April Askin
Farmington,MI
Summary
Results-driven Executive with over a decade of experience in guest service and operational management. Strong communicator skilled in cross-cultural team leadership, promoting a guest-centric culture that boosts profitability. Proven ability to build strategic partnerships with organizational leaders, aligning initiatives to achieve common objectives while fostering high-performing teams focused on customer satisfaction.
Overview
11
11
years of professional experience
Work History
Executive Team Leader General Merchandise & Food
Target
Chesterfield, MI
05.2021 - 08.2024
- Built and managed guest-first culture on team, enhancing guest service fundamentals.
- Knowledge of retail business fundamentals: department sales trends, inventory management, freshness and quality, guest shopping patterns, pricing and promotions strategies.
- Experience in setting and planning department(s) monthly/quarterly workload to support business priorities and managing team to deliver on sales goals.
- Knowledge of competition; leveraging insights to drive business objectives.
- Experience managing team of hourly team members and leaders; and creating business specific strategies and goals.
- Skills in recruiting, selecting, and talent management of 88 hourly team members and 5 team leaders.
- Drove total store sales by aligning department goals with overall profitability through maintenance of green metrics.
- Developed strategy and utilizing Greenfield, MyTime and Workday planning tools to manage all scheduled workload ensuring we are guest ready at all times.
- Lead Team Leaders to effectively plan workload including store transitions, planogram, price change, stocking and back stocking.
- Created scheduling plan in partnership with Team Leaders based off of monthly and weekly business workload and guest traffic.
- Enable efficient delivery to our guests by leading pick, pack and ship fulfillment work.
- Create guest-based culture that prioritizes guest experience and delivers on store sales goals.
- Drive team to be experts in operations, accuracy and efficiency.
- Monitored and analyzed competitor activities to enhance market positioning.; leverage guest insights and feedback to drive business and be destination of choice for our guests.
- Manage consistent experience for guests by ensuring product is in stock, fresh, available, food safe, and accurately priced and signed on sales floor with minimal disruption to guest.
- Oversaw food operations, ensuring compliance with safety and quality standards., food service, inbound, outbound, replenishment, inventory accuracy, presentation, pricing and promotional signing processes for select GM areas of store.
- Assess all General Merchandise & Food backroom and sales floor areas, walk Food & Beverage Standards to assess priorities in food and review GM/Food reporting to identify gaps and develop a plan to resolve.
- Validate Food & Beverage Team Leader's execution of business plan and assignment sheet process. Follow-up on their management of DSD vendor performance.
- Managed food and beverage team to uphold Starbucks standards.
- Foster productive relationship with Starbucks DM and follow up on key takeaways from store visits.
- Maintained award winning Starbucks Team with consistently high guest connection score, Top score in district monthly and top 8 in region consistently
- Organized, directed, and monitored operational changes to ensure effective implementation. on organizational and operational change.
- Establish culture of accountability through clear expectations and performance management.
- Forecasted staffing requirements to meet business demands and optimize workforce efficiency., talent plan and recruit both long and short term.
- Recruited and hired talented individuals bringing depth and experience to the organization.
- Led operational strategies to enhance team performance and exceed sales targets.
- Mentored team members on customer service excellence and product knowledge.
- Implemented inventory management processes to reduce stock discrepancies.
- Streamlined training programs to improve onboarding efficiency for new hires.
- Analyzed operational workflows to identify areas for process improvement.
- Coordinated cross-functional initiatives to drive store-wide merchandising efforts.
- Fostered a collaborative work environment, enhancing team cohesion and morale.
- Developed performance metrics to monitor team productivity and service levels.
- Improved overall team performance with regular coaching, mentoring, and employee development initiatives.
- Oversaw daily operations, ensuring adherence to regulatory requirements, organizational policies, and industry standards.
- Enhanced customer satisfaction with exceptional service delivery and timely issue resolution.
- Led cross-functional teams for streamlined communication and efficient project execution.
- Managed risk effectively through proactive identification of potential issues and implementation of mitigation strategies.
- Mentored employees to help improve skills and enable team members to become peak performers on job.
- Fostered positive work environment by promoting collaboration, open communication, and mutual respect among team members.
