Well we added several corporate level positions. These positions are in Memphis. We are mainly looking local but will consider candidates outside the area.

Corporate Memphis roles.

Games Workshop: Staff Accountant ---> http://workfor.us/2d8r5
Games Workshop: Trade Account Manager ---> http://workfor.us/a28qg
Games Workshop: New Trade Account Manager ---> http://workfor.us/1h77yi
Games Workshop: People Pipeline Coordinating - http://workfor.us/7ik9
Games Workshop: Recruiter - http://workfor.us/2e4d4
Games Workshop: Property Manager - http://workfor.us/1k47uh
Games Workshop: Property Specialist - http://workfor.us/b7d31g37
Games Workshop: Warehouse Manager - http://workfor.us/1l5i6i

We currently have one Trade team opening, We also have pipeline positions for the Trade team, meaning that we are looking for people who want to join the Trade team as it grows down the road. It means we want to get the interview process out of the way and be able to bring you on board when a position opens up.



We also have three new stores for Games Workshop US and Canada.
San Diego, California - NEW STORE!! --> http://workfor.us/ep5i
Dayton, Ohio - NEW STORE!! --> http://workfor.us/7a21
Toronto, ON - NEW STORE!!! --> http://workfor.us/kg0k Burlington area
Louisville, KY - NEW STORE!!! - http://workfor.us/9i7qx

Stores on Hold
Palm Beach Gardens, FL - NEW STORE!!!
Austin TX - NEW STORE!!!

Store managers are paid by the volume of their location, which is reviewed once a year. As the locations volume grows so does the managers salary as they hit each pay-band. Managers are a hourly employee that work 37.5 hours a week. New stores without an existing volume start at 33,000.00 a year which is 16.92 a hour. Managers also receive performance related pay based which is 20% of like for like growth at the end of each year. There are managers in the chain making 50k to 70k a year depending on the volume and growth of their locations.

All full time positions have the following.
Health , Dental, Vision, Employee, Spouse and Dependent Life insurance, Employee Assistance program, Flexible spending account, 401k after 90 days. Education assistance and stock share after a year
Death and dismemberment by an Ork should you need it.

Pipeline Managers are people who have said they want to run one of our Businesses should it open up, They are also used to fill a part time as needed role for our One Person stores that pays 13.50 an hour and the Games Workshop Employee discount anytime you are working. It means we want to get the interview process out of the way and be able to bring you on board when a position opens up. It give you a way to get your foot in the door with Games Workshop.



FAQ

1) Managers are not asked to work off the clock. They are an hourly employee it's against the law. Example - The new Dark Vengeance starter sets for store use. all employees were given a set of extra hours to get their sets done outside normal store hours.

2) We do not make you buy miniatures, we do not suggest you buy miniatures.

3) With our One Person model we use for our businesses you will find certain tasks have been automated, So you won't have to worry about building maintenance, accounting functions, or most inventory functions. These are handled by support teams for all our businesses.

4) Being a Store Managers is a Performance based sales position. People fail at it.

5) Yes I do play, I'm currently working on Blood Angels and Warriors of Chaos.


Become Legendary - North America for Games Workshop US and Canada. If you stay turned to the Facebook Page we will be announcing several more stores in the coming weeks. If you are interested in running a store you can apply directly through the Facebook page or the Games Workshop Career page.
http://www.facebook.com/GWBecomeLegendaryNAm

This was closed last time, I REALLY don't see this going over well now.


But the FAQ clears some things up. Sad no stores are opening in my area.

Glad to see you weren't deterred by the vitriol in the previous thead. Outside of that you might want to review the basic pay rate based on the metro's you are hiring for. I can't speak for Ohio or Toronto but the base pay rate for San Diego is not a livable work wage outside of young adults still living at home.

you have some insane courage making another of these
I tip my hat to you

I'm seriously considering applying, I was wondering if you could tell me what exactly GW is looking for in their prospective employee's. What experience is required, what skills etc.

Cheer's

LazzurusMan

Welcome back. Thank you for answering my questions last time.

Good luck on the recruiting effort.

 Hulksmash wrote:
Glad to see you weren't deterred by the vitriol in the previous thead.

Why would he be? This is his job. I'm sure he's not a volunteer - my boss tells me to go shill for the company on forums, I'm doing it regardless of what comments may follow.

Hourly management, thank the Emprah I'm out of retail.

Unless those managers are making $20+/hr I can't imagine it being worthwhile. Especially for the San Diego store.

Well, they are one person stores. So they won't be managing anybody but themselves.

 d-usa wrote:
Well, they are one person stores. So they won't be managing anybody but themselves.

They'll be managing the 12 year olds that GW is trying to recruit into the HHHobby. That alone is worth $20/hr.

 Hulksmash wrote:
Outside of that you might want to review the basic pay rate based on the metro's you are hiring for. I can't speak for Ohio or Toronto but the base pay rate for San Diego is not a livable work wage outside of young adults still living at home.

He did say that the more the store sells, the more money you make, but that still seems a little low to start. As a comparison, the starting wage level for a clerical job in the federal government is usually a GS5, which would be $34067 in San Diego.

Well 20.00 dollars an hour is only 40,000 a year. Which is can be done in the first year of any store.

What we are looking for in a candidate can be found if you read through the information here http://careers.games-workshop.com. Sorry I can not be more clear but it would have a negative impact on the interview process if I was more direct.

I edited the Performance related pay to make it more clear.

This is not aimed at any one person but issued as a general warning after the previous thread. This is an informational thread concerning job postings, where the Games Workshop representative appears to be willing to discuss the aspects of the employment. Regardless of your personal feelings towards Games Workshop as a corporation, let's keep it polite and on topic please. Thanks.

 Become Legendary NA wrote:
Death and dismemberment by an Ork should you need it.

Wait a second... hold on here... I'm not really sure that's what they mean by the phrase "voluntary termination of employment".

It's Death and dismemberment insurance that the company pays for only it's administered by orcs.

on a side note any details on the new store in burlington,

like location, size, or when its opening?

thanks

You can look at Games Workshop: Man O' War the new Lexington KY store. The New store should be close to the same.
http://www.facebook.com/GWManoWar?ref=ts&fref=ts

As for the opening date and such, It a few months out as we will hire the manager first and get them ready before it opens. Once I have the Facebook address for the new store I'll post it up on Become Legendary.

what kind of orc, there's a few kinds!

 Become Legendary NA wrote:


1) Managers are not asked to work off the clock. They are an hourly employee it's against the law. Example - The new Dark Vengeance starter sets for store use. all employees were given a set of extra hours to get their sets done outside normal store hours.

Expecting staff to work off the clock without pay is illegal, but as a former 7 year veteran of GW I can say you will be asked to put in more hours with very little notice. Yes you will get paid, but if you "had other plans" like spending time with your family then you'll be labelled unreliable and "not a good fit" with the company.

 Become Legendary NA wrote:


2) We do not make you buy miniatures, we do not suggest you buy miniatures.

The company doesn't have that policy, but your manager (and you have one, even the one man stores answer to someone) will "strongly suggest" that you do. If you don't then again you'll be a bad fit and probably replaced.

I can only hope that one of those Trade Sales positions is to replace Andre. I have never worked with someone so useless at any other job I've had.

Am I the only one finding it kind of funny that if a manager makes $20 an hour thats 40,000 a year hahahaha

Anyway, if a store was open in my area I would apply. But the closest is in Philadelphia and I really don't want to drive into Philly. Sucks, I wouldn't mind working for GW

And if I read the "Automated Functions" thing right, a store manager doesn't even need to worry about stock, building upkeep, or anything like that? So what do they worry about if it's a one person deal. Just curious.

 washout77 wrote:
Am I the only one finding it kind of funny that if a manager makes $20 an hour thats 40,000 a year hahahaha

Anyway, if a store was open in my area I would apply. But the closest is in Philadelphia and I really don't want to drive into Philly. Sucks, I wouldn't mind working for GW

And if I read the "Automated Functions" thing right, a store manager doesn't even need to worry about stock, building upkeep, or anything like that? So what do they worry about if it's a one person deal. Just curious.

That's why they make less than $20 per hour before performance factors.

This topic is an Ad for employment and IMHO is neither rumor nor news about the hobby in general. This posting should placed on the Off topic section.

 Rainbow Dash wrote:
you have some insane courage making another of these
I tip my hat to you

Really? What's the worst that could happen to him?

Well, OP, I was pleasantly surprised by your addressing the concerns raised in the prior thread, at least regarding your tone and the information provided. Consider my concerns molified (at least as far as your posting; not regarding the actual position).

As I have no interest in such a position, this'll be the last time I check this thread, or similar postings of yours, however. I noted you spent some time in the painting forums, and that's great- it would be a real positive for you to contribute here, and not just advertise the available positions... so I applaud you for that.

You're a quick study cheers.

I donno... tank shock?

 Adam LongWalker wrote:
This topic is an Ad for employment and IMHO is neither rumor nor news about the hobby in general. This posting should placed on the Off topic section.

Hmm...an interesting point. This is however related to the war game hobby in general, so perhaps Dakka Discussions instead?

GW reaching out to the community is news, however.

When I first say the thread title I thought it said "GW Recruiting New Flesh!!!" I don't know what's sadder, the fact that I read it that way or that after working in retail that a recruiting headline written that way didn't surprise me.

Obviously, not the best way for a recruiting add to come across

Maybe fix the thread title to "news flash" so people like me don't think GW is looking for new food to feed the orks?

Also to the OP, while I will never go back to the hell that is working retail, you do a great job of remaining civil and informative without being rude. That takes a lot of restraint, especially for a guy who has to keep everything in check since he's being an "official" word from a company. My hat's off to you. I've had several managers that I wish could have conducted themselves with the same restraint you show.

Hypothetical talk about working for GW might qualify for general discussion talk, but specific news about new positions is as news worthy as any other news in this section methinks.

Well thank you for addressing everything mentioned in the previous thread, clears a lot up!

Now all you need to do is convince someone higher up to make a store in my province and I might just consider a job there.

I am very encouraged by the return here and sticking to it.

Dakka will be a hostile place for you, but this is partially due to a perceived lack of participation in the community. Besides wishing you luck finding employees, I also hope that with a little perseverance and openness we all will hopefully be able to develop a rewarding, mutually beneficial relationship.

Guys, I know it is cool to pile in, but for all those wanting GW to engage with us more, and to feel listened to, this is a genuine chance to take a step in that direction. Let's show some class here and let this gentleman have an honest chance to speak without automatic attacks.

Personally, I hope eventually he is able to make a case to management that it is far better to befriend the community than ignore it.

That being said, this is also a venue where corporate controls are not in place, and engagement with a little frankness and honesty mixed in the standard pr messaging would serve you extremely well Become Legendary NA.

Good luck!

So I've gotten the job and am now CFO.

White Dwarf pages will now come etched in finecast and everything is Jokaero.

 Harriticus wrote:
So I've gotten the job and am now CFO.

White Dwarf pages will now come etched in finecast and everything is Jokaero.

Would be an improvement sadly.

I was looking at your trade sales positions as my dad does that for a large multinational company that produces recreational vehicles and was surprised to learn that it is not a regional position involving daily travel that meets with local vendors. If it were I would apply for my region in a heartbeat.

That's not bad pay at all for a store manager, especially when you're running a store dedicated to the hobby you love. I'd rather run a GW store and engage in something I love on a daily basis than run, for example, a men's warehouse tuxedo rental store and deal with the same kinds of hardships but for something I could care less about...

So you have a very low flat rate starting payment for managers of new stores regardless of what you predict the sales volume to be (which is almost half the wage of "some managers")?

And I assume you only open stores in locations where you feel you will get high sales volumes...

So... you pay them penuts for the first year rather than doing any kind of meaningful payment based on projected sales volumes... classy.

Thank you for posting this.

Please ignore the people who for some strange reason don't like these posts (after all, we have tons of other product or business announcements in this forum).

Now, as soon as you have openings for process consultants or global logistics professionals who also happen to be gamers....

 WarOne wrote:

 Adam LongWalker wrote:
This topic is an Ad for employment and IMHO is neither rumor nor news about the hobby in general. This posting should placed on the Off topic section.

Hmm...an interesting point. This is however related to the war game hobby in general, so perhaps Dakka Discussions instead?

Sure Dakka discussions could fit.

The next question is that since this is setting a precedence of allowing a second tier company (sorry GW you do not make that much money such as the big guys, namely Mattel or Hasbro) to use this site for recruitment and data mining, are you going to allow other companies, regardless of size of business to recruit others for services, such as gainful employment?

 Adam LongWalker wrote:

 WarOne wrote:

 Adam LongWalker wrote:
This topic is an Ad for employment and IMHO is neither rumor nor news about the hobby in general. This posting should placed on the Off topic section.

Hmm...an interesting point. This is however related to the war game hobby in general, so perhaps Dakka Discussions instead?

Sure Dakka discussions could fit.

The next question is that since this is setting a precedence of allowing a second tier company (sorry GW you do not make that much money such as the big guys, namely Mattel or Hasbro) to use this site for recruitment and data mining, are you going to allow other companies, regardless of size of business to recruit others for services, such as gainful employment?

To me it is news and good info to have.

I don't see how announcing new stores and or new jobs related to this hobby is much different than a third tier company having an ad that they want to recruit investors in a kickstarter for a related product or service.

davethepak wrote:

 Adam LongWalker wrote:

 WarOne wrote:

 Adam LongWalker wrote:
This topic is an Ad for employment and IMHO is neither rumor nor news about the hobby in general. This posting should placed on the Off topic section.

Hmm...an interesting point. This is however related to the war game hobby in general, so perhaps Dakka Discussions instead?

Sure Dakka discussions could fit.

The next question is that since this is setting a precedence of allowing a second tier company (sorry GW you do not make that much money such as the big guys, namely Mattel or Hasbro) to use this site for recruitment and data mining, are you going to allow other companies, regardless of size of business to recruit others for services, such as gainful employment?

To me it is news and good info to have.

I don't see how announcing new stores and or new jobs related to this hobby is much different than a third tier company having an ad that they want to recruit investors in a kickstarter for a related product or service.

It is only different to those with a vendetta against GW.

It is good that they are being upfront about the pipeline positions. They, quite simply, expect people to fail, and thus need a cue of staff. It is my belief that the failure of a store to make sales is not only on the shoulders of the manager, but also on the location, demographics, stock, hours, advertising, pricing, etc. The latter factors are not under the control of the manger. I certainly would not want to be the 'lucky' new hire that is sent to a failing store. GW generally keeps such stores on life support, with a constant rotation of managers, until the lease is up.

