Recreational Equipment Inc, simply known as REI. It is a big American retail store chain from 1938. Lloyd and Mary Anderson are the founders of rei. These retail stores produce a wide range of outdoor sports products. In the huge family of REI, there are around 12,000 employees with different designations. At current REI has around 160 operating centers in 40 States of the United States of America. The REI expands by introducing travel equipment, apparel, camping equipment, etc, and many more.
REI is a consumer cooperative departmental store that has a headquarters in Kent, Washington. Besides 12,000 personnel, the whole organization was governed by a board of 13 directors. The CEO is not an exception. These directors have a tenure of 1 to 3 years. And these people were elected by a voting system. All these people can monitor all the outlets of rei. Initially, it is a cooperative store, the board has changed all the outlets into a boutique full-time service provider. “A life outdoors is a life well-lived”, is the principle of REI.
The administrative and managerial skills were really good. They hire the people by providing different reservations like 40% of jobs for females, around 35% of jobs for minorities, etc. There is no space for political influence and the members related to the democratic party. Also, the employees were very happy and satisfied with their work environment. Even though the pay scale is somehow less when compared to the competitors of recreational Equipment inc, the work environment, Industrial relations, treating employees, providing benefits, etc were all too good. This allows the employees to maintain loyalty to the company for several years.
Careers & Job Opportunities
Coming to the careers and job opportunities in recreational Equipment inc, as it has several stores at various locations, continuous openings will be there for different positions. Besides the experts of various technical and respective fields, some generalized positions for all categories were also there. They are like:
- Administrative
- Finance
- Human Resources
- Information Technology
- Call Center
- Distribution Center
- eCommerce
- Executive Leadership
- Customer support
- Internship
- Legal
- Asset Protection
- Marketing
- Merchandising
- Outdoor Education
- Product Design/Development
- Retail Management Jobs
These positions were required by all the retail stores irrespective of their type, location, size, etc. Also as REI is taking online catalogs and orders, it requires online customer support for both the boy’s process and the non-voice process.
Besides these many job opportunities, some specialized job profiles for respective products and locations were also there. Let us explore more about them.
- Retail Associate (PT/FT)
- Retail Sales Lead
These three positions are purely hourly-based.
Benefits
The employee can work in diverse locations to understand various In-Store Cultures & communities. Also, the employees are encouraged for their effective performance in the form of incentives and bonuses. Considering the value of an employee, recreational Equipment Inc also provides a retirement plan for every employee after completing a minimum liable period. The company also provides some discounts on their products and provides various growth opportunities.
- Lead Bike Mechanics and Assembly & Repair Mechanics
As the REI store also provides spare parts for bicycles and motorbikes, the personnel should have prior knowledge of all parts, and for repairs at various retail stores, the leads of certified repair mechanics were recruited to provide these kinds of services.
Benefits
- They provide various discounts on branded gear and apparel. Various percentage deductions on various items along with some complimentary free services.
- Health insurance benefits for eligible and registered employees
- Incentive programs based on performance appraisals.
- Paid time off on auspicious days, emergencies, etc.
- Professional Growth opportunities in their respective fields
- Retail Shipping & Receiving Lead (FT)
- Retail Shipping & Receiving Associate (PT)
- Stocking Equipment Operator
These are the exclusive positions for newly opening branches. They need to collect the stock, supervise it, sorting, recording, etc. All these jobs can be regulated by shipping and receiving associates based on the instructions of their superiors accordingly.
Benefits
- Encouraging in diversified locations and aspects.
- Providing health insurance plans
- Availability of retirement plans.
- Career growth opportunities to climb the career ladder.
- Discounts and fringe benefits. etc.
- Clothing / Footwear Sales Specialist
Another requirement of recreational equipment Inc is a team of skilled sales specialists. These employees have more responsibilities in clothing and footwear departments than that of travel equipment and automobiles equipment etc. As sales are the earning source for any business, they prefer to hire well-experienced and certified people.
Benefits
- REI provides travel allowances for eligible employees.
- Incentives for the person who performed well and reached their targets nicely.
- Health insurance plans are other benefits.
- Accessibility of minimum funds for promotional advertisements and schemes.
Salary
Coming to the salaries at recreational Equipment inc, the pay scale may vary from one employee to another and one job to another. If we consider an average salary for an employee is $18.06 per hour and $37,557 per year. It is a wholesome average. If we consider the top 10 employees separately and the Lord 10 employees separately, these figures May change. When it comes to the highest pay scale, the average salary is around $60,000. On the other hand, if we take an average of lower-level employees, it might be around $20,000.
Even though the job description is the same, the pay structure may vary from one to another based on several factors. They are-
- Qualifications of an employee
- Experience in the respective field of an employee.
- Posting location which includes the cost of living, days of working, part-time, full time, etc.
- Based on the interview performance, negotiation, company’s requirements, etc.
- Technical skills and certifications in the related job.
