shift manager

team member

retail supervisor

retail sales associate

store manager

Goodwill Greater Milwaukee & Chicago

Like any job, working at Goodwill has its pros and cons. 

If you are new(er) to the job force, you get to learn tons of new skills, including (but not limited to): cashiering, organizing EMR, working the fitting rooms, putting carts/racks away, pricing hard lines and soft lines, and helping with donations. Which, of course, is depending on what they hire you for. 

Management is not the best, in my opinion. Speaking from someone who benefits greatly from structure and having the ability to complete tasks, management is a little messy at times. First, there is frequent miscommunication. And second, I am hardly able to ever complete a task because at least one (or more) of the managers move me to work on something else because it's more "convenient" for them. 

Honestly, we don't get paid enough for the amount of work that is expected for us to get done in a single day. There are some days where I just feel so mentally and physically exhausted from working so much. But I still work here because it's pretty much the only accommodating place for me at the moment. 

It's not the work that I enjoy, but the people. When I first started my job at Goodwill, I struggled a lot with maintaining eye contact and lacked social skills. My confidence has grown significantly, along with my social skills and eye contact. The majority of my co-workers are friendly, sociable people. Spending time with my co-workers and managers are probably my favorite part of the day because I like seeing the different personalities that they all have. 

One negative that I would like to point out is the dirty/hazardous salesfloor. The broom that the janitor-associate uses doesn't clean nearly as much as it should be. I almost want to just take a vacuum to the floor and suction up all of the hand-sized dust bunnies and stray pieces of glass. If they actually moved the shelving units (at least once a month) when sweeping the floor, they'd notice how much glass and other items are shoved under it. It's just a very filthy area. 

PROS: 
-Benefits
-Friendly co-workers
-Employee discount 
-Flexible scheduling 
-Helpful managers 

CONS: 
-Pay
-Occasional overbearing workload
-Over-crowded workspace
-Dirty/hazardous salesfloor
-Occasionally scheduled for worktimes that you said you couldn't work

Goodwill as a company is becoming more and more problematic because the focus has shifted from the mission (employment/ providing opportunities/ well-being of employees/employing people with disabilities or hardships) and is now profit and numbers based. In the couple years I worked for goodwill ecommerce it went from a fun and exciting environment, where our managers would jump right in and work alongside us and guide us, to now it being a sterile, no talking, spread out, uninspiring environment. We used to take walks, do stretches, have group meetings- which are all done away with because that’s less time for making money. There are no incentives for doing well, they like to highlight when you are not meeting goals or making numbers/profit. The newer management really doesn’t seem to know what they’re doing, or how to foster a productive work environment. It seems like they kind of “aged in” to their positions, not like they’re deserving of them. They send out passive aggressive emails telling you to “pay attention to time wasters” and “don’t move at a snails pace”, even though the numbers are being met and exceeded….It’s also hard to make a living working there, they pay poverty level wages. If you want to advance, conveniently there will be “no time” to train you. 

Management seems to be very threatened and resistant to insight or ideas from employees. Which is bizarre, maybe some training courses would be helpful. 

It’s also sad that people with disabilities who can’t make their quotas are basically pushed around in other areas, or disregarded as trash and let go. It’s bizarre to think about this company and everything it stands for, but it’s really the opposite in reality.

This place DOES have potential to be an amazing place to work, maybe if management changed, and there was a focus on employee incentives, wellness, increase in pay, and more strategic layout.

There is never consistent and straightforward  training when you are hired. You shadow other employees and sometimes you shadow people who have only been there a couple weeks longer than you have, and each one just kind of teaches you their style. The mystery shopper ordeal and corporate visits are a hassle. They expect you to get multiple clothing racks done during a shift even when theres only two people on the floor the whole day. The customers are so rude and treat you as something less than a human just because it’s a thrift store. There’s a major transaction problem with language barriers between customers and cashiers. The discount is like 15% or something. The pay is $10 which isn’t bad but it’s not great for the tasks they have cashiers do (display case attendant, fitting room attendant, cashier, customer service, getting carts, cleaning up broken glass, cleaning up clothing displays, trying not to lose your sanity). Overtime is also mandatory and sometimes you shift is 3:30-10 but you don’t leave until 11 or 11:30 (pm).  I left for these reasons: i found a better place to work,  the managers are hard to work with sometimes, scheduling is inconsistent at times, the high turnover rate, getting out late at night, and sky hi expectations for floor people. My co-workers are the one thing that made it kind of ok. You can’t leave the building at all during 15minute breaks. You can leave during 30minute breaks if you work 6+ hours which doesn’t include overtime that you are forced into. I worked there for a pretty long time but I couldn’t  handle it anymore

Don’t be fooled by the name, Goodwill holds no good will toward their employees. From the outrageous “points” system for attendance, regardless of your living situation or health issues, to the almost nonexistent chance of being promoted(they’d rather hire new employees that don’t know what they’re doing, instead of promoting from within, just to save money) to the outrageous quotas for items going onto the floor when there is NO room to put anything where it belongs, it’s an absolute mess. Management wants you to forget your morals and ignore all the corruption and wrongdoing in the company. Managers will talk behind your back, and in my case, even threaten coworkers you associate with, by withholding promotions just for associating with you. If you aren’t a good little boy and do everything they ask without questioning the flawed system, they’ll put a target on your back to call out every single little thing you do wrong, and cut your hours until you’re barely working enough to support living. Maybe this isn’t all Goodwill locations, but the one I worked at was this way. Corporate is so incredibly out of touch with the employees, I wouldn’t be shocked if it was a widespread issue. The only good things I can really say about the company, is the other associate employees you meet are some of the most incredible people you’ll meet. Absolutely loved my coworkers to death. The 20% discount is cool too 