 OverwatchCNC wrote:

davethepak wrote:

 Adam LongWalker wrote:

 WarOne wrote:

 Adam LongWalker wrote:
This topic is an Ad for employment and IMHO is neither rumor nor news about the hobby in general. This posting should placed on the Off topic section.

Hmm...an interesting point. This is however related to the war game hobby in general, so perhaps Dakka Discussions instead?

Sure Dakka discussions could fit.

The next question is that since this is setting a precedence of allowing a second tier company (sorry GW you do not make that much money such as the big guys, namely Mattel or Hasbro) to use this site for recruitment and data mining, are you going to allow other companies, regardless of size of business to recruit others for services, such as gainful employment?

To me it is news and good info to have.

I don't see how announcing new stores and or new jobs related to this hobby is much different than a third tier company having an ad that they want to recruit investors in a kickstarter for a related product or service.

It is only different to those with a vendetta against GW.

When one company making recruitment offers on this site then all businesses should allowed to do the same on this site.

That is what I am saying. Fairness to all.

 Adam LongWalker wrote:

 OverwatchCNC wrote:

davethepak wrote:

 Adam LongWalker wrote:

 WarOne wrote:

 Adam LongWalker wrote:
This topic is an Ad for employment and IMHO is neither rumor nor news about the hobby in general. This posting should placed on the Off topic section.

Hmm...an interesting point. This is however related to the war game hobby in general, so perhaps Dakka Discussions instead?

Sure Dakka discussions could fit.

The next question is that since this is setting a precedence of allowing a second tier company (sorry GW you do not make that much money such as the big guys, namely Mattel or Hasbro) to use this site for recruitment and data mining, are you going to allow other companies, regardless of size of business to recruit others for services, such as gainful employment?

To me it is news and good info to have.

I don't see how announcing new stores and or new jobs related to this hobby is much different than a third tier company having an ad that they want to recruit investors in a kickstarter for a related product or service.

It is only different to those with a vendetta against GW.

When one company making recruitment offers on this site then all businesses should allowed to do the same on this site.

That is what I am saying. Fairness to all.

Please note any company which has not been allowed to do this.

That is about the right pay for a starting retail manager in any chain retail "strip mall" store but they are looking for some one who is enthusiastic for the hobby, thats why they are looking here. If I was at that level in my life I would do it (but I'm way past that). He's saying if you don't make the projected sales for that store you will fail. Put a little effort in (not just showing up for shifts and the bare minimum) you will get bonuses reflecting that, don't and they'll let you go. It's like any corporate postion, thats life (I hate corporate gak so I dont do it). At least he's looking here instead of forcing people they hire to be into the game (unoffically or not). Kudos to the suit from GW for posting here.

I don't know about other stores, but the new Oklahoma City store was put in one of the best retail locations in the entire metro area.

The Portola Plaza store is in a "meh" location. It's across the street from a high school which to GW sounds good, but really only about 3 or 4 teenagers play there. I've seen worse locations though.

 Aerethan wrote:
The Portola Plaza store is in a "meh" location. It's across the street from a high school which to GW sounds good, but really only about 3 or 4 teenagers play there. I've seen worse locations though.

Well there's where a good, imaginative manager could make a killing, pull in more of the kids, run games, promote the heck out of things, make the store a big sucess

Lots of new blood (always easier to get than stealing a customer base from a competing store, expecially as as far as I know GW stores don't discount like some FLGS do for regulars)

Edit: not to suggest I could do it, LOL, but I've known a couple of folk along the way who would have loved to try & would probably succeed

 Kanluwen wrote:

 Adam LongWalker wrote:

 OverwatchCNC wrote:

davethepak wrote:

 Adam LongWalker wrote:

 WarOne wrote:

 Adam LongWalker wrote:
This topic is an Ad for employment and IMHO is neither rumor nor news about the hobby in general. This posting should placed on the Off topic section.

Hmm...an interesting point. This is however related to the war game hobby in general, so perhaps Dakka Discussions instead?

Sure Dakka discussions could fit.

The next question is that since this is setting a precedence of allowing a second tier company (sorry GW you do not make that much money such as the big guys, namely Mattel or Hasbro) to use this site for recruitment and data mining, are you going to allow other companies, regardless of size of business to recruit others for services, such as gainful employment?

To me it is news and good info to have.

I don't see how announcing new stores and or new jobs related to this hobby is much different than a third tier company having an ad that they want to recruit investors in a kickstarter for a related product or service.

It is only different to those with a vendetta against GW.

When one company making recruitment offers on this site then all businesses should allowed to do the same on this site.

That is what I am saying. Fairness to all.

Please note any company which has not been allowed to do this.

Exactly..clearly any other company is free to do the same.

Like I said in the last thread, lets not bother wasting time pretending that this is about anything other than a reslly strange, really small minority of posters who seem to have a bizarre personal hatred of a multinational.

It's good to see Games-Workshop in the wargaming forums, hopefully this will lead to Games-Workshop responding to fan-base demands a little better and help strengthen the bridge between the company and the fanbase.

 OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote:

 Aerethan wrote:
The Portola Plaza store is in a "meh" location. It's across the street from a high school which to GW sounds good, but really only about 3 or 4 teenagers play there. I've seen worse locations though.

Well there's where a good, imaginative manager could make a killing, pull in more of the kids, run games, promote the heck out of things, make the store a big sucess

Lots of new blood (always easier to get than stealing a customer base from a competing store, expecially as as far as I know GW stores don't discount like some FLGS do for regulars)

Edit: not to suggest I could do it, LOL, but I've known a couple of folk along the way who would have loved to try & would probably succeed

Except for the fact that in South Orange County high school students are trying to be grown ups and put toys behind them. Now if it was in front of a middle school, there'd be a market for it.

And still, the main customers of that store are all professionals in their 20-40's such as myself and the store has met it's sales goals every year it's been there.

prplehippo wrote:

Expecting staff to work off the clock without pay is illegal, but as a former 7 year veteran of GW I can say you will be asked to put in more hours with very little notice. Yes you will get paid, but if you "had other plans" like spending time with your family then you'll be labelled unreliable and "not a good fit" with the company.

I just spent 2 years working for Lowes, this was also standard practice here, especially the higher you were. Our regional liked to call you at home and 'suggest' you go to meetings on your days off etc. Retail, in general, is a mire of this sort of thing and GW is no great monster for doing what everyone else does.

 Become Legendary NA wrote:


2) We do not make you buy miniatures, we do not suggest you buy miniatures.

prplehippo wrote:

The company doesn't have that policy, but your manager (and you have one, even the one man stores answer to someone) will "strongly suggest" that you do. If you don't then again you'll be a bad fit and probably replaced.

It is fairly logical to me to own armies and play the games. I don't think people would work for GW at that level without being a hobbyist first, it's the lead in for many. I have worked in offices for many many years and was expected to wear a suit, I was also expected to buy that suit... Never once did I consider that unfair.

 MeanGreenStompa wrote:

prplehippo wrote:

Expecting staff to work off the clock without pay is illegal, but as a former 7 year veteran of GW I can say you will be asked to put in more hours with very little notice. Yes you will get paid, but if you "had other plans" like spending time with your family then you'll be labelled unreliable and "not a good fit" with the company.

I just spent 2 years working for Lowes, this was also standard practice here, especially the higher you were. Our regional liked to call you at home and 'suggest' you go to meetings on your days off etc. Retail, in general, is a mire of this sort of thing and GW is no great monster for doing what everyone else does.

 Become Legendary NA wrote:


2) We do not make you buy miniatures, we do not suggest you buy miniatures.

prplehippo wrote:

The company doesn't have that policy, but your manager (and you have one, even the one man stores answer to someone) will "strongly suggest" that you do. If you don't then again you'll be a bad fit and probably replaced.

It is fairly logical to me to own armies and play the games. I don't think people would work for GW at that level without being a hobbyist first, it's the lead in for many. I have worked in offices for many many years and was expected to wear a suit, I was also expected to buy that suit... Never once did I consider that unfair.

100% AGREE. Most companies and industries have situations where they expect people to work off the clock and 'getting the job done' is what appeals to management. And lots of industries expect you to spend personal money on resources related to your job. When you become a professional, that expected expense is thousands of dollars a year for many higher level managerial, technical and professional jobs. Don't get me started on the number of people with 4 year college degrees who can't get entry level jobs making 32k a year right now.

I see nothing unfair, oppressive or nefarious about any of the GW job info here... It is pretty standard for entry level management jobs in America IMHO.

I'm glad you posted this again.

I would apply if GW opened a store near me, but I really don't see that happening anytime soon. The manager at the closest GW always seems like he like his job well enough.

I will say that, for all my gripes about GW, Chris Campbell at the Portola Plaza shop is a major redeeming face for the company. He is 100% friendly, never pushy about sales, always helpful.

If only every gaming store had employees like him. He's the only reason I even buy in store instead of online.

Oh dear poor Chris Campbell, fingered on the interwebz for not being a team player!

Aerethan you really should know better than this.

I jest of course (?) but I would go further and say that nearly all the GWs near me (5+?) that I have been to are staffed by nice helpful fellers who granted are looking for a sale but were never pushy.

I've always said that I'd happily flip burgers to pay my way so these positions look pretty good from that point of view and the pay looks allot better than I have been lead to believe before.

 MajorTom11 wrote:

Dakka will be a hostile place for you, but this is partially due to a perceived lack of participation in the community. Besides wishing you luck finding employees, I also hope that with a little perseverance and openness we all will hopefully be able to develop a rewarding, mutually beneficial relationship.

Guys, I know it is cool to pile in, but for all those wanting GW to engage with us more, and to feel listened to, this is a genuine chance to take a step in that direction. Let's show some class here and let this gentleman have an honest chance to speak without automatic attacks.

Personally, I hope eventually he is able to make a case to management that it is far better to befriend the community than ignore it.

There is nothing 'perceived' about it - GW, of all the miniature/game producers out there (perhaps with the exception of Hawk Wargames, which is a relatively tiny concern) has the least interaction with their fans and the gaming community of all.

I really admire the sentiment (and I would love for GW to go beyond the steps of having a FB page, get their own forum going again, even post on this kind of place - because it would at least be some kind of indication that they care even the slightest about what some of their long-term fans think) but the OP has already stated he is an outsourced agency of GW. Not a management level employee of the company itself.

 SilverMK2 wrote:
So you have a very low flat rate starting payment for managers of new stores regardless of what you predict the sales volume to be (which is almost half the wage of "some managers")?

And I assume you only open stores in locations where you feel you will get high sales volumes...

So... you pay them penuts for the first year rather than doing any kind of meaningful payment based on projected sales volumes... classy.

I honestly cannot think of a good reason to pay anyone for 'projected' anything. You base pay on performance. In a sales job you sell, you get the commission/bonus. In other jobs you prove yourself you get a raise. You don't increase starting pay because they MAY do well in the future.

You open a store where your research shows your sales volumes will be high enough to justify the costs of the store. You hire employees to work that store so that the projected sales volume can be realized. If they meet or exceed the projections, you reward them. If they fail, you take other actions (which can range from training, a change in business model, firing an employee and other actions).

CptJake wrote:

 SilverMK2 wrote:
So you have a very low flat rate starting payment for managers of new stores regardless of what you predict the sales volume to be (which is almost half the wage of "some managers")?

And I assume you only open stores in locations where you feel you will get high sales volumes...

So... you pay them penuts for the first year rather than doing any kind of meaningful payment based on projected sales volumes... classy.

I honestly cannot think of a good reason to pay anyone for 'projected' anything. You base pay on performance. In a sales job you sell, you get the commission/bonus. In other jobs you prove yourself you get a raise. You don't increase starting pay because they MAY do well in the future.

You open a store where your research shows your sales volumes will be high enough to justify the costs of the store. You hire employees to work that store so that the projected sales volume can be realized. If they meet or exceed the projections, you reward them. If they fail, you take other actions (which can range from training, a change in business model, firing an employee and other actions).

Yeah, you provide incentives to staff to reach or exceed targets. That way you get a flat rate for all managers and hard work is rewarded. Not sure if GW follow this approach though, could be more stick than carrot but I could be wrong.

CptJake wrote:
[I honestly cannot think of a good reason to pay anyone for 'projected' anything. You base pay on performance. In a sales job you sell, you get the commission/bonus. In other jobs you prove yourself you get a raise. You don't increase starting pay because they MAY do well in the future.

Ok, you hire someone to do x job where you believe that they will make y sales, why would you pay them the base rate for the whole first year if not to be cheap?

It is like paying the manager of a new factory a lower wage because the plant hasn't actually produced anything yet. You know the capacity of the store and have a reasonable set of projections as to the sales you expect, so why not pay based on what you believe the store will turn over? I can understand paying based on a "worst case projection" and then making up the difference based on actual sales (rather than paying based on something wildly optimistic), but paying the absolute minimum for a store you expect to be doing a good turn over?

You open a store where your research shows your sales volumes will be high enough to justify the costs of the store. You hire employees to work that store so that the projected sales volume can be realized. If they meet or exceed the projections, you reward them. If they fail, you take other actions (which can range from training, a change in business model, firing an employee and other actions).

Of course, but why not set starting pay based on those projections rather than a random arbitrary, low sum?

Because base salary is that, the base salary. They are paying for someone to fill the position and meet certain projections. When the goals are met or exceeded, the emplyee is rewarded.

In your factory example, the manager is given a base salary based on his experience, and the level of responsiblity he will have. He gets bonuses based on production (and sometimes) safety goals.

You don't ever set base salary on projections, you set a bonus/commssion plan on projections. It isn't some 'random arbitrary, low sum' it is an amount set to attract a certain level of experience and coupled with the bonus structure designed to attract someone who is willing it accept a lower base pay because of their confidence they will meet sales/production goals. The only 'random arbitrary' part is you calling it that.

As you can see from my posts, I am no fan of GW's corporate policies. However, I do not think that the criticism of the wages of managers is in any way justified. Their base salary and benefits package is higher than comparable retail jobs.

GW is opening a store in Dayton, OH?!? Really...Dayton...No offense to the fine residents of Dayton, and Nise, if you ever somehow read this, Dayton is lovely. But one would think that Columbus or even Cincinnati would be a far better choice for a shop.

Never mind! It seems that there is a GW both in C-bus and the Nati...odd. I wonder when they opened. It has been a while since I moved away from Ohio, but I was never cognizant of a GW store. There's so many good indy stores in Columbus. It is at the Polaris mall too. Huh.

AH, I see. It opened this February. GW is indeed expanding more aggressively that I had thought. Well, its pretty darn hard to do better than The Guard Tower. How that store manages to consistently stock the newest releases from the most obscure RPGs remains a business management enigma I will never understand.

