Nothing is going well at Auchan Senegal, where the atmosphere is indescribable. In addition to the cascading departures, with constantly changing staff, it’s a hassle for customers and staff alike: cashiers, shelves and cleaners. And why ?
There are no longer enough staff at Auchan. The observation is there and raises several questions. The situation is even more flagrant at Auchan 2 Thiès, where it is the waltz of the staff. All-out departures, permutations with volunteers who took charge of the car park who suddenly find themselves parachuted into the rays. “Lack of personnel”, we are told. Yes, the staff is lacking in this Auchan store, the largest in the rail capital. The atmosphere there is very noxious. Faces closed, difficult to tear a smile from the staff. They have almost all lost this joie de vivre, this passion with which they joined the Auchan team. They stayed, in spite of themselves, they say for the most part.
Auchan, a company that “exploits its staff” and “no longer makes people dream”
What has changed since the installation of these Auchan stores? Many things. “Wages have fallen sharply, support too, as well as benefits”, tells us this ex-employee of Auchan to justify his departure from this “company which exploits its staff. Only a handful of people get sugar at Auchan, which is no longer a dream”. Yes, Auchan no longer makes people dream. Not even customers. In this store of the French giant, you enter refreshed by the air conditioning of your car and you come out soaked in sweat. It was indeed very hot, which certainly had an impact on the products, but also on the staff who spend most of their time there.
A heat which means that many customers prefer to fall back on Auchan 1, opposite the central police, where the temperature is lower, except that it is very cramped and cannot support a large crowd. The immediate consequence is that customers who have the possibility fall back on the competitor, Carrefour, whose only store in Thiès is located at the entrance to the city, opposite the Lat Dior stadium. Here at least, there is the choice, and on the products, better arranged, on the environment, cleaner and fresher, and on the welcome, warmer. It must be said, at Carrefour, the faces do not reflect the revolt. So much the better for the customers who are still kings there.
“It’s hot here, there are not enough staff and we are very poorly paid”
Why all these dysfunctions at Auchan? “The operating account. This is what tires the leaders”, we are told. How so, we ask? “That’s what makes it hot here, there are not enough staff and we are very poorly paid. It is the operating account that creates this situation”, deplores our interlocutor on condition of anonymity. What is the operating account? In accounting, it is defined as a summary of all of the company’s income and expenses over an accounting year. As soon as the income exceeds the expenses, the company is considered profitable, which gives it a certain capacity for self-financing.
The operating account, it is said, highlights the profitability of the business model of the company and allows partners as well as investors to appreciate the profitability of the activities. It also allows managers to be informed regarding the expenditure items to which the wealth accumulated by the company is allocated. They therefore have the possibility of requiring the reduction of overheads and staff, following having analyzed the evolution of turnover. And it is this gymnastics that would lead the management of Auchan to play on levers, in particular by lowering the electricity bill through actions on air conditioning and reductions in salary and even staff. Actions that are harming the French giant.
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