Stock Ath is an important DIY store for professionals and private individuals established since 33 years in the region of Ath. A family business with two generations at its head, it employs 70 people. Melanie, daughter of the founders and HR manager of the structure juggles masterfully between tradition and modernity. The company's brand image is based on its durability, its family mentality and its constant desire to improve.
Stock Ath
Ambassador
As in any SME, the management of human resources is often associated with other tasks. At Stock Ath, it is Mélanie who is in charge of it with the help of a colleague. From the recruitment to the management of the contracts, through the payroll in partnership with their social secretariat, the duo has a lot of work to do.
In order to remain as close as possible to the teams and the reality of the field, Melanie combines her HR and administrative functions with communication and responsibility for several departments in the store (stock management, showroom layout, etc.).
Stock Ath, ambassadeur Protime : un savant mélange de tradition et de modernité
Stock Ath is an important DIY store for professionals and private individuals established since 33 years in the region of Ath. A family business with two generations at its head, it employs 70 people. Melanie, daughter of the founders and HR manager of the structure juggles masterfully between tradition and modernity. The company's brand image is based on its durability, its family mentality and its constant desire to improve.
Versatility and proximity for a human and modern resource management
Mélanie did not join her parents' company when she left school. She preferred to train in a small SME and in a social secretariat to acquire the versatility and skills necessary for this type of structure. With these few years of external experience, she joined Stock Ath in 2016.
With her colleague, she manages human resources in all their aspects; from recruitment to contract management through payroll in partnership with their social secretariat. In order to remain as close as possible to the teams and the reality on the ground, Mélanie combines her HR and administrative functions with communication and responsibility for several departments in the store (stock management, showroom layout, etc.).
This proximity to the employees allows Mélanie to perpetuate and reinforce the family tradition while adding a dose of modernity. This has resulted in organizational and logistical changes, as well as changes to the corporate culture, such as
- the organization of an annual staff party to replace the old five-yearly tradition
- the promotion of values through posters or during individual interviews (team spirit, respect, communication, customer service)
- installation of electronic labels with stock display to improve logistics management and the customer experience
- the installation of myProtime to improve payroll management. Human resources managers and employees alike are delighted with this new tool, which avoids many scheduling and compensation calculation errors.
Finding talent, a major challenge
Among the projects already completed, the most important took place more than two years ago with the expansion of the store's surface (+30%). This renovation aimed to modernize the store by adding a display area that is highly appreciated by customers and reinforces Stock Ath's advisory role. This growth in terms of display area has also implied an increase in recruitment over the last two years. The challenge was great because the profiles sought are technicians who wish to put their expertise at the service of the customers. The employees of the wood department are for example qualified carpenters who had never been salesmen before joining the company. Stock Ath is therefore suffering from the shortage of qualified profiles and can fortunately count on its good reputation and the image of stability and future that it conveys.
A lot of projects
As a logical follow-up to the efforts made over the last few years, Melanie is going to set up an annual interview system. The aim, beyond a moment of evaluation of the past year, is to take the time to give feedback to the employees and to let them express themselves on everything that concerns the well-being of the company.
The company, which has shown its interest in the customer experience by expanding its showroom, is finalizing an online catalog project. The idea is to present all 80,000 items on their website in order to give customers the possibility to prepare their visit (shopping list, location of products in store, ...).
The ambassadorship
Stock Ath is a Protime ambassador who shares many values with us and especially the vision of the customer who must be at the center of the development strategy. The customer experience is a factor that has become essential for any company, whether it works with other companies or individuals.