The GW job in Dayton would pay more than my current job, but I couldn't move there due to student loans taking up "rent" money :-/


Hey BecomeLegendaryNA, are there plans to open one up in the Cleveland, Akron, or Canton area?


Automatically Appended Next Post:

weeble1000 wrote:
GW is opening a store in Dayton, OH?!? Really...Dayton...No offense to the fine residents of Dayton, and Nise, if you ever somehow read this, Dayton is lovely. But one would think that Columbus or even Cincinnati would be a far better choice for a shop.

Never mind! It seems that there is a GW both in C-bus and the Nati...odd. I wonder when they opened. It has been a while since I moved away from Ohio, but I was never cognizant of a GW store. There's so many good indy stores in Columbus. It is at the Polaris mall too. Huh.

AH, I see. It opened this February. GW is indeed expanding more aggressively that I had thought. Well, its pretty darn hard to do better than The Guard Tower. How that store manages to consistently stock the newest releases from the most obscure RPGs remains a business management enigma I will never understand.

I hear it's Wizardry... I've never been to the Guard Tower, but my buddies in Mansfield, Ohio would drive down to the Guard Tower once a month and pick up what they couldn't get at our flgs.

prplehippo wrote:

Expecting staff to work off the clock without pay is illegal, but as a former 7 year veteran of GW I can say you will be asked to put in more hours with very little notice. Yes you will get paid, but if you "had other plans" like spending time with your family then you'll be labelled unreliable and "not a good fit" with the company.

This reminds me of when I was fencing varsity at the Ohio State. The NCAA only allows you to force student athletes to practice so much, but the team had "optional" conditioning and "optional" evening practice with the club. You were not required to attend, but you weren't getting very far if you didn't. Ho hum. The world turns.

Its retail, its going to be crappy pay for horrid work. But all retail is going to be like that, if your going to end up in a retail job (god help you if you do) at least you'll be selling something you love.

 R3con wrote:
Its retail, its going to be crappy pay for horrid work. But all retail is going to be like that, if your going to end up in a retail job (god help you if you do) at least you'll be selling something you love.

My flgs owner told me to never make my hobby my job, because I'll come to hate my hobby...

 R3con wrote:
Its retail, its going to be crappy pay for horrid work. But all retail is going to be like that, if your going to end up in a retail job (god help you if you do) at least you'll be selling something you love.

And if the current trend is anything like when I worked there, the "life expectancy" for a GW red shirt is about 8 months. I'd hope this changed by now, but there is tremendous pressure to sell that not many can live up to.

I know other companies can be just a callous towards their staff, but remember that it's not "the company" that's doing it. It's other people. The company is just a name on paper.

It's the type of people GW attracts to their current management style you have to watch out for.

Hey BecomeLegendaryNA, are there plans to open one up in the Cleveland, Akron, or Canton area?



As far as i no at the moment no. But Games Workshop are looking to add about 20 stores a year depending on events and issues opening a store can get hung up on something.

I'm also announcing an opening for the Seattle Battle bunker, which is one of our 5 largest stores in the US. You can Apply here. http://workfor.us/914l or http://careers.games-workshop.com/ this positions will close on Dec 28th.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 SilverMK2 wrote:

CptJake wrote:
[I honestly cannot think of a good reason to pay anyone for 'projected' anything. You base pay on performance. In a sales job you sell, you get the commission/bonus. In other jobs you prove yourself you get a raise. You don't increase starting pay because they MAY do well in the future.

Ok, you hire someone to do x job where you believe that they will make y sales, why would you pay them the base rate for the whole first year if not to be cheap?

It is like paying the manager of a new factory a lower wage because the plant hasn't actually produced anything yet. You know the capacity of the store and have a reasonable set of projections as to the sales you expect, so why not pay based on what you believe the store will turn over? I can understand paying based on a "worst case projection" and then making up the difference based on actual sales (rather than paying based on something wildly optimistic), but paying the absolute minimum for a store you expect to be doing a good turn over?

You open a store where your research shows your sales volumes will be high enough to justify the costs of the store. You hire employees to work that store so that the projected sales volume can be realized. If they meet or exceed the projections, you reward them. If they fail, you take other actions (which can range from training, a change in business model, firing an employee and other actions).

Of course, but why not set starting pay based on those projections rather than a random arbitrary, low sum?

Ok lets say we pay them based on Projections, What happens if they Fail?


Also it has come up again, just so it is clear I am a Corporate Recruiter for Games Workshop.

Here is the new Virginia Beach store!!

Games Workshop: Hilltop East

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Games-Workshop-Hilltop-East/253049881491009

 Become Legendary NA wrote:
Ok lets say we pay them based on Projections, What happens if they Fail?

One would hope that if you offered better money, you would get better applicants to help ensure this doesn't happen

is what I heard right, that you're opening another in Toronto?

Yes we are in the Burlington area.


The amount of money offered has nothing to do with the quality of a candidate.

 Alfndrate wrote:

 R3con wrote:
Its retail, its going to be crappy pay for horrid work. But all retail is going to be like that, if your going to end up in a retail job (god help you if you do) at least you'll be selling something you love.

My flgs owner told me to never make my hobby my job, because I'll come to hate my hobby...

There's a difference between making your hobby your job and doing what you enjoy. Hell, the first things a career counsel will ask you is what you like doing in your off hours, as being involved with a job pertaining to your interests helps keep someone motivated.

Just selling wargames wouldn't really be making your hobby your job, as you're not being paid to actually do the hobby, just sell it to people.

Something like commission painting would be more akin to making your hobby your job.

 Become Legendary NA wrote:
The amount of money offered has nothing to do with the quality of a candidate.

I hate to contradict someone working for a recruitment company about starting salary/benefis and applicant quality but I really don't want to get into an argument about this, so I think I am going to bob out now. I don't have anything against someone just doing their job (and as I said in the DCM forum would actually be interested in seeing some posts in the P&M forum of your stuff), but really?

 Become Legendary NA wrote:
Yes we are in the Burlington area.


The amount of money offered has nothing to do with the quality of a candidate.

hmm... might have to check it out once it opens

 SilverMK2 wrote:

 Become Legendary NA wrote:
The amount of money offered has nothing to do with the quality of a candidate.

I hate to contradict someone working for a recruitment company about starting salary/benefis and applicant quality but I really don't want to get into an argument about this, so I think I am going to bob out now. I don't have anything against someone just doing their job (and as I said in the DCM forum would actually be interested in seeing some posts in the P&M forum of your stuff), but really?

Some companies have flat pay bands for hire. Especially where commission is concerned.

 Alfndrate wrote:

 R3con wrote:
Its retail, its going to be crappy pay for horrid work. But all retail is going to be like that, if your going to end up in a retail job (god help you if you do) at least you'll be selling something you love.

My flgs owner told me to never make my hobby my job, because I'll come to hate my hobby...

Agree to that:

The Overjustification Effect

The Misconception: There is nothing better in the world than getting paid to do what you love.

The Truth: Getting paid for doing what you already enjoy will sometimes cause your love for the task to wane because you attribute your motivation as coming from the reward, not your internal feelings.

So, apparently the Manager of the Seattle Battle Bunker is headed to Memphis as part of a promotion. Anyone interested in managing a Bunker should submit their resume to the OP.

 SilverMK2 wrote:

 Become Legendary NA wrote:
The amount of money offered has nothing to do with the quality of a candidate.

I hate to contradict someone working for a recruitment company about starting salary/benefis and applicant quality but I really don't want to get into an argument about this, so I think I am going to bob out now. I don't have anything against someone just doing their job (and as I said in the DCM forum would actually be interested in seeing some posts in the P&M forum of your stuff), but really?

It's no issue SilverMK2, for some candidates money is a driver for why they work somewhere and expect to be paid based on a skill set that they have acquired over the years, which may or may not help them in our position. Doesn't mean they are the best fit person for one of our positions. You can read this to get a little bit more information. It really just depends on what you are looking for in a position.

http://careers.games-workshop.com/whats-it-like-to-work-for-games-workshop/

I'll put up some of my models for you and forward you the link, But have several deadlines coming up on the new year and I have been focused on those.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Breotan wrote:
So, apparently the Manager of the Seattle Battle Bunker is headed to Memphis as part of a promotion. Anyone interested in managing a Bunker should submit their resume to the OP.

Yes this is true we are currently looking for Someone that wants to run one of our largest stores in the chain. If your interested in the position you can ally through the Facebook site or by sending your Cover Letter/ Resume to retailcareers@gwplc.com

 Become Legendary NA wrote:

The amount of money offered has nothing to do with the quality of a candidate.

This is the problem. Obviously there are lots of potential candidates that will not even consider the job because of its pay. Presumably, higher quality salesmen will take better paying jobs. Thus, although GW may not adjust their pay to the quality of the candidate, they will likely lose out on high quality candidates because of their view.

This is an instance in which GW just does not get it. They live in a fantasy land that advertising has no importance, and that the location of a business does not matter.

 spaceelf wrote:

 Become Legendary NA wrote:

The amount of money offered has nothing to do with the quality of a candidate.

This is the problem. Obviously there are lots of potential candidates that will not even consider the job because of its pay. Presumably, higher quality salesmen will take better paying jobs. Thus, although GW may not adjust their pay to the quality of the candidate, they will likely lose out on high quality candidates because of their view.

This is an instance in which GW just does not get it. They live in a fantasy land that advertising has no importance, and that the location of a business does not matter.

Pay is for what is being done. You can be a 4 star chef, but if I need someone to flip burgers at my burger restaurant, the fact you can make 4 star dinners doesn't change that I am paying for the position I need filled, not what you are potentially skilled to do.

Now it is assumed if a overly skilled employee does well at the task at hand and justifies his position, then maybe he can be promoted to a level to better use his skills if the positions exist. Also, if there are higher level positions available then they can apply for those with the experience, but you don't just say "wow, you have all these skills and are really great! While I just need someone to do low-level retail management I will pay you a lot more for no reason except your resume even though you are not applying those skills."

I fail to see how GW is different from any other retail company... More pay comes from increase responsibility and proven track record through promotions and bonuses, not simply because someone says they are better and deserve more in an interview. If potential candidates are not considering the job, it is probably because they are 'overqualified' which is the way hiring positions work.

I have interviewed people who would have been great hires, but I needed a JR position not a SR one and the budget didn't allow for a SR person and his salary requirements. Doesn't mean there was anything wrong with the company or the job listing or the candidate.

Again, this is all delusional hatred which makes little to nos ense as this is how pretty much the entire world's hiring practices already work.

 spaceelf wrote:

 Become Legendary NA wrote:

The amount of money offered has nothing to do with the quality of a candidate.

This is the problem. Obviously there are lots of potential candidates that will not even consider the job because of its pay. Presumably, higher quality salesmen will take better paying jobs. Thus, although GW may not adjust their pay to the quality of the candidate, they will likely lose out on high quality candidates because of their view.

This is an instance in which GW just does not get it. They live in a fantasy land that advertising has no importance, and that the location of a business does not matter.

Not really, some candidates ARE overqualified and a company has no financial interest in paying for them. They pay for the skill/experience level needed for a position. They set the wage and bonus/commission structure to attract that level of candidate. They can see the applications they get, track success of previous hires, and adjust their offers as needed.

Additionally, what is being advertised is the starting point of a negotiation between the prospective employee and GW. Each employee will negotiate for the best terms he/she can get and then choose to sign a contract or not based on that. GW may very well be willing to negotiate better terms if a particular candidate seems especially qualified for a particular position, or may not. Again, they set a wage and benefit package to attract a certain level of candidate....

Glad to see you back and still making that offer. Lots of additional information that people might be interested in. Great job, keep it up.

Well it shows how expensive living in america is. $33,000 a year is just over £20,000 over here in the UK. Most people here in the UK would love to earn that much money a year, though on average people earn less than £15k.

22 November 2012 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20442666
The average annual earnings of full-time workers in the UK rose by 1.4% to £26,500 in the year to April 2012

.

Yeah, cost of living is pretty insane, depending on where in this giant country you are of course . It's much higher where I am (in between Washington D.C. and Baltimore) than where my parents are (in a rural part of the south).

$33,000 is good for a retail position but still rather low... none of my good friends actually make that amount. But then again, I'm almost 30 and most have moved beyond the entry level retail positions for their work. We all made way less in college, of course

The recruiter's language is just reflective of GW's policy, and why they don't re-hire employees- those already trained expect to be paid as such, but GW would rather have a high turn-over and do more training, than to compensate trained employees appropriately, feeling that they can get the same work from somebody else for cheaper.

I personally disagree with that philosophy, but they've been consistent with it. It does make the idea that this (or really, any entry level retail position) could lead to a career rather ludicrous, though- I'd be interested in seeing the average but most people only last a year or two, I believe.

It's a decent job in some ways, though- just not a stable career by any stretch.

Must be retail that pays less than that, if I actually got full time I'd be paid just ow 14k a year, at max pay for my band. I.e a grunt.

@RGilbert26

I guess you are a young lad working in retail. That is basically the lowest paid job in the UK (aside from being a young lass in retail) and I assume the US.

http://career-advice.monster.co.uk/salary-benefits/pay-salary-advice/uk-average-salary-graphs/article.aspx

nkelsch wrote:

 spaceelf wrote:

 Become Legendary NA wrote:

The amount of money offered has nothing to do with the quality of a candidate.

This is the problem. Obviously there are lots of potential candidates that will not even consider the job because of its pay. Presumably, higher quality salesmen will take better paying jobs. Thus, although GW may not adjust their pay to the quality of the candidate, they will likely lose out on high quality candidates because of their view.

This is an instance in which GW just does not get it. They live in a fantasy land that advertising has no importance, and that the location of a business does not matter.

Pay is for what is being done. You can be a 4 star chef, but if I need someone to flip burgers at my burger restaurant, the fact you can make 4 star dinners doesn't change that I am paying for the position I need filled, not what you are potentially skilled to do.

Now it is assumed if a overly skilled employee does well at the task at hand and justifies his position, then maybe he can be promoted to a level to better use his skills if the positions exist. Also, if there are higher level positions available then they can apply for those with the experience, but you don't just say "wow, you have all these skills and are really great! While I just need someone to do low-level retail management I will pay you a lot more for no reason except your resume even though you are not applying those skills."

I fail to see how GW is different from any other retail company... More pay comes from increase responsibility and proven track record through promotions and bonuses, not simply because someone says they are better and deserve more in an interview. If potential candidates are not considering the job, it is probably because they are 'overqualified' which is the way hiring positions work.

