Gisela Fourie: Making a difference in retail

Gisela Fourie leads a team of employees at the Woermann Brock branch in Katutura and says she enjoys every minute of the rewarding challenge.

Born and raised in Rehoboth, retail was never a part of the initial plan, but Fourie says looking back now, it is exactly where she is supposed to be.

Fourie’s long list of responsibilities includes managing daily operations, ensuring a safe and secure working environment, developing personal growth opportunities for her team, communicating job expectations to staff and planning and monitoring job results.

For her, the best part of the job is the opportunity to mentor and uplift her team.

“I love that I am able to coach and develop others and that I can help assist where trust building is needed,” Fourie says.

Fourie says she is often asked how she manages to work the long hours typically associated with retail.

Her response is simple: “If you have the love for something, like the love I have for my job, the long hours are more like an opportunity to spend more time doing what you love.”

Fourie says that one of the first lessons she learned in her new position was that accountability takes you a long way in life.

“We all need to take responsibility for our own situations and circumstances,” she advises.



Focus on staff, customers

Fourie takes pride in her work and hopes that through her work she can positively impact someone's life.

“I hope to one day know that because of the way I led my staff, I was able to change a life for the better,” says Fourie.

The manager spends a lot of her time thinking of ways to create and promote a healthy work environment and to help her staff find opportunities to develop.

However, despite the importance of a safe working environment, Fourie also emphasises one of the most critical aspects of the retail sector: customer service.

“What excites me most is the fact that I can provide the best customer experience to our clients by making sure that I present an environment that allows me to deliver on value,” she says.



Dream big

Fourie adds that as much as she loves her job, her dream is to one day be her own boss in the agriculture space.

“I would like to be my own boss one day and be able to create employment opportunities while enjoying my life to the fullest with my grandchildren.”

Her advice to the youth is to never limit themselves to what everyone else expects from them and to always ensure that whatever they do, they are happy.