Hence the pay structure may include variable pay, CTC, incentives, bonus, etc. So it is completely a dynamic factor that cannot be mentioned in a fixed figure. Instead of comparing the pay structure with other companies, how the employee can get satisfaction and comfortability in his work environment. Recognition and rewards were also matters. Everything cannot be measured in monetary terms. One thing that should be noted is every employee can get reasonable and deservedly pay scale based on his abilities and experiences.
Application Process
To enter into the REI family, you need to follow a systematic procedure for applying for any kind of job. This procedure has a set of sequential steps. Let’s have a glance at the application process.
- The first and foremost step is to visit the official career website of REI. It is always better to rely on official websites than third-party websites. Because it gives reliable and updated information.
- On the homepage on the top right side, there is a green color button, “Apply now”. Click on that button to proceed further.
- Avail search button to go to the required job position directly.
- To get a quick search, enter all the keywords and select the state, location which is comfortable to you.
- Based on the given details, the screen will provide all the related job opportunities available in multiple locations.
- Click on the desired job position to get more information about that particular job responsibility.
- After going through it thoroughly, if you are interested, click on the apply button to apply for that particular job.
- Then upload the resume based on the available options.
- Then click on the apply now button to complete the application process online.
These are the simple steps involved in filling an online application to apply for different kinds of jobs in recreational Equipment Inc.
Interview and Training
Once the application gets selected, the candidates want to face a digital interview with the support of the HireVue platform. Multiple rounds may be included based on the job description. After successful completion of a digital interview, the selected candidates have different training programs. Some basic induction programs and training were common to all the employees irrespective of their fields and some are different. Generally, the training programs include-
- Base Camp Orientation Sessions for all the hired candidates.
- Sales, Service, and Membership Training for sales specialists.
- Similarly for other employees.
- Store Procedures Training
- Store Setup Shifts Date Range. Based on their designation and a job description, the employees were allotted to various shifts.
- Product Training Date Range. These trainings are like workshops to give knowledge training in their respective fields.
- Store Hours, policies, etc.
Interview Questions
- What outdoor activities do I do on my days off?
- Are you comfortable in promoting the Co-op membership to customers?
- What are your weaknesses?
- Why should we hire you?
- Why do you want to work here?
- What are your goals?
- Why did you leave your previous job?
- When were you most satisfied with your job?
- What can you do for us that other candidates can’t?
- Tell us about yourself.
- At REI we firmly believe in grooming our employees into management roles as they show potential. Are you interested in potential leadership roles with us?
- The time you overcame adversity.
- Time faced with a new task.
- Do you have any retail or sales experience?
- What are your salary expectations?
- What is your favorite outdoor activity?
- What do you think about REI’s co-op approach to their business?
- Tell me 3 qualities you possess that make you a strong fit for this position with REI.
These are some interview questions that come across during digital interviews at REI. This data has been taken from the past experiences of candidates. There is no compulsion that the interviewers may stick to these questions. So it is always good to have sound subject knowledge along with self-confidence.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How about the average salaries based on departments?
The requirement of positions, type of product, and department are major factors in designing a pay structure. Let’s have a glance at the information below to get an approximate idea of salaries for different departments.
- Administrative – $33,364 Avg. Salary
- Engineering – $103,540Avg. Salary
- IT – $85,768 Avg. Salary
- Warehouse – $29,715 Avg. Salary
- Marketing – $61,965 Avg. Salary
- Plant/Manufacturing – $51,475 Avg. Salary
- Sales – $42,107 Avg. Salary
- Facilities – $39,231 Avg. Salary
- Retail – $31,918 Avg. Salary
- Customer Service – $30,393 Avg. Salary
- What do REI employees wear?
REI employees can wear casuals. There is no specific dress code at any location as of now. They rely on the quality and valuing of the employees and customers. They don’t want to concentrate much on promotional activities. Maybe in the future, the management of REI may decide to keep a dress code with the company’s logo.
Of course, the dress code is not an obstacle at all. It builds uniqueness and unity among employees. So not only in the perception of promotional measures but also to create recognition, many companies prefer to maintain a dress code for their employees. These are specially designed with either logo or motto or with the company name itself.
- What makes REI a great place to work?
Several researchers had stated that the rei has around 12000 employees. They value their customers as family members. It helps to bring dedication towards work, loyalty to the company, and a satisfactory work environment. The Fringe benefits, pension plans, growth opportunities, recognition, rewards all together make REI a great place to work. Also, as recreational Equipment Inc maintains consistency in opening new stores, it always has openings for various positions. The growth and expansion of a company, in turn, lead to more jobs.
- How does the REI grow? What do they believe in?
REI never wants to compare with other stuff. It keeps on concentrating on the day-to-day growth of its own business. The REI has a mission and some values. The entire family of REI always strives to achieve the goal without misleading those values. A complete dedication, perfect planning and forecasting the situations, valuing both employees and the customers, etc all these factors help REI to grow gradually. They believe in few values. Namely- quality, service, respect, authenticity, transparency, integrity, etc.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recreational_Equipment,_Inc.
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