I have interviewed people who would have been great hires, but I needed a JR position not a SR one and the budget didn't allow for a SR person and his salary requirements. Doesn't mean there was anything wrong with the company or the job listing or the candidate.

Again, this is all delusional hatred which makes little to nos ense as this is how pretty much the entire world's hiring practices already work.

We are just interpreting his statement differently. It can be read to mean that there is no relation between the amount of money that a job pays and the quality of the candidates that the job attracts. Obviously if I was hiring for an aerospace engineer and I was paying minimum wage, the quality of the candidates (if there were any) would not be very high. Thus it is my opinion that the amount of money offered has alot to do with the quality of the candidates that apply for the job.

To comment a bit on RITide's post, I think that GW is making a big mistake with their high turnover. It destroys the community of the store, and leads to loses of sales.

No Games Workshop Manager position starts less than 33,000 a year for Games Workshop NA. I have no information on the UK which is different so you can not use the rate i have provided for any other Country.

So we open a new store that manager makes 33,000 at the end of the first year they make 20% of the growth they achieved. So we opened around 10 stores this year in several instances of the managers making 20K plus in performance related pay. Which would put them over 50K first year. If it is an existing store, you use it's last year of recorded volume.

Im actually 27 and still stuck in the same job, part-time that i started 9 years ago. But yes im aware it's the lowest paid sector, even for managers. Anyway....

Well it shows how expensive living in america is. $33,000 a year is just over £20,000 over here in the UK. Most people here in the UK would love to earn that much money a year, though on average people earn less than £15k.

It shows little about cost of living really. Using exchange rates to compare salaries/cost of living across countries is not very viable. E.g between early 2008 and early 2009 $33000 went from being about £16000 to about £23000. I think inflation/deflation in either country on that scale would have been major front page news!


The average doesn't really tell us much. It includes all professions and all ages and includes all regions. E.g.the UK average is heavily skewed by London, I can't remember the year, but it wasn't that long ago, the london average was about 50% higher than the average for those areas north of the midlands (the average in my region at the time was about 18000 compared to 27000 in London).

 Become Legendary NA wrote:

No Games Workshop Manager position starts less than 33,000 a year for Games Workshop NA. I have no information on the UK which is different so you can not use the rate i have provided for any other Country.

So we open a new store that manager makes 33,000 at the end of the first year they make 20% of the growth they achieved. So we opened around 10 stores this year in several instances of the managers making 20K plus in performance related pay. Which would put them over 50K first year. If it is an existing store, you use it's last year of recorded volume.

This makes it sound much better than I originally understood. 33k is mediocre, especially in California, but allowing for commission is a bonus.

Now you said that it's 20% of GROWTH, which means that older stores with very stable sales won't see much commission at all. Basically the only store one would want to work at is a new one and then bail when sales peaked and growth slowed down.

A single store can not possible grow it's local business forever. What happens when you already sell to every person possible in the area?

I ran into this when working at the slave pens known as Game Stop. They want you to sell their little subscription to X amount of people per month, but some 95% of business there is repeat customers who either already have said service or have already and constantly turn it down.

Whether GW want to believe it or not(and using my local store as my example), the vast majority of their sales are repeat customers and most of them have rather consistent spending habits. For those customers, you only see growth for the first year from their sales, which are then considered baseline the next year.

Expecting local GW stores to continually be beating their sales every year is unreasonable. Maintaining sales is a realistic goal, perhaps even a little growth, but at what point does the 20% of a whopping 5k/yr growth stop being worth the job compared to other jobs?

 Aerethan wrote:

 Become Legendary NA wrote:
So we open a new store that manager makes 33,000 at the end of the first year they make 20% of the growth they achieved. So we opened around 10 stores this year in several instances of the managers making 20K plus in performance related pay. Which would put them over 50K first year. If it is an existing store, you use it's last year of recorded volume.

This makes it sound much better than I originally understood. 33k is mediocre, especially in California, but allowing for commission is a bonus.

See, I don't read that as you get a bonus at the end of the first year equal to 20% of the growth in sales, but that your pay for the next year is $33k + 20% of growth. I'm happy to be corrected on this; as I say it is just how I read what he has said.

 SilverMK2 wrote:

 Aerethan wrote:

 Become Legendary NA wrote:
So we open a new store that manager makes 33,000 at the end of the first year they make 20% of the growth they achieved. So we opened around 10 stores this year in several instances of the managers making 20K plus in performance related pay. Which would put them over 50K first year. If it is an existing store, you use it's last year of recorded volume.

This makes it sound much better than I originally understood. 33k is mediocre, especially in California, but allowing for commission is a bonus.

See, I don't read that as you get a bonus at the end of the first year equal to 20% of the growth in sales, but that your pay for the next year is $33k + 20% of growth. I'm happy to be corrected on this; as I say it is just how I read what he has said.

The GW rep speaks of 20k in performance related pay in the first year. I think the calculation has something to do with profit rather than growth in such an instance.

Any monetary incentives should be outlined up front as they dramatically impact the potential candidates. If you say 33k per year then you have crowd X, and are likely missing out on higher end candidates who just ignore jobs at that pay.

Now if you say 33k base + X% profit/growth etc then you open the job to those who know they can make more doing it.

The worst thing ever is to get a job in retail, only to find out it's actually a sales job, and even worse when you find out that there is no incentive to sell hard other than just not losing your job. That's how Game Stop is. It isn't retail, it's sales, and if you don't meet the goals you get canned, if you meet the goals your reward is not getting canned.

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas, Just a reminder that there is only three days left to apply for the Seattle battle bunker Store Manager Position. One of the top 5 stores in the US.

A Merry Christmas to you as well.

As you can see from my previous comments, I am no great supporter of GW. However, their bunkers are their best stores. They have multiple staff members, so that you will have some weekends off. Also, if you are sick you will not have to choose between taking time off and losing sales by closing the store. It is certainly one of the best retail positions in the company.

BLNA,

Could you give some insight as to why the single man stores are the current trend for GW's retail shops?

Alf, he's a recruiter. Policy decisions happen way above his pay grade. Other than the GW line we've already heard, he's not likely to be able (or allowed) to provide you with any insights.

 Breotan wrote:
Alf, he's a recruiter. Policy decisions happen way above his pay grade. Other than the GW line we've already heard, he's not likely to be able (or allowed) to provide you with any insights.

I know, but wishful thinking ya know?

 Aerethan wrote:

 d-usa wrote:
Well, they are one person stores. So they won't be managing anybody but themselves.

They'll be managing the 12 year olds that GW is trying to recruit into the HHHobby. That alone is worth $20/hr.

THIS. I'm still in retail, and the 9$/hr I get paid is nowhere near enough for the idiot and extremely rude customers I have to deal with. I doubt that one-man stores have less stress or fewer jerk customers.

I can can venture into The One man concept.

Games Workshop has grown and changed through time as an employer. It has changed the requirements it had placed on staff and how we interacted with customers over time. The problem with a lot of it is there is a a lot of History of those interactions and the road is littered with employees who left for some reason or another. Some of this was right and some of it was wrong as any employer will face with 35 years of being in business. The thing to remember when former employees chime in is what time frame they worked for Games Workshop. anything sub 2009 isn't current. There is no policy about not hiring former employees.

What the one Person stores are is a change in how Games Workshop is allocating it's resources. It used to be that Store managers spent a large part of their time training staff. Most stores had 3 to 5 employees. The training manuals were 3 to 4 inch binders for each employee. On top of that we had Regional managers, District managers and GW carpet bombing areas with stores like LA, Seattle, and Chicago.

The One person model allows GW to have one employee, with single market stores, So the three new stores that are listed in the first post are not competing against other GW stores. Our training has been reduced to 50 pages. Although learning the Hobby is most likely a life time experience, We don't require it, but people fail if they feel no attachment to the product.. We no longer have District/Area Managers, we do have a few Regional Managers who fill a coach/ mentor type role, help you set goals for your business. With the One person concept we have managers who are running their businesses and those stores are doing far better with one employee than they ever did with 3 - 5.

Business wise it allows the manager to focus on the customer interaction instead of training staff. It reduces cost while allowing us to be the most effective with the locations we have.

I was part of Game Workshop in the former model and the Current one. I can say that they are very different from one another.

Thanks again for your patience and highlighting some issues.

I guess the main critic coming from us customers derives in the recent changes towards customer policy in regards to how GW handles their stores...I can hardly call the local GWs I attend to "hobby centers" anymore.

Given your experience, you know of how GW stores used to look like: several gaming tables, ready to be played by customers. Nowadays, with the rise of 1-man stores, this has changed. Until recent days, we still had gaming tables, but the one person handling the store certainly could not just drop in and have a game as he had other customers to please. That's sad, but fully undnerstandable. The thing is that, at least in the local GWs I go to, even the gaming tables have now been replaced by demo tables. GW cut support for many events and tournaments had increases entry fees along with there being fewer overall.

It's this change that angers people, fellow GW customers, all over the globe. I guess most of us could get along with some price hikes (except those really nasty and unfair ones like LotR with more than +150% price rises!), but the image we get is GW withdrawing from a hobby supplyer and going straight into a retail-only business.

That's the fatal flaw in my eyes though - if GW stores are meant to be retail only, why would we buy there instead of buying online where each customer easily gets 15-20% off the retail price?

When I started GW back in the days (like...uh...10 years ago?), it really felt like a hobby ran by a hobby supplyer. Nowadays, it feels like a normal company, showing us veterans the cold shoulder. And that might be a wrong decision in the long run.

 Become Legendary NA wrote:
I can can venture into The One man concept.

Games Workshop has grown and changed through time as an employer. It has changed the requirements it had placed on staff and how we interacted with customers over time. The problem with a lot of it is there is a a lot of History of those interactions and the road is littered with employees who left for some reason or another. Some of this was right and some of it was wrong as any employer will face with 35 years of being in business. The thing to remember when former employees chime in is what time frame they worked for Games Workshop. anything sub 2009 isn't current. There is no policy about not hiring former employees.

What the one Person stores are is a change in how Games Workshop is allocating it's resources. It used to be that Store managers spent a large part of their time training staff. Most stores had 3 to 5 employees. The training manuals were 3 to 4 inch binders for each employee. On top of that we had Regional managers, District managers and GW carpet bombing areas with stores like LA, Seattle, and Chicago.

The One person model allows GW to have one employee, with single market stores, So the three new stores that are listed in the first post are not competing against other GW stores. Our training has been reduced to 50 pages. Although learning the Hobby is most likely a life time experience, We don't require it, but people fail if they feel no attachment to the product.. We no longer have District/Area Managers, we do have a few Regional Managers who fill a coach/ mentor type role, help you set goals for your business. With the One person concept we have managers who are running their businesses and those stores are doing far better with one employee than they ever did with 3 - 5.

Business wise it allows the manager to focus on the customer interaction instead of training staff. It reduces cost while allowing us to be the most effective with the locations we have.

I was part of Game Workshop in the former model and the Current one. I can say that they are very different from one another.

It's interesting to get this perspective on GW, not something we usually see, thanks for sharing!

I do find it somewhat funny that BLNA has the 'H' in History and Hobby capitalized

I'd love to be an accountant for GW.

Hopefully a position will be available once I get enough experience under my belt.

 Become Legendary NA wrote:
I can can venture into The One man concept.

Games Workshop has grown and changed through time as an employer. It has changed the requirements it had placed on staff and how we interacted with customers over time. The problem with a lot of it is there is a a lot of History of those interactions and the road is littered with employees who left for some reason or another. Some of this was right and some of it was wrong as any employer will face with 35 years of being in business. The thing to remember when former employees chime in is what time frame they worked for Games Workshop. anything sub 2009 isn't current. There is no policy about not hiring former employees.

What the one Person stores are is a change in how Games Workshop is allocating it's resources. It used to be that Store managers spent a large part of their time training staff. Most stores had 3 to 5 employees. The training manuals were 3 to 4 inch binders for each employee. On top of that we had Regional managers, District managers and GW carpet bombing areas with stores like LA, Seattle, and Chicago.

The One person model allows GW to have one employee, with single market stores, So the three new stores that are listed in the first post are not competing against other GW stores. Our training has been reduced to 50 pages. Although learning the Hobby is most likely a life time experience, We don't require it, but people fail if they feel no attachment to the product.. We no longer have District/Area Managers, we do have a few Regional Managers who fill a coach/ mentor type role, help you set goals for your business. With the One person concept we have managers who are running their businesses and those stores are doing far better with one employee than they ever did with 3 - 5.

Business wise it allows the manager to focus on the customer interaction instead of training staff. It reduces cost while allowing us to be the most effective with the locations we have.

I was part of Game Workshop in the former model and the Current one. I can say that they are very different from one another.

Thank you for providing thoughtful, well-written information on the company. It is very good to know.

 Sigvatr wrote:
Thanks again for your patience and highlighting some issues.

I guess the main critic coming from us customers derives in the recent changes towards customer policy in regards to how GW handles their stores...I can hardly call the local GWs I attend to "hobby centers" anymore.

Given your experience, you know of how GW stores used to look like: several gaming tables, ready to be played by customers. Nowadays, with the rise of 1-man stores, this has changed. Until recent days, we still had gaming tables, but the one person handling the store certainly could not just drop in and have a game as he had other customers to please. That's sad, but fully undnerstandable. The thing is that, at least in the local GWs I go to, even the gaming tables have now been replaced by demo tables. GW cut support for many events and tournaments had increases entry fees along with there being fewer overall.

It's this change that angers people, fellow GW customers, all over the globe. I guess most of us could get along with some price hikes (except those really nasty and unfair ones like LotR with more than +150% price rises!), but the image we get is GW withdrawing from a hobby supplyer and going straight into a retail-only business.

That's the fatal flaw in my eyes though - if GW stores are meant to be retail only, why would we buy there instead of buying online where each customer easily gets 15-20% off the retail price?

When I started GW back in the days (like...uh...10 years ago?), it really felt like a hobby ran by a hobby supplyer. Nowadays, it feels like a normal company, showing us veterans the cold shoulder. And that might be a wrong decision in the long run.

There is a lot here that I can't respond to some of it is History of what the Hobby was to us as an individual. I honestly don't want to comment on that, because it is special to each individual and I can't/don't want impact that. I'm not going to go into pricing mainly because I disagree and a discussion on it will shoot my thread in the head.

Here is the thing if there is demand for events and tournaments what is stopping you from organizing it yourself. People flock to leadership. Go to a local independent and start working with them bring them business. Grow your gaming group to a size where it makes sense for that Independent to expand their space. Start working with other gaming groups. Build your base and run those things you love to do. At the end of the day you don't need Games Workshop to do that for you. It just takes value based leadership and organization.

