commis d'entrepôt

warehouse associate

counter sales representative

inside sales representative

outside sales representative

Wolseley Canada Inc.

There's a lot of talk about people moving on to other departments, but if you're the best at what you're doing and nobody else can stay employed in your department long enough to replace you: you're not going anywhere.

Management tries to find potential in ground-floor workers, and is always pushing for people to try their best by promising advancements -- but there are only so many "better" positions within the company.  Sales seems to be where most people in ground-floor positions want to end up, but once again: only so many positions need to be filled and competition to move up (or even between departments) is fierce.

More than a few people have told Upper Management (to their face) that they don't view their jobs as their long-term goals and that they see no room for advancement, and Upper Management would just sigh, shrug and nod (as if to say "Yeah, it is what it is").

The hardest part of Inventory Control is getting used to what seems to be a lack of common sense from other departments.  But then again:  if people did their job properly, there wouldn't be a need for so many Inventory Control Clerks in the first place.

If you speak up against a Manager: expect to be put under a microscope and have yourself fired inside of 6 months -- and they will use *anything* against you. This one person had a child and (even though it was illegal to punish someone for taking time off of work when it was to look after a child) they started writing this person up for missing work due to medical appointments this person's child had to attend.  They said this person had used up all of their sick day time and vacation time, and that they were being disciplined for taking more time than allowed.
And it was clear to see that this person was being centered out, due to the fact that they had spoken out against an overly abusive manager -- at least 3 other people in the warehouse had used up all of their sick-day time and vacation time, but still took their kids to various appointments and still kept their jobs.  The legal guidelines the company was following were by-the-book and followed company policy - yes.  But this person was a single parent and the company knew this person was taking time off to look after their child.  So they were riding pretty close to the line by taking disciplinary action against someone who was looking after a child -- the person would have had a very good case in Court against them if the person had stayed and continued to receive such treatment.  I heard the person moved away from the city for personal reasons and had to quit.

There is a definite disconnect between upstairs management/administration and the ground-floor workers that pull everything together.  Whether it be the birthday cakes that are bought for office employees but not warehouse employees (and scraps are provided to warehouse employees after office employees and sales staff have had their fill), or the lack of a functioning social club for warehouse workers that was stripped away by upper-managment (even though there are plenty of upper-office social events still paid on company money, and the social club was paid for by the workers themselves).

HR seems a bit too buddy-buddy with Management and Administration (and even some Sales types), to the point where favoritism could probably be proven pretty easily -- which is why problems with Managers overstepping their job descriptions by being abusive are not reported to HR as often as they should be.  A lot of ground-floor people believe that HR is there to protect and be friends with Management and upwards, while the ground-floor people are viewed as expendable in most cases.  HR is supposed to represent everyone equally, but if you read between the lines: you can see there's a certain culture that wants to be upheld by certain people advancing while others are held back or disciplined "to the letter" while others doing the exact same thing are not even verbally warned or written up.

Salespeople going against company safety policy by entering the warehouse without the minimum required PPE was an almost daily occurence, but "they bring the money in" so it's just shrugged off in most cases.

You can work hard, follow the company policy, keep the place clean, go above-and-beyond your job description, and still get shut down for a raise when the annual employee reviews are done.  And when Management isn't around: workers who have been there for years will tell you that whatever your starting wage was - that's what you'll get for many, many years before you'll ever see a raise.  I spoke to one co-worker who was a Manager of a department for more than 5 years and this person had still not received a single dime of a wage increase.

The most enjoyable part of the job was the people you worked with. Most people will pull together at Wolseley to get a customer helped as soon as possible.  There are a lot of genuinely underappreciated people who work in the warehouse.  People who know their stuff, but have just never stepped up to a better role (or got sick of being passed over and reverted to doing just - and *only just* - what their job description asks of them).  But that's what happens when you have only so many better positions and everyone wants them -- people get overlooked and either move on to a different place to work, or become stagnant in their jobs and performances. (It's just the nature of the business I guess).  But the people themselves are great.

Wages were well below industry average when compared to accurate data. Employee Benefit pkg was changed occasionally to advantage of employer. Impossible to identify culture/values because what management said was too often at odds w/ what was expected. Too many excellent fellow employees discovered too late how little their contributions were appreciated; job security was non-existent. A Union might have been a good thing here. Most managers had no clue regarding the actual amount of work required to accomplish the goals set. Those that tried to improve such situations were almost always overridden by the more remote (& less capable) upper management. Work/life balance was (mostly) ignored when it suited management short term goals.