- Delivered high-quality results by setting clear expectations, providing resources, and closely monitoring progress.
- Established performance metrics for continuous improvement initiatives across various departments within the organization.
Closing Team Leader
Target
Shelby Township, MI
01.2018 - 05.2021
- Oversaw daily store operations to ensure efficiency and customer satisfaction. during afternoon to closing shift.
- Served as acting senior leader during absence of store director to ensure continuity. of senior leadership and store director.
- Supervised and coordinated activities of 20 sales and style team members, ensuring smooth operations and effective teamwork. 20 sales floor and style team members
- Managed front end operations to ensure efficient service and cash handling. teams and oversaw cash office procedures.
- Monitored sales, customer service, and quality audit metrics, identifying key areas to maximize profitability through strategic execution.
- Supervised team members to confirm compliance with established procedures and quality standards.
- Mentored and guided employees to foster proper completion of assigned duties.
- Conducted training and mentored team members to promote productivity, accuracy, and commitment to friendly service.
- Established open and professional relationships with team members to achieve quick resolutions for various issues.
- Promoted high standards through personal example to help each member understand expected behaviors and standards.
- Cultivated positive relationships with vendors to deliver timely and cost-effective supply of services and materials.
Service and Engagement Team Leader
Target
Shelby Township, MI
09.2016 - 09.2018
- Built team of 52 Guest Advocates and equipped them to deliver amazing guest service.
- Coached and motivated teams, facilitating their development and addressing accountability.
- Monitored team performance and provided constructive feedback to increase productivity and maintain quality standards.
- Cultivated strong customer relationships through positive interactions and attentive service.
- Met with Store Managers regularly to discuss day-to-day operations, upcoming store events, promotions, and training.
- Managed cash wrap operations to ensure efficient guest service
- Educated guests on Target Circle and online ordering, enhancing engagement with red card program.
- Promoted to Closing Team Leader
- Trained and assisted up to 75 service members regularly
Tech Team Member
Target
Shelby Township, MI
09.2013 - 02.2016
- Completed jobs quickly and accurately, supporting overall team success.
- Operated register to process payments and collect cash payment for order totals.
- Learned all required tasks quickly to maximize performance.
- Developed strong cooperative relationships with coworkers and managers.
- Worked different stations to provide optimal coverage and meet production goals.
- Maintained productive, efficient approach to all tasks.
- Trained new team members by relaying information on company procedures and safety requirements.
- Gained strong customer service and product knowledge skills, improving team performance.
- Assisted customers in selecting merchandise best suited to needs.
- Assisted with inventory counts and stocking of merchandise.
- Addressed and resolved customer complaints in polite and professional a manner.
- Monitored and verified all merchandise was properly priced and labeled.
- Maintained top sales for guest add-on sales for three years, driving department sales to green metric and increasing overall sales from 17% to 28%
- Led team initiatives to improve collaboration and productivity.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Criminal Justice
University of Phoenix
Tempe, AZSkills
- Operations
- Operational management
- Client retention
- Customer Relationships
- Order processing
- Execution of merchandising plans
- Inventory control
- Workflow management
- Performance metrics
- Performance goals
- Team leadership
- Team management
- Cross-functional leadership
- Cross-departmental leadership
- Staff Management
- Staff development
- Staff training
- Personnel management
- Team Development
- Executive leadership
- Executive team leadership
- Customer focus
- Client relationships
- Customer Relationships
- Client retention
- Relationship building and management
- Relationship management
- Business development
- Communication skills
- Proficient In Workday and MyTime
- Performance reviews
- Performance reviews
- Risk oversight
- Employee scheduling
- Executive assistance
- Client retention
- Risk oversight
- Operational management
- Workflow management
- Performance reviews
Work Preference
Work Type
Full TimePart TimeLocation Preference
RemoteOn-SiteHybridTimeline
Executive Team Leader General Merchandise & Food
Target
05.2021 - 08.2024
Closing Team Leader
Target
01.2018 - 05.2021
Service and Engagement Team Leader
Target
09.2016 - 09.2018
Tech Team Member
Target
09.2013 - 02.2016
Bachelor of Science - Criminal Justice
University of Phoenix