People profile: Alex Foley

Regional Victoria Lead, Alex Foley, has been with 7-Eleven for approximately six years and believes the Agile way of working is having a profound and positive impact on customer choice and the speed at which new products and services can be delivered.

The new ways of working bring people together who have a range of skills and experiences to form squads. The Squads then go about finding solutions or implementing innovations that are focussed on meeting the needs of our customers.

As the product owner for the Regional Victoria Squad, Alex says that in the agile ways of working, squads can make informed decisions without a complex and time-consuming approvals process, which generally means they are getting better outcomes more quickly.

“What excites me about our new ways of working is the organisation trusts the capability of squads to innovate and problem solve and in return we take accountability for what we are delivering for our customers and our stores,” Alex said.

“I thrive on making sure our franchisees and corporate store managers are successful in their stores because that’s good for our customers.

“Working as part of an implementation squad, I not only get to play a part in executing so many initiatives for our customers but also broaden my skills through exposure to the expertise and experiences of other squad members.

Asked if he had any advice for operations and retail people who are unfamiliar with an agile way of working, he was unequivocal.

“Be prepared to be collaborative, open and transparent. Regularly ask for help, problem solve without fear of judgement, and be prepared to throw hierarchies and silos out of your working style!”

“Surprisingly, I have learnt that after you work in agile ways of working for a few months, the idea of going back seems scarier than the unknown transition to agile was.

“The empowerment to test, learn and grow isn’t just great for our store leaders and their teams, it also means we are accelerating our individual development. There is a huge opportunity to develop our skills in leadership, our business acumen and to broaden our core strengths in retail there for our people, and it’s incredibly exciting as a leader to see people take advantage of that,” Alex concluded.