At first it was a decent place to work. Wages were OK but not great. Occasionally there were perks such as free meals & paid time off. Company resources (shop, tools, vehicles etc) were reasonably available for employees to borrow/use. Time was allotted (& not infringed upon) for any extra work required (ie: clean up @ end of day). Gradually things changed; wages did not keep up w/ inflation, perks reduced, staff functions drastically cut (most notably Christmas parties) or scheduled during work breaks, resources severely restricted and work demands increasingly unreasonable & without adequate compensation.

Towards the end of my employment a typical day would start as soon as you arrived (even if early) and usually end 5-10 min later than normal work hrs w/ few or no breaks in between. I can count on one hand the # of uninterrupted coffee/lunch breaks I had during the last yrs. Little of that extra time (before/after & breaks) was compensated for by overtime payment. Of course, if one was minutes late in the AM (or left slightly early) it was a VERY different matter. With few exceptions I can state that my fellow workers were among the best I've experienced anywhere. I will also state that the exceptions were among the worst; one of which was as useful as a screen door in a submarine. Incompetence personified. My most enjoyable moments were when I had done something well, plus the appreciation a lot of customers showed as I served them. It's unfortunate that same appreciation didn't show up on a paystub but no doubt management bonuses were based on profit margins. The hardest thing to do was deal w/ those who didn't know their job or were simply too lazy to do it. To the best of my knowledge they're still there.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Transparency, Culture and training/developing internal career paths with employees.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
There is a high ceiling of product knowledge to learn depending on your role. This can be overwhelming and intimidating to start, but backed by everyone wanting you to succeed and actually wanting to teach you it is a pro. 
When the staff that have been in this industry for 20-30 years still come across things that they haven't dealt with before, that is a pro in my book. Great if you're wanting to learn and absorb knowledge and experience.



What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment is great, it can be fast-paced and high stress situations, but how your team around you responds and deals with that and the aftermath says a lot about the company as a whole. 

Anywhere you go there will be high stress or uncomfortable situations, how it's dealt with and what backing you have is what matters and separates companies. 

One of the biggest things for myself is there is transparency from the top down. You can have companies that put on paper how important culture, transparency and ethics are to them....but that only applies to yourself, they do not hold themselves to the same standards they expect from their employees. 

This is not the case here in my experience. It's a two way street , not a one way street. 

Some other large corps, even the ones that call themselves "local" do not even come close to this level that Wolseley does. Not many places where the CEOs or VPs have open meetings where all employees are welcome to join in and propose any questions they may have directly to them and interact. 

A lot of companies talk the talk and put up a great front, using high-value words to sell you on themselves. 

Wolseley actually walks the walk.

This is a good place to work if you have the patience and attention span to drive a Crown order picker up and down a warren of aisles stopping every few feet to rise up to a cell (location on the racks) and count and pick product and build skids. Some of the product you will have to shuffle onto your skid include 75-pound full toilets, and 20-30-lb. blind flanges made of solid steel.

The management is decent, willing to accommodate, and easy to get along with so long as you're not lazy or insolent. The crew is very nice, and I miss working with them. They're a good bunch.

Because the ratio of pickers to lead hands is approximately 40:1 on any given shift, chances for advancement are very rare. They only happen when a lead hand quits or goes on leave. The management never turns over, which is a good thing in a way, but you can forget about moving up for the most part. This is more a job for people who want to make a straight wage. There are generally occasional opportunities to make a lateral move, a.k.a. moving from one shift to another, but with no aggregate increase in wage.

The wage, I believe, is decent for the work you are required to do. You must not be afraid of heights. You must be willing to wear a fall-arrest harness and be linked to a lanyard for your whole shift (save one of your two twenty-minute breaks in an 8-hour period).

In sum, this is another job that not everyone can fit into, but it is relatively simple, requires little skill, and work is abundant, often with options of up to four hours daily overtime.

No formal training,  thrown to the wolves in a sink or swim atmosphere. Was laid off due to lack of work, and months later I see my old position posted. I was promoted quickly, duties and responsibilities grew as my pay was never recalculated to such changes.  I worked with one other employee that was not very motivated and the majority of the work fell onto my shoulders and if things got forgotten or went undone I would be to blame, not the guy watching movies and napping all day..... the only reason management got 3 stars is because the manager that is retiring is AMAZING!  He was very honest about the short comings of the day to day operations, and he was appreciative of my accomplishments and very fair to sit down and discuss my shortcomings.  The manager hired to replace the amazing manager was pompous and very sexist.  If the 4 of us would start a conversation, the manager in training would completely ignore all of my input, or become outright rude and belittle me into not being a part of their conversation.  The lazy co worker was only kept for the fact he has personal connections to a high priority customer, and that he had been there for almost 5 years.  My amazing manager was torn between productive employee and guy with connections,  and being there only a few short months I was let go for the off season.  No job stability whatsoever. Although I learnt alot of positive skills from this job, I also learnt that working hard got you no where and it was a hard pill to swallow.

