Paul McGlynn
Store Manager, Centra Curragh Camp
I started working in retail at the age of 15 in SuperValu as a part-time sales assistant. At 16 the manager asked me to move to working more hours in the evenings and I started to actively look to upskill in all departments. I had a curiosity and wanted to know how and why you do things. I spent time learning on the job in the butchery department, the bakery, deli, and back office.
At 18 I decided college was not something I wanted to do and was interested in a Trainee Manager position in the SuperValu store. I continued to do everything I could to progress and learn, taking on food safety, staff training, merchandising, price checking, ordering, etc. I was always looking for honest feedback on my performance. Everything I learned I showed to other staff so I could upskill them as well. I also made sure they understood why they were doing it.
I then moved to another SuperValu store as Trainee Manager at 21, where I showed a determination to progress and within 12 months I was promoted to Assistant Manager of the store. A motto that my mentor always used really drove me to develop others, “It’s more important what people do when I'm not there than when I am there.” I put numerous hours into making sure I was the best I could possibly be with any knowledge I had gained throughout the years. I was mentored by the store manager who saw my potential - he is still to this day my biggest influence and in many ways a father figure in my life. He showed me how to run a store and invested a lot of time and effort in me. He also taught me life skills that developed me personally as well.
I wanted a new challenge and to progress further, so I moved to Centra Curragh Camp at the age of 26 in the role of Store Manager. In this store I have increased sales, reduced waste and staff turnover, upskilled staff and continuously develop a team of highly skilled people just like my previous mentors did with me. It wasn't until taking up this role and becoming a Store of the Year finalist within less than 12 months that I realised all the knowledge my different mentors had taught me. My attitude of, “Nothing less than 100%” still drives me to this day.
All of the development I have received has come in the form of coaching and mentoring - I prefer to learn on the job. I believe that it is through mentoring and coaching that I have worked my way up to Store Manager in a very short period of time. I am currently building my own management team from scratch in the same way with an ambitious workforce.
Throughout my career I have always put myself forward, asked for more responsibility and had that drive to succeed. Retail has always been what drives me and I have worked extremely hard to get where I am. My main goal is, I want to look back when I'm older and see the people I mentored managing stores, winning awards and getting results for their retailers.