 Become Legendary NA wrote:
There is a lot here that I can't respond to some of it is History of what the Hobby was to us as an individual.

"the Hobby"...

Okay, sorry, just had to point that out...

Although I do love your santa hat avatar!

I want to defend BLNA's last statement. I live in Middle TN, about three hours away from the bunker. I work 5 minutes from a GW. I frequent the GW to get direct order stuff, or things that my local shop doesn't stock regularly.

However, besides my personal enjoyment from playings, modeling, painting, hobbying, etc, I get as much out of my local community of gamers that frequent the FLGS and the events ran there and by those that are part of our community.

For the record, this is no slouchy community either. ATC, Battle For Stones River, Battle For Supremacy, even the Kalm before the WAAAAG! are all events that are either sponsored, organized or attended by many, many members of the group. These events are the big ones but the same group allies with the FLGS for leagues and monthly tourneys that honestly are just as fun.

These events are run, not for retail sales(there is some aspect of that but selling isn't the focus), but for community, fellowship, fun, hobby, etc. I use the local GW, run by a great guy, as a convenience stop. I have played there and it was fine, had a blast stomping my buddy, but it's not a community store. It's a place that will ALWAYS have what you need or can get in a short time and is a place you can learn or bring folks to learn what the products are all about.

Honestly, I think that the local club or FLGS scene is the most important one in my region and while it feels like we are abandoned by GW when the stop hosting events, really, this allows other folks to rise up and run them like they want, without corporate objectives. It's a liberating thing we should be grateful for.

Hope that makes sense.

MM

Not only does GW stores no longer being the "place to play" allow FLGS to flourish... they also allow other manufacturer's games to be played at said FLGS

 Tannhauser42 wrote:

 Hulksmash wrote:
Outside of that you might want to review the basic pay rate based on the metro's you are hiring for. I can't speak for Ohio or Toronto but the base pay rate for San Diego is not a livable work wage outside of young adults still living at home.

He did say that the more the store sells, the more money you make, but that still seems a little low to start. As a comparison, the starting wage level for a clerical job in the federal government is usually a GS5, which would be $34067 in San Diego.

Fresh out of college and in my first 9-5 office job has me pulling that amount, after taxes. At 22. I can't imagine living in a city with those wages. I hope they're aiming these jobs at college kids with Associates in General Studies

Well good luck to them, I hope the benefits/insurance helps out their salaries if they have families.

If your expecting to make tons of coin...retail (whether at GW or ANY company) likely isnt the way to go....

 ironicsilence wrote:
If your expecting to make tons of coin...retail (whether at GW or ANY company) likely isnt the way to go....

Food services, either.

Still as far as temporary employment (six months to a year) after/before college or after military service, etc. it can be a good deal.

Question about the 1 person store idea.. just been wondering, what happens if that 1 and only employee is sick and can't come to work? or wants a vacation? Does a regional manager take over or does the store just close till he comes back?

They do have "on call" employees who only work those days where full timers called in sick or had PTO.

Yes, there are advantages and disadvantages that can be made. But my main concern with 1 person stores? By far the biggest (and the reason I would never work there) is that the staff member is not 'protected'. Having another member of staff in the store at the same time (something that always used to be the case.. many moons ago the small store I worked in used to have 2 staff members, a manager and often a part timer on weekends at the same time!) protects the members of staff there.

I will be specific: Imagine the scenario that a child in the store makes an 'accusation' of an unsavoury nature against the member of staff. Regardless of that accusation being not true, the implication will be there are the staff member has no-one of adult age to support his side of the story. The consequences for that worker could be terrible, and go beyond his career even working at that store, potentially destroying his life.

Of course the flip-side of this is that some form of assault does happen on a child in the store, again while there is only the one adult working there. I don't think I need to go into details into why that, if something like that were to happen (or actually, even a story to come out of it happening) it could do far more damage to GW's financial situation than any amount of money they might have saved from cutting back on staff.

There is a very real reason why schools, kindergartens and care centres have very strict policies in place determining children being left under stewardship of adults, and specifically children not being left with a single adult for an extended period of time, in order to prevent the kind of problems above happening. GW completing ignoring those factors, like always just to help that bottom line, is I think an immensely ill-advised and potentially fatal decision considering what they could stand to lose.

 Pacific wrote:

There is a very real reason why schools, kindergartens and care centres have very strict policies in place determining children being left under stewardship of adults, and specifically children not being left with a single adult for an extended period of time, in order to prevent the kind of problems above happening. GW completing ignoring those factors, like always just to help that bottom line, is I think an immensely ill-advised and potentially fatal decision considering what they could stand to lose.

The GW manager should simply not allow unsupervised children in his store alone without an adult. Pretty easy to tell unsupervised children to leave and to tell parents who are walking out 'what are you doing about your children?'

No other company out there allows it. And dozens of other retail companies have a single employee working so this idea that GW is the only retail company with lone cashiers and is responsible for child supervision the same way a schoolteacher is isn't reality.

Children shouldn't be left alone at a GW store, or any store... and any unsupervised child needs to be handed over to the police for detainment.

Anyone anywhere can accuse anyone of rape or assault with zero claims so no ADULT should ever be alone in public without someone with them to bear witness. I can tell you multiple times I have been in stores where there was only one employee working. I feel like a good policy and security footage is all a company needs to do to protect themselves from lying children and negligent parents, not double the size of their work force and change industries to be officially child-care licensed and approved as part of their business model.

Stores I have been in recently with a single employee and no one else working the store:
Coffee Shop
Cupcake Boutique
Beer and Wine
Deli
Comic book store
FLGS
7-11
Gas Station
Card/gift store
Redskins store
UPS store

Over half of those are places Children would go unsupervised and have shifts or whole days when there is a single staff member who is at risk of 'accusations' from any number of random people... and a good store policy is to throw them out and call the police if they are loitering long enough to put anyone at risk and be backed up by security cameras.

 Necros wrote:
Question about the 1 person store idea.. just been wondering, what happens if that 1 and only employee is sick and can't come to work? or wants a vacation? Does a regional manager take over or does the store just close till he comes back?

In most instances the store closes, as subs are hard to come by even in my region which has tons of GW stores. Given that this means the earnings will take a hit, lots of GW managers will come in even when they are deathly ill.

yeah,
I imagine having two or three staff does wonders for security.
It's got to be a deterrent against theft / violence and scams etc...

I'd be more worried about a group of youngsters 'rushing' the store and stealing stuff.
My brother worked at a single manned off licence (Liquor store) and was robbed at 'Brick Point' by a group of children.

Panic...

nkelsch wrote:

 Pacific wrote:

There is a very real reason why schools, kindergartens and care centres have very strict policies in place determining children being left under stewardship of adults, and specifically children not being left with a single adult for an extended period of time, in order to prevent the kind of problems above happening. GW completing ignoring those factors, like always just to help that bottom line, is I think an immensely ill-advised and potentially fatal decision considering what they could stand to lose.

The GW manager should simply not allow unsupervised children in his store alone without an adult. Pretty easy to tell unsupervised children to leave and to tell parents who are walking out 'what are you doing about your children?'

No other company out there allows it. And dozens of other retail companies have a single employee working so this idea that GW is the only retail company with lone cashiers and is responsible for child supervision the same way a schoolteacher is isn't reality.

Children shouldn't be left alone at a GW store, or any store... and any unsupervised child needs to be handed over to the police for detainment.

I agree with you in principle, but unfortunately it isn't the case in reality and the fact is that (at least in the UK - so perhaps this might be OT) that kids are left unsupervised for hours at a time at the store. Something that generally won't happen in the other stores you have listed. It used to be years ago when I worked at GW, and these days with the increasing focus on younger kids it seems like even more the case now.

Yes the store shouldn't be used as an impromptu creche, but that is what happens. Come to think of it, I myself used to spend 3-4 hours a time alone in a GW store before I was a teenager, although that was 20+ years ago and the demographic age in the store back then was a bit more varied.

Any chance there will be one of these for the UK anytime soon?

Well I have no control with what the UK recruiting department does. But I know they Interact well with there Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/becomelegendary.gw . So you can ask them questions through there or follow what they are doing through the page.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Announcing a New store in Austin TX. You can apply through this link ----> http://workfor.us/k6u3

Or check out the Become Legendary page and follow when we will be opening a store near you.

http://www.facebook.com/GWBecomeLegendaryNAm

NM

CptJake wrote:
NM

Lol wrong thread mate?

 Alfndrate wrote:

CptJake wrote:
NM

Lol wrong thread mate?

Yep, too many tabs open and not enough coffee injested.

Announcing a new store

Louisville, KY - NEW STORE!!! - http://workfor.us/9i7qx

We also have several Hobby specialist positions

Hobby Specialists - Games Workshop: Orland Square, IL - Part time role - http://workfor.us/zs3xx
Hobby Specialists - Games Workshop: White Marsh, MD - Part time role - http://workfor.us/3z9l
Hobby Specialists - Games Workshop: Chinook Calgary - Full time role - http://workfor.us/37yk

Full time positions have full benefits.

Another New Store

Palm Beach Gardens, FL - New Store - http://workfor.us/l0vu

I've worked as a retailer manager before in addition to working loss prevention and the one man model has me scratching my head as it seems like there are a number of loss prevention and labor issues that it seems to ignore.

If you only have one employee what do they do when they need to take a lunch or bathroom break? Do they close the whole store?

For mall locations this would be problematic as facilities are often not in store requiring them to lower the security gate just to make a quick run to the restroom. They would also need to close the store in order to take their break, unless corperate wants them to leave the store unattended. Which would result in loss of products. It seems very unlikely that you'd be able to have an on call employee that comes in for an hour each day to cover a lunch break.

If the stores plan on making employees skip lunch breaks or take them only while on the clock then that is going to raise a large number of legal issues which might result in the company being sued over wages or labor rights, forced over time etc.

Having one person on the floor creates a number of safety and loss prevention issues. Even in a small store a single employee cannot watch the entire store, it is very easy for them to be distracted by somebody posing as a customer. The second they turn their attention to help what they percieve as a customer other people in the store can shoplift items or even steal money directly out of the register. Having a small store can actually aide experienced criminals as it's less distance to cover in escaping once they've grabbed whatever item they are pilfering.

Also as mentioned earlier in the thread having only a single staff member can create potentially dangerous legal conditions if the store employee were accused of improper behavior. There are a large number of scammers out there who will claim that employees were acting improperly to file false lawsuits or allegations against the employee or the company in effort to get money. When there are no other people around it is very hard to defend against a worker being set up. Anytime there is a employee-customer confrontation it is usually a standard policy to have other employees witness they exchange to prevent false claims from arising.

It is unbelievable what some people will try in order to scam a business out of money by threat of lawsuit, even when all their behaviour is being actively recorded on cameras it doesn't stop them. Having a single employee store makes them an even larger target. Locations like shopping malls further increases those risks as malls are a preferred location for scammers due to the high density of businesses and distracted employees.

A faked "Oops I slipped on water", or "I was treated rudely or racially slurred by an employee" becomes very difficult to defend against in court when it's only the word of one employee vs several people working as a group to scam the business.

Having worked for well over a decade in retail I know that you can run a sucesful store with very few employees, but a single staffed store is not a good idea. It may work for food and beverage vendors but that's because they aren't having to watch shelf space and retail product at the same time as serving customers.

I find it interesting that fear of potential things happening issues. I think I would be I would worry more about my drive to work than most of the things you listed.

If you are successfully running your store, most times you are not alone let alone in a situation like your worried about. I worked in one for a year and half. Never ran into those kind of issues. Now times that by 95 stores and ahving never even heard about a situation like those that you suggest.

Next time you walk into one of our one man stores and really look at the lay out. The are wroughly 600 to 800 square feet with no large displays through the center of the store. Product laid own that once you become familiar with your store you will almost instantly know when something is missing. Small things that keeping your trash cans empty.

I'll start a discussion internally to see if I can come back with something more solid.

In our one-man stores there is a posted "closed for lunch" time on the actual store hours, so I know that they are not working through lunch. I know there are plenty of stores that work with one person only on duty. The 7/11 manages pretty well.

 Become Legendary NA wrote:
I find it interesting that fear of potential things happening issues. I think I would be I would worry more about my drive to work than most of the things you listed.

It's not stuff that was a constant concern, however it's something that managers need to be aware of and be prepared for.

I worked loss prevention at best buy so it had a huge amount of traffic, on average we had at least 1-2 people per day attempting to steal items (that we caught). Typically they are escorted form the store but we had to arrest people maybe half a dozen times per month.

The professional theives work in groups and are rarely caught. A common strategy is to start a heated confrontation at customer service to get the management and security distracted meanwhile others in the store start taking items. If it's a smaller store they request that the employee retrieve something from a high shelf or backroom and keep them distracted while others help shoplift items.

The arrests are a pain and costly to the company because security staff and managers needs to attend as well as a lawyer. It is also time consuming to review the tapes and file reports with the police, which is why in most cases it isn't pursued unless it's a large loss involved.

Often the people who are responsible for the distraction efforts make false accusations. Both myself and 2 floor managers were accused of assault ie grabbing a woman despite the fact we never got within 3 ft of her. She also made the same claim against the two police officers who were there to remove her from the premises. The store video verified that she'd filed a false complaint and that none of the staff or police had done anything besides talk to her and no contact of any sort took place. However in order to prove the claims were false it required us all to attend court and bring legal representation for the the company as she attempted to sue Best Buy.

To further compound the ridiculous claims upon leaving she attempted to fake a fall just outside the front door claiming that the confrontation had spiked her blood pressure causing her to pass out and sustain injuries from falling on the concrete. This of course was caught on store camera and additionally was caught on the police officers dash cam. She could clearly be seen looking around before she laid down on the ground. She filed this as a seperate lawsuit against the company which like the assault and harrasment claim was thrown out. But it required both the managers and police to attend a second appearnce in court.

Later when we were reviewing video we discovered that at the time all this going down her son and a friend were busy stealing a large number of video games and several GPS units which they sucessfully exited the store with. They were able to be identified as they came in the same vehicle as the woman and were later arrested, but if they had arrived seperately it would have been very unlikely that we would have caught them.

Our store is not the only location that has experienced such situations, when we did our monthly district reviews I saw a number of simular occurances at other stores. Maybe not as extreme but very damaging in terms of losses and legal costs.

Another huge factor in store shrinkage is due to employee theft, as much as 60% of total losses are from employees. If you have unsupervised employees then you can expect to see an increase in losses. Employee theft is typically much harder to prove and prosecute than theft from outside sources. As a hobby business GW may not see the extermes that other retail busienss have to deal with, but it's something that every large company needs to evaluate.



