This article was written by Metcash Program Manager, Jimish Patwa.
To understand how my journey with Metcash started, we have to rewind right back to 2018. It was the beginning of that year when I happened to walk through the doors of Metcash as a contractor, ready to test my skills in IT project management. In what some may describe as a trial by fire, one of the first projects I worked on was the implementation of our the HRIS system (Success Factors). For me though, this was an incredible opportunity to build a strong understanding of Metcash’s people landscape and our company purpose.
Right from those first few months, I was bought in.
I was seeing first-hand the amount of variety and progression opportunities on offer, and vowed to throw my hat in the ring at every chance I had to grow my skills and evolve my career.
Diversifying my Metcash experience
One of the most memorable moves I made at Metcash was out of IT and into Retail channels. I was set to lead the projects portfolio, which was a big milestone in my career to date. When I joined it was a team of just one. But that team of one has now grown to a small but mighty team of six, and looking back I’m so proud of the success we’ve seen that led to our growth.
They say variety is the spice of life, and that’s something I’ve taken very seriously in my Metcash career. Over these years I’ve worked on projects that supported IT, suppliers, retailers, state teams and even corporate projects including finance and people & culture. When I was ready for my next challenge, I looked at the diverse departments I had worked with and asked myself “what’s remaining?”. The answer was logistics.
Logistics is really the heartbeat of Metcash. It’s the core of our workforce and our operations, and I was invigorated by the opportunity to work on projects that touched our independent retailer network so directly.
Family values
If variety and opportunity were the benchmarks for a great career, then I think it would be fair to say that Metcash couldn’t be beaten for me. But in all transparency, those two things are not the experiences I’d rank the highest from my time here. The one thing that sticks out to me most is the relationships I’ve built, and the genuine sense of camaraderie we share across this organisation.
Everyone else shows sincere care for our purpose. Sharing a common goal has been such a great motivator for working together collaboratively and efficiently. And it’s not just the in-work situations where our relationships shine through. It’s the family values that run deep through our organisation. If someone has a family priority, everything from a sick relative to child’s school musical, Metcash is truly supportive of us balancing work with family life, and backing each other to put the important things first.
My big family news
The family values across Metcash are extremely evident to me right now. As it happens, I am actually headed off on a 10 week paternity leave as a first time dad, starting from next week.
I know that I am part of a small group of males who have taken the opportunity to take the time off and be with my newborn. Being lucky enough to be in this pot is not something that is lost on me. Everyone at Metcash, from the leadership team to my reporting manager, have been so incredibly supportive of me taking the time off.
I believe there is absolutely an opportunity for other fathers out there to be able to take this time out from work without it impacting your career. For me, I’m so excited about not missing the precious early moments with my family and knowing I have a job I love to come back to in a few months’ time.
So, I’ll see you all on the other side of my parental leave!
