By Liliana
I never thought I’d work in strategy, let alone at a corporate supermarket but here I am at Coles.
I’ve always been a creative. I studied user experience (UX) and graphic design at Melbourne Uni, with stints in architecture, teaching and make-up. Joining the Coles graduate program, I enjoyed working in the web & app UX design team and I was keen to join them afterwards.
Two years later, I have ended up switching to become a Senior Strategy Analyst. In the Group Strategy team, we craft and articulate the future for Coles in the next 3-5 years. So how did I move from design to strategy?
My advice: Try different business areas in the grad program – I did Marketing then Digital
Sticking to one business area in the two-year grad program, already offers varied experience in multiple teams. However, if grads are keen after 1 year, we can join another business area – even if it’s completely unrelated to what we studied. Coles is huge with many niches, so there’s something for everyone.
For me, I moved from the Marketing to Digital area. I wanted to understand how we interact with customers (in-store and online) and how I could improve their experience.
Owning a project in Digital: Redesigning a web landing page
One major project I owned as a grad was in the Digital B2B (business selling to business) team. It was redesigning the ‘Coles for Business’ website landing page. As customers, we don’t usually see Coles sell to businesses, like cafés or childcare centres. For example, an aged care centre would meticulously plan meals, orders from Coles and has their weekly shop delivered. Our ‘Coles for Business’ website is crucial for this, so owning this project meant I’d make real impact.
The homepage redesign needed to be simple and clearly show why we are unique to businesses – we have exclusive specials and shopping features, like shared shopping lists and finances across multiple sites and dedicated state-based, business support.
I independently led research for the landing page, gathering team and customer feedback to incorporate into the design. From this project, I gained a deeper marketing, commercial and operational understanding of how we serve Aussie businesses online.
Since the new landing page launched, I’m proud to see the impact it’s had – leading to more new business shoppers. Being trusted to deliver a meaningful project set me up for what came next.
So how did this lead to my Strategy role?
I didn’t know anything about Group Strategy until I collaborated on a grad innovation project with them.
One of my goals is to understand how we balance customer experience and business decisions. So being part of the team that creates the Coles 3-5 year strategy was exactly how I could do that.
For those who don’t know, the Group Strategy team collaborates with our senior leaders (like our CEO and her Executive Leadership Team) to plan our organisational priorities for the upcoming years, across the overarching supermarket and liquor areas (aka. the group).
Without the typical finance background, my strengths in customer-led, design thinking and experience in various business areas were championed. Before joining, the team were mindful to line-up my career goals with role opportunities and supported my interview process. I was thrilled to join nearly two years ago.
Work I’ve led or contributed to in Group Strategy include:
- Developing the initial framework for Coles’ vision and strategy with top global retailer strategies presented to the Executive leadership team and Board
- Supporting Coles Group 4-year strategy development, including omnichannel (online & in-store) strategies, analysing the market landscape and customer behaviour
- Leading content creation for the 2023 Strategy Showcase, communicating the new Coles Group strategy to our 3,000+ team and store managers
- Owning onboarding training for presentation & tool standards, facilitated team meetings and ways of working initiatives
Turns out, UX Design and Corporate Strategy quite related. We are both creating balanced customer and business approaches to ambiguous problems. I truly enjoy applying myself to new, nuanced challenges. Design, Strategy, Marketing or Digital – it’s exciting to create for the future.
Check out Liliana's video for more grad tips!