Our goal was to keep total shrink at or under 1%, our location typically saw a sales turn over of aprox 1 million per week. (1.5-1.7 during holidays) At 1% that meant as much as 10-15k worth of stuff was walking out the door every week, and the store had over 40 employees and video coverage which most GW stores don't.

.

Well, with relatively low production costs on all of their products, except perhaps the printed stuff (which is hardly the first thing to be stolen, I'd think) I can imagine GW doesn't really see some amount of theft as a significant loss factor... (understandably so)

Edited by AgeOfEgos

 Ravenous D wrote:

 LazzurusMan wrote:
I'm seriously considering applying, I was wondering if you could tell me what exactly GW is looking for in their prospective employee's. What experience is required, what skills etc.

Cheer's

LazzurusMan

No skills, just a brain wipe, zealous loyalty to abusive managers and the willingness to get screwed at a moments notice.

So...any job

Shame they only wanted managers, might have attempted to offer a resume, not that I would have got it but it never hurts to try...

Edited by AgeOfEgos

 Become Legendary NA wrote:
Another New Store

Palm Beach Gardens, FL - New Store - http://workfor.us/l0vu

Another store opeing in FL? Wow, thats like 4 stores in the state within the last year and a half. My local club is the GW at Altamonte Springs in Orlando.

 Ravenous D wrote:
Edited by AgeOfEgos

Yes, you are so correct. 16.92$ an hour should be reserved for true crappy jobs for low-paid jobs which require no skill or responsibility...

Like teaching our children...

Many educators, Substitute teachers and professionals who work in education currently make less than 16.92$ in some parts of this country.

So why do you think that the ratio is so 'off'? How much more than a teacher do you think someone managing a toystore should make?

I also like how people look down on more than twice the minimum wage... People are dying to get a job period... let alone one which pays more than minimum wage.

It is entry level retail management with room for growth. I just don't understand what people expect... If you don't like it... Don't apply? Even bad jobs can provide people much needed employment and experience and personal growth and can help someone pay their bills.

There are plenty of good jobs and companies out there that care about their staff and treat them like human beings instead of cattle.

It all depends on who you are working with, not the company itself.

nkelsch wrote:

 Ravenous D wrote:
Edited by AgeofEgos

Yes, you are so correct. 16.92$ an hour should be reserved for true crappy jobs for low-paid jobs which require no skill or responsibility...

Like teaching our children...

Many educators, Substitute teachers and professionals who work in education currently make less than 16.92$ in some parts of this country.

So why do you think that the ratio is so 'off'? How much more than a teacher do you think someone managing a toystore should make?

I also like how people look down on more than twice the minimum wage... People are dying to get a job period... let alone one which pays more than minimum wage.

It is entry level retail management with room for growth. I just don't understand what people expect... If you don't like it... Don't apply? Even bad jobs can provide people much needed employment and experience and personal growth and can help someone pay their bills.

Thats the thing though.

GW has a well worn track record of gakking all over the hired help. On top of that, there are more negative stories then positive from LONG TIME employees on how they are lorded over and pretty much threatend into hard sells distribution.

This "One man" store idea is a joke. WHy even waste money on the stores if this swill is going to take place? And that 16 and some change an hour? They didn't tell you that you might not make it a month in the position if you don't shill out enough space marines. If anything, look at how many "Veteren store managers" have positive things to say about them.

Might be different in other places, though. aside from being able to call down there to the head office right away, you probibly don't have as many debate club meetings in your stores over there.

"Even bad jobs can provide people much needed employment and experience and personal growth and can help someone pay their bills."

Not to the extent of how bad this job can and does become when the ooh and aaahhh of working for them wears off and reality of the situation brings you back to real life.

More negative then positive out there about them. Just saying.

I've not seen a long time retail manager that was happy or satisfied with their job, barring perhaps grocery managers who are paid insanely well.

nkelsch wrote:


It is entry level retail management with room for growth. I just don't understand what people expect... If you don't like it... Don't apply?

Tis' probably a good idea for future applicants---and also a good ideology regarding this thread. Not directed toward any one poster--but this thread has seen the proper way to discuss critical analysis of Games Workshop employment---and the improper way to address others/ideas. Let's endeavor to keep the balance of that affair in the positive...and not post in the thread if you feel you will fail in that area. Thanks!
-AgeOfEgos

When you decide to re-engage the region of the country called "New England", maybe I'd take an interest. But, since GW has utterly abandoned the region, not only can I not work for your company, but GW's influence in one of the densest, most affluent parts of the country is next to nothing.

From GW's own site, a 400 mile radius from my home:

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/storelocator/search.jsp#page=results&radius=400&address=Arlington%2C%20MA%2002474%2C%20USA&latlng=42.423216,-71.153764&showGWS=true

I would be highly interested in the "Official" reason as to why there is no GW presence here.

Thanks.

--Brian

 Grot 6 wrote:
On top of that, there are more negative stories then positive from LONG TIME employees

There are more negative stories about absolutely everything that ever was. That's how humans work.

 DarknessEternal wrote:

 Grot 6 wrote:
On top of that, there are more negative stories then positive from LONG TIME employees

There are more negative stories about absolutely everything that ever was. That's how humans work.

thats how the internet works

Come on. Seriously?

What was the point of that little tidbit of nothing? People are cheeved because I want to post a little truth to a feelgood thread?

I like GW when they do good things. The really bad thing about it is that I, in the pit of my dark soul- KNOW that they can do better. Even through the price gouge, the finecast, the closing of successful stores, the treatment of the rank and file of successful stores, the haphazard way in which they treat stores that are against thier sort of sales shtick, yet do very well and are then closed down for less then honest reasons, the transformers takeover, the lack of focus on what exactly they are selling and to whom, the lost potential in the starter sets to introduce new gamers to the scene, and the emphisis on selling expensive army men.

I get it... "Its a business", they want to make money and they want to open more stores for some reason other then making money.( because they care so much about gamers, or something) BUT I don't know why its so bad to engage in an honest discussion on the topic at hand. I thought this was Dakka, not GW's site and forum. Even from a potential applicant, its ok to strip away the soft candy shell and explain WHY we are out here in the either being treated like gak by their company.

I could see if I was making this stuff up, but what I'm throwing out here is true for numerous posters and forum readers. We've had discussion ad nausium about it, NOW we get someone from said company in here, and we're all supposed to put the kid gloves on? Excuse me for being so blunt, but why should I? You and your company have stuff to answer for. You won't do it on your site, so if you come here, you can go on ahead and suck this one up. You are in our house now.

If I have a criticism or issue, why don't you go out on a limb and step up and discuss it/ address it. Not that you'd do it on your own forum, where everything is space marines and chaos cherry pie.
( Oh wait- they closed that forum down... )

You want to dismiss my issues with some clever quip that has nothing to do with the discussion, try again chief.

I'm throwing it down that working in that environment has its own issues that arn't nessesarily on the table before someone goes into this job. While that might be ok in the Empire, it ain't so ok to us over here in the land of Lawyers, Guns, and Money.

You want to suger coat it, I'll taste the rainbow with counter-discussion. The door swings both ways.

If all your doing is putting up a help wanted sign, then you should have done it in the swap shop. This is a discussion forum here, chief.

You wanted in, now your in... Step up.

 Briancj wrote:
When you decide to re-engage the region of the country called "New England", maybe I'd take an interest. But, since GW has utterly abandoned the region, not only can I not work for your company, but GW's influence in one of the densest, most affluent parts of the country is next to nothing.

From GW's own site, a 400 mile radius from my home:

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/storelocator/search.jsp#page=results&radius=400&address=Arlington%2C%20MA%2002474%2C%20USA&latlng=42.423216,-71.153764&showGWS=true

I would be highly interested in the "Official" reason as to why there is no GW presence here.

Thanks.

--Brian

I like the part where the second closest store is in another country that isn't just down the road from you.

 Briancj wrote:

I would be highly interested in the "Official" reason as to why there is no GW presence here.

Well I can not give you an official response for something I have no impact or input on. What I can tell you is there is a team of people who look for potential locations for Games Workshop that have to meet business requirements. We are currently on pace to open around 5 new stores a quarter. If you follow those locations on a map you will see a trend of GW spreading outward from memphis mostly seems east to west.





Automatically Appended Next Post:


Grot6,

You say you want counter-discussion but what you are really doing is slinging mud. I'm not going to have a discussion with you because nothing I will say will impact the very negative outlook you have for Games Workshop in general. I am truly sorry you feel that way and that you have had experiences with Games Workshop that have caused these feelings.

My thread is about possible employment opportunities with Games Workshop, and you are in no way a subject matter expert, as you have never worked for Games Workshop.

I don't like it when they try and sell me things, but I am very hard to please and prefer to be left alone lol
Shine on you crazy diamonds, and bring the world plastic sisters of battle ...

 Grot 6 wrote:
Come on. Seriously? What was the point of that little tidbit of nothing? People are cheeved because I want to post a little truth to a feelgood thread?

No. We're simply tired of you making an ass out of yourself at every opportunity. It's gotten old and now it's getting boring. You really need to go up to the thread with the forum rules and reread rule #1. Then, after you've read it, you need to start actually following rule #1.

 Grot 6 wrote:
This is a discussion forum here, chief. You wanted in, now your in... Step up.

Actually, this is a NEWS thread about job openings with Games Workshop, not a debate topic about the merits of GW as a company, a forum for your rants, or a venue to express your negative feelings towards GW. If you don't want to discuss specific positions posted or ask legitimate questions about those positions, you should head over to the Discussions forum and create a new thread there.

I just want to say I think the pay rate that is disclosed for these positions is commiserate with the responsibility level required to run a 1 man shop.

1) inventory management. I assume that the inv system used is managing stock levels. Items autos ship from Memphis warehouse on a weekly basis to restock skis that have sold during the week. Seasonal adjustments stock levels are also done systemically.
A relatively low degree of managerial effort on this end.
2) managing other FTE. none. For those that mange other employees you know this is a pain in the ass.
Interviewing skills, hiring, hr understanding, discipline practices and termination are major responsibilities that aren't required in this job.
3) sale. This is job one. Move plastic. I see that store sales and year over year increase in sales drives your total target compensation level. Good. It is what I'd want to measure success as well. I mean the name is recruitment center so maybe there is a weight to intro boxes sold or other spiffs
4) closed 2 days a week and only open for 1 shift. This is a great benefit. It means when you close the door as a manger you don't have to worry about the operation.

So net net, This is a good introductory retail opportunity IMO. Will it be your forever career? Probably not. believe it or not companies have an ideal employee for each position and factor in turn over for those positions. It doesn't mean GW is a bad company..just this position is demanding on sales side and rewards that. In other ways it is quite attractive.

Edited by AgeOfEgos

Again--and last warning;


This is a thread that was initiated by what appears to be a recruitment arm of Games Workshop. Legitimate questions concerning pay, benefits, hours and other employment related discussion is fine--even if a bit critical, provided that it is phrased in a conversational, polite manner.

This is not a thread to confront Games Workshop on pricing or design decisions. Thanks.

 jgemrich wrote:


So net net, This is a good introductory retail opportunity IMO. Will it be your forever career? Probably not. believe it or not companies have an ideal employee for each position and factor in turn over for those positions. It doesn't mean GW is a bad company..just this position is demanding on sales side and rewards that. In other ways it is quite attractive.

I know two store managers in this position currently and they have been pretty forthcoming with thier experiences... For them, they feel it has been 'successful' as they are willing to do the work to make the most of it. And they have built a good community who supports the manager. People pre-order with him and buy locally to support them.

I have known people who have worked at GW over the past 15 years, and it is always a mixed bag like every company, but for everyone who hated it, I know others who liked it and were highly successful. And every 'story of truth' is filled with one-sided lies, it is the nature of 'my job sucks' stories regardless of companies.

It's a fact of the Internet: negative critics always outnumber the positive.

Why would you go out of your way to post something positive? If it was positive then they did their job, people are not going to go out of their way to post stuff just because somebody met their expectations and did what they are supposed to do. It's when stuff is even slightly bad that people post, because angry people are vocal.

Maybe my job has jaded me to these kind of complaints as well. I do part-time work at quite a few different places so I get a lot of exposure to other employers. There is a vocal group of people at my full time job that always complains about how our job is the worst place ever and our bosses are the most useless bosses ever. I tried to tell them that I have worked at most other hospitals in the metro and we actually have it pretty dang good compared to them, but they just want to keep on complaining.

I don't know. The pay justn't seem to justify the stress in operationg a GW store. You get so little in return for so much you have to give up.

Also GW doesn't give you free minis, you have to buy them (at a cheap discount I think) but still. This is stuff GW should be doing for free, not the worker having to pay to make GW money.

One man stores? I swear this is starting to become like slave shops now.

 Become Legendary NA wrote:

 Briancj wrote:

I would be highly interested in the "Official" reason as to why there is no GW presence here.

Well I can not give you an official response for something I have no impact or input on. What I can tell you is there is a team of people who look for potential locations for Games Workshop that have to meet business requirements. We are currently on pace to open around 5 new stores a quarter. If you follow those locations on a map you will see a trend of GW spreading outward from memphis mostly seems east to west.

GW used to have a presence, here, and they retreated. The information I have gathered from former GW store managers in the region explains that this was due to very bad decisions from 'higher up' on choosing store locations, and wildly* unreasonable sales goals imposed from top, down. I'm not asking you to explain or justify this, I put it forth as part of the discussion for people who might be considering working for Games Workshop.

While you have no 'influence or impact', you CAN ask *your* higher-ups when New England will see a return of GW storefronts. 2013? 2014? Never?

Thanks!

--Brian

*Wildly: In 2004, GW Management informed the store in the Holyoke Mall, in Holyoke, Massachusetts, that the median average household income for the area was $85,000. Holyoke was, and still is, a mill town with a depressed economy. The Median average income for Holyoke, Ma in 2004 was around $31,000. Even if you included 'more affluent' neighboring towns, the median average would have struggled to get to $50K. And these more affluent parents didn't take their children to a Mall. Nevertheless, sales quotas/goals were set based on the massively inflated $85K figure.

Your Mileage May Vary.

Davor wrote:
I don't know. The pay justn't seem to justify the stress in operationg a GW store. You get so little in return for so much you have to give up.

Also GW doesn't give you free minis, you have to buy them (at a cheap discount I think) but still. This is stuff GW should be doing for free, not the worker having to pay to make GW money.

One man stores? I swear this is starting to become like slave shops now.

