4: Rob Slaski | "The Truth About Loyalty‪"‬ Frontline of the Future

This week, Peter hunkers down with Rob Slaski. Having spent an impressive 30 years at Asda, Rob is now COO of mighty retail solutions operator, Dee Set. Rob’s long and varied career in retail has seen him graduate from stacking shelves on the Asda shop floor to directing the retail giant’s store design. When Peter laudes him for his enduring loyalty, Rob replies that loyalty is ‘created’: a symbiosis that comes from being fed constant responsibility and opportunity. 

For him, Covid-19 has been ‘challenging, proud, surreal’. Despite the difficulty - after all, the retail sector has had to deal with food (and toilet paper) shortages – it has shown him what his staff are truly capable of. He’s learnt to ‘unleash the talent you have - faster.’ Part of this has involved cancelling 90% of meetings: “we’ve found a faster way to work, and we love it.” The situation has arguably forced all UK retailers into digital maturity: how does Rob see this panning out? 

In his opinion, frontline jobs and merchendising will always be relevant: "we will always need someone on the shop floor.” He sees the frontline of the future being one that relies on agility and fluidity more than anything; jobs being safe, but repurposed and less rigid. That way, we can leverage a more holistic approach to working that takes into account people’s skillsets beyond their job spec, and allows them to go further and take risks, just as he has done in his career. 

“The skills are already out there; it’s tapping into them and networking them into something really special.”