A New Chapter Begins in National Recycling Operations
On April 1, an exciting transition took place in Saskatchewan. Through a collaborative partnership, The Salvation Army’s Prairies and Northern Territories Division transferred the oversight of the Moose Jaw and Assiniboia thrift stores, along with the provincial sorting centre, to the Army’s National Recycling Operations (NRO). The goal of this move is to free corps officers/pastors from the management of these operations, allowing them to focus more closely on ministry/community work while giving stores specialized support to operate even more effectively.
According to Michele Walker, the director of planning and strategic initiatives for NRO, this transition has been in development for a couple of years.
“At the beginning, our focus was on building relationships with the staff, establishing trust and providing support. We wanted to learn about the people, the community, the stores and work together to bridge gaps,” Michele says.
Early Improvements are paying off
Since the official transition, NRO has brought in multiple initiatives to enhance the stores and sorting centre. The most significant is the Point-of-Sale (POS) system, which helps staff track daily sales more efficiently. Additionally, store layouts have been updated and the locations are receiving more merchandise, creating a more engaging and customer-friendly shopping experience.
These changes have already shown some positive results, with sales going up 15 percent over budget.
The idea for the transition came from Major Mike Hoeft, area commander for the Prairies and Northern Territories Division. He wanted officers/pastors to dedicate more time to community programs and congregational work, so he approached NRO to explore a partnership.
“We wanted to bring consistency and financial stability by having NRO take the lead. We wanted to ensure corps officers/pastors were able to focus on their main responsibility, which is to lead ministry,” Major Hoeft shares.
When the announcement was first made, there was some concern among staff at the thrift stores and sorting centres.
“Any change is difficult and brings some fear. But it didn’t take long for staff to see the value of having NRO take on the leadership,” Major Hoeft says.
NRO addressed a lot of these concerns by assuring Salvation Army staff that the locations would not lose their identity.
A store supervisor’s perspective
Robin Van-Strien, supervisor of the Moose Jaw thrift store, was initially uncertain about what the transition would be like.
“At first, you wonder if it’s going to have a negative effect and you worry about your job security,” Robin shares. “But I feel much better about it now and it all seems to be going well so far. Sales have increased, and we are receiving more merchandise from the warehouse. We are also turning products over faster, so new items can come in and customers notice that. We have also extended our hours of operation and added more staff.”
Although Robin says adjusting to the POS system was challenging at first, she does think it has made operations more efficient. She is also looking forward to future changes.
“We are getting new racks and changing the layout of the store. I am excited to see how that goes.”
Looking ahead
This transition could pave the way for other Salvation Army thrift stores to follow.
“We have tracked the process along the way to learn some lessons that could be helpful going forward in potentially making this a model that could be replicated across the country. Not for every store, but there are definitely a few church-run stores that would work in this model,” Major Hoeft says.
By Juan Romero