Did you miss how dozens of other retail shops have a one-man store model? This is hardly unique to GW and doesn't result in all these fictional 'worrysome' situations people claim they do. You are not getting falsley accused of rape every day simply because you work alone.

And I guess being a teacher is 'less' stressful than selling toys to kids... What 'stress' are you talking about? It is a Store, not Thunderdome. All jobs have stress, and many more jobs have more stress and make way less.

I wonder what jobs all you guys do that double the minimum wage is seen as 'so little'? And comparing getting paid to work an 8 hour day where you runt he shop is now the same as slavery? I would hate to think what someone who makes less than double minimum wage who is asked to work overtime is compared to? Genocide? Care to Godwin the thread to make your hyperbole complete?

Briancj

You will know about a store in your area as soon as I do. Because I will post it here and on the Become Legendary North America. My Guess is that you will see a store in your area at some unknown point is it fits the current successful business model. That is your official response. What you need to understand is 2004 the company has had a different store store strategy in place than it has had over the last few years. Those things you bring up as facts are simply no true at this point in time.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Davor

That is fine if you feel it's not a fit for you, that is ok.. But what you get for working for Games Workshop is Pay, Benefits, 37.5 hours a week and a 50% discount on miniatures. Pretty standard for any retail position.

As a Manager you set your own goals for yourself, Expectations are roughly to achieve a 6% growth over last year. What that would look like is.... If your store did 150K last year you would be looking at around 9k in growth over a twelve month period. Which is 173.07 dollars more a week If you are recruiting then it should not be an issue as your store should be growing over time to reflect that. If that is stressful then it is not a position for you.

who wants to interview for a job that doesn't exist yet?

"We just want to get the interviews out of the way" ?????


SO tell me _____________, what experience do you have that would qualify you for this position?


You haven't told me what this position entails.


We will be in touch in the future, thanks for coming in.

 DIDM wrote:
who wants to interview for a job that doesn't exist yet?

Pretty common actually. Companies interview lots of people based upon speculation of positions which will exist and sometimes even tailor positions based upon what candidates can provide. If we find a particular candidate with a specific set of skills, we may choose to change the position and move work around on our end to better make use of the candidate.

And Job Fairs and recruitment often operate on this explicit premise. Here is a set of skills and all our needs at all levels. Interview so we can see your skills and decide where best you would fit in our organization and then when a position we feel you fit is available, we call you. Some companies are constantly advertising and interviewing for candidates with no real position existing because they have gauged you can often make a position for a excellent candidate or you know there is always organic growth which needs these positions and it cuts down on lag time of hiring issues.

If you go into an interview with an adversarial attitude, then you deserve to be ignored. A smart person should have done research what the company offers as a whole and simply be ready to highlight any skills that they are particularly great at. A lot of employment skills are universal and you don't need a specific job description to know those skills are needed and that you should highlight them.

nkelsch wrote:

 DIDM wrote:
who wants to interview for a job that doesn't exist yet?

Pretty common actually......

Damn I know this is true: I have interviewed and "landed" two jobs in the last year just for the project that I was to be employed for get put back while they await the work to land. My ability to find jobs just as we enter another dip to the recession remains unsurpassed!

@Brian: technically Conn is New England . I understand why they closed here and if they come back ok but personally i don't want them too as i think we have a pretty good local store community.

 Empchild wrote:
@Brian: technically Conn is New England . I understand why they closed here and if they come back ok but personally i don't want them too as i think we have a pretty good local store community.

Hey, even OFFICIALLY, Connecticut is part of New England. However, according to their website, there are no GW stores in Connecticut:

My bad i saw Greenwich and thought Conn.

Do they managers have to pay for the display armies or are these provided for?

I believe they are supposed to be painted by the people working there.

Yeah I now they get painted in house, I was just wondering if they are brought and paid for?

Eldercaveman wrote:
Do they managers have to pay for the display armies or are these provided for?

In the case of our local GW, they do not need to pay for them, but are to paint them in their "free time" as well. The goblin town set was painted by customers

Yeah I think the goblin town set being painted by customers was quite a common thing, as they did it here in Auckland as well. Quite a good way of getting people interest in it.

Eldercaveman wrote:
Do they managers have to pay for the display armies or are these provided for?

That is a complicated question. Here in the US we have a team that prepares sets of miniatures/tables for new stores as they are opened ahead of time. For existing stores they have the ability to know loss a certain amount product each month for projects. If it is above this limit then they have to ask for permission. As for customers helping paint projects in the store, Some managers do have customers assist, some don't. I never did in my store because I felt it was my job to do it and we are not allowed to give product away as a form of payment. That choice for me also had to do with setting a standard in my store.

If it is a store project and not a personal project then you can work on it during your shifts. What can be confusing is that line can be easily blurred. For example I'm painting my personal army for the display case of the store because it is empty. While the intent is good you are still working on your personal army.

 Become Legendary NA wrote:
Well I have no control with what the UK recruiting department does. But I know they Interact well with there Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/becomelegendary.gw . So you can ask them questions through there or follow what they are doing through the page.

Thank you for the reply and sorry I got to it so late! I'll maybe drop by their page and ask. Keep up the good work!

 Briancj wrote:

 Become Legendary NA wrote:

 Briancj wrote:

I would be highly interested in the "Official" reason as to why there is no GW presence here.

Well I can not give you an official response for something I have no impact or input on. What I can tell you is there is a team of people who look for potential locations for Games Workshop that have to meet business requirements. We are currently on pace to open around 5 new stores a quarter. If you follow those locations on a map you will see a trend of GW spreading outward from memphis mostly seems east to west.

GW used to have a presence, here, and they retreated. The information I have gathered from former GW store managers in the region explains that this was due to very bad decisions from 'higher up' on choosing store locations, and wildly* unreasonable sales goals imposed from top, down. I'm not asking you to explain or justify this, I put it forth as part of the discussion for people who might be considering working for Games Workshop.

While you have no 'influence or impact', you CAN ask *your* higher-ups when New England will see a return of GW storefronts. 2013? 2014? Never?

Thanks!

--Brian

*Wildly: In 2004, GW Management informed the store in the Holyoke Mall, in Holyoke, Massachusetts, that the median average household income for the area was $85,000. Holyoke was, and still is, a mill town with a depressed economy. The Median average income for Holyoke, Ma in 2004 was around $31,000. Even if you included 'more affluent' neighboring towns, the median average would have struggled to get to $50K. And these more affluent parents didn't take their children to a Mall. Nevertheless, sales quotas/goals were set based on the massively inflated $85K figure.

Your Mileage May Vary.

Oh they still have insane sales quotas. Here is some fun stories:

Local GW here is in a strip mall with no foot traffic, it was entirely mantained and operated on its regulars with maybe 2 or 3 demos a week( where as when I worked for GW I was going 7+ a day) the manager there got written up by the north american trainer for not doing enough demos.

Hell when I was with the company I went on vacation for 2 weeks and came back to being written up for not hitting my monthly quota. "Should have thought about that before you left" was what I was told.

The best I saw was the email that went out to all GW employees about a manager in alabama that was told his store would be shut down if he didnt get his sales up past a certain mark, this man went above and beyond and actually raised the sales well past the expected mark, he was then fired and his store was shut down. Before his email was shut down he sent his story to every single GW employee in north america, we were actually told that if we opened that email we would be fired.

Here's another good one. A friend of mine worked at a mall store that was shut down and was told to drive 2 hours out of his way a day to get to a brand new store location, he did so being the loyal and devoted employee he was. During this stores open himself and the other employee broke all sales records for a new store in the history of the company, they were both replaced without notice.

Or just recently, they hired a manager for a store they shut down a month later, without telling him.

So for anyone that is looking to work for GW here is my warnings, advice and a litte of what to expect:

-You'll get flown out to memphis for training every 3 months, all well in good except its mostly just word play that will make you want to pull out your hair.
-You'll sign alot of non-disclosure agreements.
-Its a fun job if you go into it being a good level headed person, not a drone, you see your bosses once a month, your regulars will appreciate it that you dont treat them like bags of money and they in turn will support you more.
-Upper management will kill your love for the game
-When your bosses are in store they are there for the whole day usually (or days if you're unlucky) you'll want to quit every five minutes because they will pick you apart and not leave you alone.
-Dont spend your money on warhammer, seriously, its like GW paying you $4/hr, and you'll not want to look at the things after you get home.
-If you dont like kids, and loud places then I have bad news for you.
-There is no "up" in the company, Im sure buddy here will say otherwise but there isnt.
-You are extremely expendable, Ive seen dozens of people get let go or pushed out for extremely unfair reasons. Ive seen people hired, trained and let go all in the same month because they didnt tell them they closed the store they were going to work at.
-Very few people leave on good terms with happy feelings towards the company

All in all, its a fun job, but for the hassle you'll go through, it isnt worth the money

 Ravenous D wrote:


-Very few people leave on good terms with happy feelings towards the company

I know lots of people who used to work for GW. Most were fired, but some quit. Quit surprisingly many of them are on good terms with GW. This is not to say that they think the company is managed well, but that they do not have ill will towards GW.

Ravenous D When did you work for the company what position and store?

We do do Hobby Skill Camps every three months but they are not always in Memphis, These sessions are for the managers to get together with their peers to train and network with other managers/ upper management. I personally looked forward to them because they were refreshing.

Managers set there own goals and we look at three different key product indicators. You should plan things like vacation into the goals you set like any successful business.

You will sign non-disclosure agreements in instances such as receiving training on new product before launch. Pretty normally in the business world.

Upper management will visit from time to time but I guess it depends on how your store is doing, customer complaints and such again like any good business with remote employees.

The rest isn't something I can comment on.

Here are some corporate level positions that are made available to all internal candidates. I updated the first post with them. All these positions are new positions within the company.


Corporate Memphis roles.

Games Workshop: Staff Accountant ---> http://workfor.us/2d8r5
Games Workshop: Trade Account Manager ---> http://workfor.us/a28qg
Games Workshop: New Trade Account Manager ---> http://workfor.us/1h77yi
Games Workshop: People Pipeline Coordinating - http://workfor.us/7ik9
Games Workshop: Recruiter - http://workfor.us/2e4d4
Games Workshop: Property Manager - http://workfor.us/1k47uh
Games Workshop: Property Specialist - http://workfor.us/b7d31g37
Games Workshop: Warehouse Manager - http://workfor.us/1l5i6i

see previous warnings
Reds8n

And the hell is a "People Pipeline Coordinator"? Sounds like human trafficking.

You should hire someone that has a better grasp on writing job postings. The wording in several areas is bad and doesn't even make sense in other areas. One example is; "Play at fitting". What does that even mean?

Also, it's not a good idea to say things like this; "However, it is only fair to say that people who don’t fit with our culture, or who play at fitting, will be unhappy and consequently unsuccessful. "

It basically translates into a couple things; "Tow the line or we'll get rid of you." and "If we don't like you, we'll get rid of you."

Now that may be the truth, but you shouldn't post that in a Job Listing asking people to apply.

The "About the job" section, should not be the shortest section of the postings. Blow less smoke about who GW is and what they do. Chances are people that want to work for you, already know what you do and who you are.

I'd love to know what "People Pipeline Coordinating" actually is. However, there are no actual job duties listed, pay scale, background/education requirements, or benefits information.

Who is the person that you want or expect to apply for this job; a High School kid, Retail Manager, Retiree?

I'm confused.

 Aerethan wrote:
And the hell is a "People Pipeline Coordinator"? Sounds like human trafficking.

Sounds like some kind of HR job for managing the throughput of people through training into jobs, or people waiting in the pool to be put into stores.

TalonZahn wrote:
You should hire someone that has a better grasp on writing job postings. The wording in several areas is bad and doesn't even make sense in other areas. One example is; "Play at fitting". What does that even mean?

While GW's job postings leave many things to be desired, I have seen worse.

TalonZahn wrote:

Also, it's not a good idea to say things like this; "However, it is only fair to say that people who don’t fit with our culture, or who play at fitting, will be unhappy and consequently unsuccessful. "

It basically translates into a couple things; "Tow the line or we'll get rid of you." and "If we don't like you, we'll get rid of you."

Now that may be the truth, but you shouldn't post that in a Job Listing asking people to apply.

I would not rank on them for this. At least they are being open and honest.

TalonZahn wrote:

I'd love to know what "People Pipeline Coordinating" actually is.

Only GW would think up with a pipeline made of human beings.

TalonZahn wrote:
You should hire someone that has a better grasp on writing job postings. The wording in several areas is bad and doesn't even make sense in other areas. One example is; "Play at fitting". What does that even mean?

Also, it's not a good idea to say things like this; "However, it is only fair to say that people who don’t fit with our culture, or who play at fitting, will be unhappy and consequently unsuccessful. "

I think you answered your own question.

Play at fitting means you don't fit into their culture and are only pretending to in order to get the job.

 spaceelf wrote:

Only GW would think up with a pipeline made of human beings.

It was the cheapest way they could think of to get enough skulls on a pipeline.

 spaceelf wrote:

TalonZahn wrote:

Also, it's not a good idea to say things like this; "However, it is only fair to say that people who don’t fit with our culture, or who play at fitting, will be unhappy and consequently unsuccessful. "

It basically translates into a couple things; "Tow the line or we'll get rid of you." and "If we don't like you, we'll get rid of you."

Now that may be the truth, but you shouldn't post that in a Job Listing asking people to apply.

I would not rank on them for this. At least they are being open and honest.

Funny thing about "The Truth" is, even though it's true, most people don't want to hear it. So, I'm just suggesting that even if it IS the truth, they either don't say it or they word it differently.

Despite the fact that GW could probably never match my current pay, I'm actually interested to know what the "People Pipeline Coordinating" job is. What level of the organization does it sit at, actual job duties, etc.? You know, things that the Job Description should actually say. I've been through Memphis enough to like certain areas, I enjoy the GW hobby, and it could be interesting.

[Edit]
@ pretre - You are correct that they probably mean "pretending to fit in, in order to keep your job", which just brings me back to the entire point of just not putting that in the Job Post to begin with. Along with the fact that it doesn't fit well in the Posting or the wording they used.

Pipeline is a common recruiting term. It describes the hiring process from start to finish.

The Games Workshop: People Pipeline Co-ordinating is the person that manages the information and the process so as an Employee goes through the interview process, offer phase, into the training process, to the store there is someone managing that information so all parties know what is going on. They also handle travel for Recruiters and Trainers along with arrangements for the locations of where our assessment centers take place. They will also fill in as needed for Recruiters helping with projects as the need arises.

So it's an HR Coordinator or possibly an HR Generalist.



For the record, in 22 years I have never heard the term "Pipeline" used in recruiting, unless someone is trying to throw around buzz words or the job invloves an actual pipeline.

