Not as fun as it looks....... - ASM- Assistant Store Manager Five Below Employee Review

This company is the poster child for precarious employment and also an organization that believes in a "bad job strategy." The store operates with a lean labor model, and they treat most employees as disposable. The company’s main concern is growth and opening new stores. Nothing in my experience leads me to believe that FB employees are a high priority at the company. There was no attempt at providing wages that people can live on, affordable health insurance so they can access health care or work-family policies such as scheduling regular hours so employees can meet their non-work obligations. Five below works best as a stop-gap job for part-timers and a resume builder for people who want to add assistant manager on their resume. If you are not the store manager, the position can be equated to either a cashier or warehouse associate. The company operates with chaotic operations, and The labor strategy leaves you in a downward spiral. Vicious cycle: Small labor budget >; Low quantity and quality of Labor >; Poor operational execution>; Low Sales. Small labor budget (exacerbated by the GM and DM hoarding of hours to achieve quarterly bonuses ) >; Low quantity and quality of Labor ( Store only offers part-timers from 0-10 hours a week; as a result most high performing employees either leave or become disengaged within 2 to 3 months) >; Poor operational execution ( the company has unrealistic expectations especially when it comes to the store nightly recovery; decent store recovery is too difficult to perform reliably every time with only two people) >; Low Sales. While vacation and personal time are competitive, nothing else really is. The pay is not competitive, the health benefits are pretty weak, and low-level employees average around 10 or fewer hours a week. FB does not invest in employee wages. The Employees raises are far and in between. You may get a 25 cent increase every other year. There are only two full-time positions in the store: Store Manager and Assistant Manager and both are pretty much stock boys or girls and cashiers. My experience at Five Below. The management’s behaviors and actions created a toxic store culture, in the workplace, Organizational trust for me did not exist because while the upper management seemed to be nice, they never seemed to be committed to resolving major work environment issues. Coworker relationships suffered because of the Managements lack of commitment to the people and production in the store they refused to follow policies that would create a more fair and equitable environment. The work at FB was not meaningful work or rewarding the best part of the day was engaging with a happy child and/or clocking out to go home. Recognition happened occasionally, but feedback and growth were nonexistent. The staff under management lacked empowerment and a voice; management ignored most requests and input on processes and procedures. When you insisted on a topic no matter how diplomatic or eloquently you made your point, the Manager would become strangely frustrated and erupt in anger, using unprofessional sarcasm or condescension, I suppose this was a strategy to maintain unquestioned authority and preserve the status quo. Overall the management displayed all the characteristics of an indifferent or impoverish manager they demonstrated little or no concern for their management team or general staff, and they also seemed to care very little about delivering operational results. Overall most of their time was spent securing a “golden schedule,” CYA activities and doing just enough work to keep their job. If you are expecting any training or development, or for any policies and procedures to be upheld especially any policies that we contribute to a fair and equitable workplace you will be thoroughly disappointed. The management did not communicate expectations they didn’t even bother discussing ASM yearly reviews with either of their assistant managers before or after submitting them. Overall the Management had a stunning ability to be ineffective as a boss and a leader. The people who benefited the most were all the toxic personalities who knew how to benefit from a complete lack of leadership. Honest employees were left to fend for themselves. I was extremely disappointed in my experience at five below. From my vantage point, Five Below is an example of what work life is like when companies are engaged in a race to the bottom and externalize cost to both their customers and employees by, both understaffing stores causing services to suffer, and neglecting the employee experience.