Last week we got the keys to our new warehouse, taken our first delivery, organised a racking company, ordered a folk-lift truck, sorted the insurance, alarm, electric, CCTV, internet, printer etc.. but all that is easy compared to the job of recruitment.  

The important, delicate, careful, life-changing task of selecting a team to take AW Spain forward and forge future careers. Rodrigo (our Brazilian webmaster & fixer) has done a magnificent job placing ads, and then sifting through the 900+ applications and scheduling appointments for interview.  In the UK it's depressingly common that people don't make it to the interview, you can expect 30% not to turn up, sometimes even more.. here we have been interviewing 12 to 15 people each day.. and so far every single one has turned up. Amazingly and almost to a person a few minutes early.  It seems that good jobs with a respectable companies are hard to come by. The education levels are very high (even warehouse staff applicants seem to have university degrees) so it's not surprising that lots of young Spanish people move abroad for work. 

We had a surprising number of Antonio's - one or two Jesus's and lots of Juan's... One Juan after another Juan, "not another Juan!".. I joked - no-one thought that was funny..  thankfully not one Carlos. But all to a boy or girl really high standard and very polite and keen. All had done their homework and researched AW - some were massively enthusiastic to start working for us.

Interviewing staff is hard work, we specified that applicants should have some English language, but a few turned out to have limited English so we had to do it in Spanish.. which was interesting. The nervousness and stress rubs off on you and after a day of interviews, Tomas Rodrigo and I were just emotionally exhausted. After a week of it we are knackered.. 

Actually it was a humbling experience.  Listening to peoples stories, it made us all feel more appreciative that we have secure jobs that we love. 

One gentle guy, came happy to take a warehouse job, he was currently working for a big olive oil co-op. A major producer supplying supermarkets around the world. His job was a responsible one in the buying department - he'd just moved there (after a promotion) and within a month Donald Trump had destroyed it. The USA have recently introduced a tariff on EU olive oil and he told us that; that just wiped a massive chunk of business off the sales, putting the whole co-op into crisis. Visibly emotional and almost shaking he explained he couldn't support his family without a proper income and he had been told by his boss that his job could not be sustained for long and he should find something else. Hundreds of other people were also effected. It all seems so heartless.

It was "World Kindness Day" and it seems the world needs more kindness than ever before.

Now we have a short list of about 12 people, and from those we are trying to decide which 4 or 5 are going to be the founding staff of our new Spain company.  There are talents that are needed in the team, will the team gel together? is there a good balance of youth and experience, etc etc?.. We feel like the Strictly judges.. In this case the winners will take an all expenses paid trip to Sheffield to spend three weeks in intensive training, meeting all the AW people, developing relationships and making friends - they should even make it to the AW xmas party - before returning back to Spain to unleash AW products on the nation and beyond.  But honestly it's an incredibly difficult to decide.. Tomas, Rodrigo and I each have different feelings about how the team should work, and not forgetting these are life changing decisions not to be taken lightly. 

Meanwhile back in the UK.. Black Friday approaches.. and thus many deals are available.. also new stock arriving..see below.. we are MEGA busy so please beware it's taking a few days to dispatch. At one point this week we was 900 orders behind.. but I am assured it is all under control, extra people extra shifts, and everyone possible person picking and packing.. we should get through the backlog.. I'll keep you posted.

I know you are busy. Do take care and remember to be kind.. to yourself.. and also to others :)

David