How do managers both set their own goals and be expected to maintain a minimum percentage growth rate?

These seem like contradictory statements to me.

TalonZahn wrote:
For the record, in 22 years I have never heard the term "Pipeline" used in recruiting, unless someone is trying to throw around buzz words or the job invloves an actual pipeline.

Maybe catch up with the current cool HR speak then...

http://blog.lloydstaffing.com/candidate-pipeline/
http://hrdelight.blogspot.com/2009/05/build-candidate-pipeline-for-just-in.html
http://www.bridgespan.org/Publications-and-Tools/Hiring-Nonprofit-Leaders/Hiring-Strategy/Building-Talent-Pipeline.aspx#.UPWNm5JQTjU




Automatically Appended Next Post:

agustin wrote:
How do managers both set their own goals and be expected to maintain a minimum percentage growth rate?

These seem like contradictory statements to me.

Have you worked in a corporate environment before?

I have to do this every year. My manager and I set goals for the next year (generally in Q1). It ends up being a negotiation where he and I share input on what I think I can accomplish in the year. I certainly can't tell him 'Meh, I think I'll set my goal for 0% accomplished this year.' There's definitely minimum expectations.

No, I own my business, so I have remained pleasantly unaware of what the life of someone who has to deal with the inside of a corporate environment is like. I do business to business sales though and I've found there's actually surprisingly little difficulty in navigating the environment as a vendor once you know how to identify the real decision makers.

I just think its disingenuous to both tell candidates that they'll get to set their own goals and then tell them, by the way, your goal is 5% growth over the previous year.

Not that it's in any way unreasonable. With 10% a year price hikes, you can actually lose volume in terms of customers and units sold by a few percent and still hit the +5% a year goal that GW needs to keep their revenue from collapsing.

agustin wrote:
I just think its disingenuous to both tell candidates that they'll get to set their own goals and then tell them, by the way, your goal is 5% growth over the previous year.

One of your goals has a minimum of 5% growth over the previous year. You have multiple goals in any job I've ever worked. That means you also set your other goals as well.

Perhaps further such discussion would be best carried out either through PM or another thread, don;t want to clutter this one up too much.

Thanks.

 Become Legendary NA wrote:
Ravenous D When did you work for the company what position and store?

Not a chance I'll tell you that one, Im not getting banned from every GW for the rest of time for telling the truth.

Im not saying dont work for you guys, all Im saying is do it for the right reasons and expect alot more politics then you ever thought possible for a gaming store. Its not sunshine and lollipops, its a lot of work for the pay grade.

When are you coming back to Massachusetts, it was the GW in my local mall that got me into the hobby when I was younger. Would love to see you guys return. ( I miss you )

My whole goal and reason for going to work for GW was to eventually move to Lenton and work in the studio as a sculptor, everyone knew that.The CMO, UK HR Manager, UK mold room manager and my old manager all said there was a job for me in Lenton, but the HR manager in Memphis and my (then current) manager in Memphis and some new schmuck from Canada (Martin?) told me "there was no job available for me in Lenton".

Working at GW everything will be fine, you'll love your job and think everything's going great, then without warning (or any real legitimate reason) you'll get fired.

It's not really Games Workshop's fault, I hold no real grudge for that, it's the other people you have to work with that can cause problems for you.

To be fair, the things that you are saying GW puts you through could apply to almost any Retail job.

They're all hell. If you work in retail, you either already know this, or are about to find out.

When I worked for Toys R 'Us and Babies R us, my managers hated their jobs, dealt with crap they didn't deserve every day, and worked their butts off to get only a minimal pay grade over me, some random schmuck working part time off the street.

What I'm trying to say is, saying GW is unique in these kinds of practices is kind of silly. Almost all businesses act this way. This is hardly something new sadly.

 Become Legendary NA wrote:
Announcing a new store

Louisville, KY - NEW STORE!!! - http://workfor.us/9i7qx

We also have several Hobby specialist positions

Hobby Specialists - Games Workshop: Orland Square, IL - Part time role - http://workfor.us/zs3xx
Hobby Specialists - Games Workshop: White Marsh, MD - Part time role - http://workfor.us/3z9l
Hobby Specialists - Games Workshop: Chinook Calgary - Full time role - http://workfor.us/37yk

Full time positions have full benefits.

Cool, Louisville is pretty far for me, Lexington is only slightly closer. How about a store in Ashland, Ky or Huntington, WV? The population density is there especially considering the outlying communities within a 30 minute radius. We have a decent gaming scene in the area, but no shop that services it, except for a Hobbytown USA and they don't have a full range. The next closest indy is in Charleston WV or Columbus (OH).

 MrMoustaffa wrote:
To be fair, the things that you are saying GW puts you through could apply to almost any Retail job.
They're all hell. If you work in retail, you either already know this, or are about to find out.
When I worked for Toys R 'Us and Babies R us, my managers hated their jobs, dealt with crap they didn't deserve every day, and worked their butts off to get only a minimal pay grade over me, some random schmuck working part time off the street.
What I'm trying to say is, saying GW is unique in these kinds of practices is kind of silly. Almost all businesses act this way. This is hardly something new sadly.

You have a very common misconception, unfortunately. Not all companies are like that. It's the people who work there that make the company, the company is just a name on paper.

I've worked for a number of companies that have treated their staff very well, some that haven't. I'm at Microsoft now and I was very surprised at how much everyone here likes the company, I've heard very few horror stories though I know some must exist. Many years ago working at Hot Topic was my favorite, working retail there sucked since you are at the mercy of the store manager, but at HQ it was run very well.

I was shocked by how MS HR handles complaints as well, they actually investigate them and make rational, impartial decisions using actual information; unlike the managers/HR at GW who treated every situation as though it happened in a vacuum using no background history and little investigation at all. When you are pulled into a meeting and asked to explain your side it's a formality, the decision to terminate employment was already made before they even heard your side. Every termination I was involve din at GW that was the case, the manager wanted you out, you were gone. Several times I knew the manager was full of it and was just trying to use someone as a scapegoat, but the HR manager we had didn't care. She just went along with whatever decision was made by whatever manager made it.

My first week at MS I was in a meeting where two staff were accused of wrongdoing and I was very surprised at how much time they put into what was a reletively small incident. The HR manager said he wasn't going to fire anyone unless he was certain they had earned it, regardless of what the department manager wanted.

GW just doesn't work like that.

BUT, that being said. If you do want to work for GW do it in England. It's much harder for a manager or unscrupulous co-worker to get rid of you in the UK. Not saying it can't be done, but it's a lot harder than it is in the USA where we have "Right to Work" laws.

EDIT: I felt I should mention that I'm hanging out at Tully's in Bellevue with 3 other ex-GW staff. 2 I worked with previously, one I just met tonight, All 3 of them have similar stories about how they got fired and all 3 of them involved a manager who isn't a gamer, or into gaming, at all. Just some guy who applied for the job and couldn't care less if he worked for GW or FedEx or anyone else.

It just seems that most of the people I've met who've left GW were ousted by non-gamers, good people lost to unscrupulous ladder climbers. Since all 3 of these guys now work for other gaming companies in the area I was wondering if GW has now become it's own worst enemy. Think about how much competition there is now in the marketplace due to ex-GW staff, and now I wonder what the circumstances are around them leaving.

Maybe GW wouldn't have to go on recruitment campaigns if they'd stop losing so many good people to ladder-climbers.

I'm working at a translation company and it's not that far away from what Raven described before. There's 0 tolerance - if any employee fails to meet the timeline, he's fired. Immediately. No chance to get back. If you'd apply for a job, even if you were qualified, you'd have to wait for about 1-2 years before you could start working and thus, everyone in here is expendable.

It's how a business *should* run though, in my opinion. It's completely fair and I hate that "Man, those are people, you need to be all jolly to them!" attitude a lot of people have. Being harsh on the rules does not you don't respect them. People need to realize that it's a business.

Same goes for GW. GW is well-known for not caring about the customer's demand (and they are right about this) so what exactly do people expect from working at GW? A nice, family-ish atmosphere where your superior comes over for a cup of coffee and a slice of cake every so often? It's 2013, that's not gonna happen.

If you work at a company, you got superiors. They are superiors. Do what they ask you to do (as long as it's within legal rights) or quit the job. "Ladder-climbers" are good. They know what a business is about, they know what to do.

If you want changes, don't buy GW stuff. It's simple as that. As long as the cash keeps going, you will not see ANY changes towards a more customer-friendly environment; in the contrary, it will get worse.

That's the right way though. The customers decide what they want and as long as there's a profit, the customers agree with every decision the company makes. Vote with your wallet. It's a binary decision.

Buy stuff -> Yes, I fully agree with what you're doing.
Don't buy stuff -> I disagree and do not want to support your business decisions.

Nobody gives a flying cra...zy monkey about people who buy stuff and then complain about it. You bought it. Deal with it.

GW is a fair business. Don't like their way? Don't apply. If you really like GW and their products, I'd really suggest applying. It's similar to how most retail works and yes, you do get low wages, but at the same time, you made your hobby your job which is worth a lot already.

Here is another New Position

Support Manager
http://workfor.us/1m4f1k

This is a new position within Games Workshop NA and is number 2 behind Behind Games Workshop NA.

 Become Legendary NA wrote:
Here is another New Position

Support Manager
http://workfor.us/1m4f1k

This is a new position within Games Workshop NA and is number 2 behind Behind Games Workshop NA.

Hey BLNA,

does Games Workshop NA or even USA have a corporate listing or public company directory? If so, got a link?

 Sigvatr wrote:
I'm working at a translation company and it's not that far away from what Raven described before. There's 0 tolerance - if any employee fails to meet the timeline, he's fired. Immediately. No chance to get back. If you'd apply for a job, even if you were qualified, you'd have to wait for about 1-2 years before you could start working and thus, everyone in here is expendable.

I'd agree with you when it comes to work performance, but an employee should never be fired as a scapegoat or a living "look out sir" rule due to a managers' decisions, poor performance, incompetence etc. I saw that happen far too many times at GW for it to just be an isolated thing. It's a way of life at GW.

 Sigvatr wrote:
It's how a business *should* run though, in my opinion. It's completely fair and I hate that "Man, those are people, you need to be all jolly to them!" attitude a lot of people have. Being harsh on the rules does not you don't respect them. People need to realize that it's a business.

There I disagree with you. A business should be run so that there is a comfortable atmosphere for the staff and a sense of job security otherwise it affects morale and inevitably will cause tension between staff. Can you imagine going to work everyday with the first though on your mind is "I have to protect myself from everyone else"? Staff need to be comfortable and be able to concentrate on doing their job instead of always havign to worry about being fired for ridiculous reasons.

 Sigvatr wrote:
Same goes for GW. GW is well-known for not caring about the customer's demand (and they are right about this) so what exactly do people expect from working at GW? A nice, family-ish atmosphere where your superior comes over for a cup of coffee and a slice of cake every so often? It's 2013, that's not gonna happen.

Again I disagree. GW was a very nice place to work. but over time so many staff left for various reasons and the new staff that came in were not exactly what I would call a "good fit" with the gaming community. They were there for their own advancement and nothing more.

[quote=Sigvatr 494695 5181825 d01b56a3d225495143a19d8d47e90f62.jpgIf you work at a company, you got superiors. They are superiors. Do what they ask you to do (as long as it's within legal rights) or quit the job. "Ladder-climbers" are good. They know what a business is about, they know what to do.

No editor jobs open? Clearly they are still in need of 1-3 of them.

 Goat wrote:
No editor jobs open? Clearly they are still in need of 1-3 of them.

This is a US hiring thread. I imagine the UK folks would have the design/editing jobs.

Just to throw in my 2 cents....I worked for GW both in retail and Direct Services. I loved the job, had great co-workers, got bonuses and raises and lots of free loot, got to travel all over America, spent a whole night drinking and chatting with Jervis, who is really a good guy. Did I see people get shafted....yes, and they usually deserved it. If I could work for them again, I would in a heartbeat.

Don't let the naysayers dissuade you from applying ( yes you...over there with the funny haircut).


Keith

++EDITED OUT++ Sorry, that was uncalled for.

 Sigvatr wrote:
I'm working at a translation company and it's not that far away from what Raven described before. There's 0 tolerance - if any employee fails to meet the timeline, he's fired. Immediately. No chance to get back. If you'd apply for a job, even if you were qualified, you'd have to wait for about 1-2 years before you could start working and thus, everyone in here is expendable.

It's how a business *should* run though, in my opinion. It's completely fair and I hate that "Man, those are people, you need to be all jolly to them!" attitude a lot of people have. Being harsh on the rules does not you don't respect them. People need to realize that it's a business.

Same goes for GW. GW is well-known for not caring about the customer's demand (and they are right about this) so what exactly do people expect from working at GW? A nice, family-ish atmosphere where your superior comes over for a cup of coffee and a slice of cake every so often? It's 2013, that's not gonna happen.

If you work at a company, you got superiors. They are superiors. Do what they ask you to do (as long as it's within legal rights) or quit the job. "Ladder-climbers" are good. They know what a business is about, they know what to do.

If you want changes, don't buy GW stuff. It's simple as that. As long as the cash keeps going, you will not see ANY changes towards a more customer-friendly environment; in the contrary, it will get worse.

That's the right way though. The customers decide what they want and as long as there's a profit, the customers agree with every decision the company makes. Vote with your wallet. It's a binary decision.

Buy stuff -> Yes, I fully agree with what you're doing.
Don't buy stuff -> I disagree and do not want to support your business decisions.

Nobody gives a flying cra...zy monkey about people who buy stuff and then complain about it. You bought it. Deal with it.

GW is a fair business. Don't like their way? Don't apply. If you really like GW and their products, I'd really suggest applying. It's similar to how most retail works and yes, you do get low wages, but at the same time, you made your hobby your job which is worth a lot already.

This is getting a little OT but this statement was so breathtaking in its naivety I had to say something.

It's a simple equation happy employees = a happy and therefore normally successful company.

If you treat your employees well then people will fall over themselves to work for you and allow you to cherry pick the best of them, further strengthening the organisation.

I was a good manager, my retail stores regularly hit their targets, but the fact I remain most proud of is that in around 7 years I never lost a team member through them choosing to leave or disciplinary reasons, the only time team members moved on was due to promotion, something that happened regularly. I believe this was in no small part down to my opinion that an employee is an asset to be nurtured and not a resource to be exploited.

The evidence suggests GW do not share my opinion.

As for the example you cite in your own job, I'd still rather have a team of experienced veterans than a constant influx of new blood, but YMMV.