At Goodwill I was a hardliners pricer, I often sorted through bins with broken glass in them, mice, mice droppings, and mold/moldy objects and moldy wet clothing. If you were to become a pricer you will often get merch from the Goodwill warehouse, most of your encounter with mice and mice droppings will come from these bins. The management team I've worked with at Goodwill are awful, they will demean you, dismiss you and treat you as less than. The managers don't communicate with you or each other, creating a confusing environment.  They treat trivial and petty issues as felonies and threaten write ups over little things. If you are late and call ahead as warning, you will get points. If you miss  day, even with a DRs note you will get a point. You can earn unlimited amounts of paid sick leave but can only use 40 HRs a year, after you use it all you will get points. They are very strict with their point system. Goodwill is so insistent at pushing out product they WILL jeopardize you as a person and your health. They don't seem trust the people they hire for the positions they hire them in so your actions will be questioned very often. The hardest part of the job was dealing with mice and mice droppings, stress inducing managers, regular locker and station audits and strict petty rules. The most enjoyable part of my job was the people I got to work with, but good coworkers alone doesn't make a work place worth it.

I manage one of the galleys at Great Lakes Naval Station, serving over 3000 meals to the recruits daily. My day begins with greeting most of the employees and releaving the current supervisor, going over the current days menu, dividions fed, divisions still to serve and go over any concerns of the day. During each meal, I am hands on to all the galley work stations, kitchen, dining room, dish room, over seeing the production and service to the recruits. I oversee all the emolyees to keep them motivated and on task. After the meals are served, I begin the next meals menus, production figures, fill out our financials, schedule the staff of 20 - 30 and have an employee pre-shift meeting to inform, teach and motivate our staff for the next meal. The closing for the night is making sure the kithen food is properly cared for,galley is clean, and the emolyees are out as scheduled. All financial reports for the dinner shift are completed. The most difficult part of the job are the employees and the most enjoyable part of the job are the employees. I believe in the Goodwill mission, "Goodwill provides training, employment and supportive services for people with disabilities or disadvantages who seek greater independance".

a typical day at work varies for me, some days i work in the morning and price in the back and others i close in the front. producing is laid back and chill most of the time, but working in the front (cashier) gets overwhelming very quick. somedays when i come in to close, i have to produce for half of my shift then put away the things i produced, clean up the all of the clothes people leave everywhere and make sure the isles look neat all within 5 hours, being assigned fitting rooms and being able to produce is no joke💔besides the work load in general and the customers that dont clean up after themselves whatsoever, the place has an overall positive atmosphere. management is very laidback and help out all around the store.  mostly all of the employees get along and honestly, the team is what makes all the boringness and crazy stuff that goes on at goodwill tolerable. the most enjoyable part of the job is when youve just got finished with everything early on a closing shift and you get to mess around with the fun things that get donated. if youre a laid back person with a big personality, this jobs a good pick for you but beware, cashier position can get overwhelming very quick

What is the best part of working at the company?
Helping are service men and woman  it offers you the ability to give back .  the over all experiences ,while having a chance to move up in the company .this  job teaches you patience and capacity as you work along side those less fortunate. this  job offers you an opportunity to build people skills and character , while you work with a variety of different individuals, it also provide you the chance to develop your abilities  in different work related task.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful part if any I would have to saying is dealing with multiple personalities, if any but overall I would say this was the easy job I've ever done. vary laid back it ran pretty smooth. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The environment is busy with a complexed culture but it runs pretty smoothly as long as you do your job.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
A typical day for me was to clock in going to the meeting and get to work. It's a sociable environment I truly loved the job it was simple and very comprehensive I only had one issues I got hurt on the job by slipping on a puddles of water and the situation wasn't handle properly

I've been with goodwill, for about Six years. Schedules are flexible, you must either,be available to work at least One day of the weekend, If you're considered a casual employee. Full-time workers, must work every -other weekend. The hardest part about the job I would say, is keeping the conveyor belt full with merchandise, for the production associates to meet their daily production goals Goodwill requires. The reason it's hard because Goodwill only sales quality gently used merchandise, and goodwill uses bins that we put are donations in, and people tend to donate random things from home. So sorting threw for good merchandise, and keeping the belt loaded at all times could be a great challenge, as a donation attendant/production associate at Goodwill. I've learned at goodwill how to be a professional, as well has have good time management skills. Co-workers are cool, and collective fun to talk to rarely any problems a high turnover rate a ton of new employees every six months or so on. Management are nice, they also have a high turnover rate, management is approachable about a lot of situations. The best part about the job, is when I get to drive the forklift  you get to relax your legs lol..

A typical day would consist of answering calls to the Help Desk. Managing emails that come into the Help Desk. Assist users that walk in with IT related issues or questions. Attend training and project meetings. Assist users with hardware or software issues on site, off site or by using Remote Assistance. Install software and set up hardware. Basic troubleshooting of Cisco phone issues, routers, switches, Epicor POS and many other programs and applications. Create documentation. I have learned many things working at Goodwill. I have learned how to troubleshoot the Epicor POS system and it's hardware at our retail locations. I have learned how to replace and order hardware. I have learned how to multitask in my current role. My supervisor is a well balanced and intelligent person. She always goes above and beyond for her employees. She is tech savvy and has great customer service skills. My co-workers are also very independent,and have great customer service and technical skills. We are a great team. At this time, there are no hard parts to my job. I enjoy every aspect of my job, especially knowing the customer is happy.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Shift manager 31 salaries reported	$19.00 per hour
Team member 623 salaries reported	$15.08 per hour
Retail supervisor 155 salaries reported	$19.00 per hour
Retail sales associate 12 salaries reported	$15.00 per hour
Store manager 13 salaries reported	$84,053 per year

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