The Bagala Community Store is one of very few stores in Australia where 100% of the people working in the store are Indigenous and from the local community.
There are limited jobs in Aboriginal communities and Bagala Community Store Manager Brian Coleman-Broome believes it makes no sense to have precious jobs filled by outsiders. “The community is happy to have Indigenous people running our store. We’re all locals and it’s the best thing for everyone”.
Brian points out that local staff have a positive impact on the store culture. “People come in and be more casual, we all know each other, and it means we can have a laugh and a chat. We don’t need to be quiet or whatever because we all know each other”.
Since 2018 AIG has been encouraging people to shop more in their local store and we believe having all local staff creates a better shopping experience resulting in more customers.
Long term plan for store owners
AIG manages the Bagala Store on behalf of store owners Bagala Aboriginal Corporation, and it’s been a long term goal for both parties to have an Indigenous store manager. Until now, this position was filled by people recruited from outside the community, and Brian taking on the role as manager is a big deal for everyone.
“At first, I was a bit nervous” he said. “Taking on the manager’s role was my first big job, and I was expecting lots of things to go wrong, but I took it on anyway. I told the Darwin office I’ll do a trial for two months and see how I go with that, and I went past two months and it’s been almost a year now I think”.
Chief Operating Officer at AIG, Alexa Gutenberger says having Brain in a store management role has had a positive impact on him and the broader community. “Seeing Brian stepping up as a leader in his community is good for him and his family but it’s also showing other community members a pathway of self-determination and empowerment. These values sit at the core of what AIG does and we want to create opportunities that facilitate them in community”.
No stranger to being a role model
When asked if Brian felt he was a role model for people in his community, he said people were happy for him to be managing the store. “When they had heard that I took over, they were all very excited and happy. I’m a local boy I grew up here from when I was three right up until I went to Brisbane for my schooling from year 7 to 12”.
Brian is no stranger to being exceptional and believes the skills he learned while playing national level AFL have helped him reach his professional goals. In 2011 he graduated from the AIS-AFL Academy and in 2012 was picked to play with the All Australian team. “I got to travel to London, Italy and Turkey. It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in my life. I was the first to graduate from school in my family and to travel overseas”.
Being brave and taking opportunities when they come
When asked what advice he would give to someone in his community thinking of managing the store at some point his response was simple. “First thing, you got to go to school and then from there if someone comes up and approaches you, give it a shot, why not?
“For me I knew I was not going to get an opportunity like that again and I thought I might as well give it a chance. Keep going forward – that’s how I think. Working in the store was my first actual job and now I’m the manager and it’s a really big job. I am tired at the end of the week, but that’s the job, you’ve got to work. I have to do it because I’ve got family to look after. I do it because I’ve got to support my family, there is no one else to do it”.
Support from AIG helps
The AIG model of store management means Brian’s business support team is 400km away in Darwin, and that was daunting for him, especially when he first started in the role.
“Managing and supporting remote staff can be challenging, but we take it very seriously” explains Alexa. “People are AIG’s greatest asset, and we consistently refine our approach to supporting our teams to give them the best possible chance of success”.
Brian shadowed the previous manager for two years to learn the ropes before taking on the role. “Dominic (Stores Coordinator) was really pushing me and every time I speak to him now, he tells me how proud he is and it’s good to hear that”.
