I most enjoy is getting good feedback from the customers about what we do for them. Knowing that they are happy with the work we are doing makes stressful days all the worthwhile which is always great news to tell the team!
I also love having a beer on Friday night with the team after a hard week!
What are the limitations of your job?
Some limitations to working here would be working long days which makes trying to play sports or socialising after work tough sometimes.
In terms of weekend work, I have only had to work two Saturdays in my two years here which is pretty great.
I am a big believer in getting all the work that needs to be done during the working week which pushes me to get as much done during this time as possible as I value my weekend time very highly.
I try to continually take on more and more responsibility to keep growing myself within my role. There are always more jobs that you can be doing which is a great way to put your hand up to keep moving forward.
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