A public company that improves profits by eliminating employees. 
One executive leader has been with the company for more than 5 years.
Hundreds of employees were eliminated thru 2020-21, during a difficult time for everyone while the company enjoyed record sales. 
They currently have hundreds of new ‘career’ opportunities advertised and boast they’re growing. They need the people desperately but have a hiring freeze in effect.
They will fill an empty leadership role particularly if a friend needs a job. 
Don’t be fooled folks, especially if you’re looking for a leadership role. Leaders can’t effect positive change in ways they’d hoped when joining this company. 
Enough about leaders.
This company does not have any defined training or career paths at any level. 
Next person in line usually gets the job, regardless of ability, experience or training. 
Plenty of great people leading other people or aspects of the business that simply can’t win because they lack the credentials that will lead them to success.
Wolseley operates in very distinct silos. Decisions are made without stakeholder input or involvement. 
Left hand doesn’t even know it has a right hand to work with. There’s no possible way for the left to know what the right is doing. 





I worked at Wolseley Industrial for almost a year.  There was almost no training beyond the basic necessities to fill out sales orders.  Upper management has all kinds of demands and ultimatums with almost no support or aid in accomplishing those goals.  A lot of words with no action and high expectations from "superiors" without anything to base those expectations on.

A poor company to work for and they will not show you any appreciation for any extra effort you put into your job.  

The company is loaded with 25+ years employees and room for advancement is basically nothing.  Your chances of being fired are better than ever being promoted or getting a raise.

People who ask for raises and fight fot higher wages suddenly do not work for Wolseley anymore.

I do NOT recommend working for Wolseley anywhere in the world because for all their talk about how "our people are our greatest resource", they don't mean the people they hired recently.  "Our people" refers to the upper echelon clique that you will most likely never be a part of.

Driven Logistics / Distribution Supply Chain Management Professional with extensive experience in sophisticated and complex Supply Chain Operations. Proven ability to execute strategic objectives by leveraging North American best practices and strong relationships, responding to customer and market demands. Drive end-to-end solutions that result in supply chain optimization, enhanced network performance and reduction in operating costs. Inspires, coaches team to achieve stretch objectives in support of service and personal growth.

Areas of Expertise:
Strategic & Operational Planning, Continuous Improvement & Transformation, 3PL Management, Supply & Demand Planning, P&L Expense Management / Budgeting / Forecasting, Team Building, Distribution Centre Management, Change Management.

Working Strengths:
Questions the status quo, trouble shooting, achieves results, solves problems, manages change, builds enthusiasm and morale, exhibits poise, motivates people to act, being demonstrative, keeps many projects going concurrently, opportunistic, delegates to others, makes decisions, budget P&L management, retains focus and commitment.

However, when you start your new "dream job" at Wolseley you quickly find out that:

- You will have to go back in time and work on systems that are 20 years old and still working because they are "duct taped together"

- The Senior Leadership Team (SLT) is incapable of developing or delivering on a strategy or of meeting their financial targets

- Employee Engagement is poor and attrition at Corporate is exceptionally high

- You were probably considered a high performer in your previous company, yet at Wolseley you will never be able to do anything right.  This will erode your sense of self confidence and self worth


- Over time the wind will be sucked out of your sails and just when your level of confidence and worth is at an all time low and you are questioning your capabilities, they will "restructure" once again and your role and you no longer have a place in the company.

Choose wisely

What is the best part of working at the company?
Company discount is Cost +5% so it's nice if you need something for your property.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Legacy technology stack, coupled with an onboarding process that could benefit from additional resources. The company juggles multiple projects, which might overshadow its main goals. Compensation is below industry average, and the workload is substantial. Additionally, leadership offers limited support and guidance.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
How is the work environment and culture at the company? Morale seems to be low. There's a 'bravo system' in place, but it's seldom used and often feels insincere. Management sometimes lacks personal interaction, and despite coming to the office twice a week, there's minimal communication among colleagues. The environment can be noisy, and recent layoffs have caused concerns as many have departed.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Commis d'entrepôt 12 salaries reported	$20.18 per hour
Warehouse associate 5 salaries reported	$48,300 per year
Counter sales representative 3 salaries reported	$54,833 per year
Inside sales representative 1 salary reported	$62,500 per year
Outside sales representative 1 salary reported	$62,500 per year

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