A Conversation with... Kerri O'Toole

At J.Jill, we’re proud of the candidates we attract to join our team. Their passion for the business and support of our vision to live in a world where the totality of every woman is seen, valued and celebrated, is what makes working at J.Jill such an empowering environment to be in.

This month we sat down with Kerri O’Toole, Director Store Communications and Customer Experience, to hear more about her role in educating our associates at J.Jill, along with her advice for someone looking to start their career in Store Operations. Want to join us? We’re hiring! Check out our latest roles?here.

J.Jill: Tell us a bit about your role at J.Jill and what inspired you to join?

Kerri: I am the Director of Store Communications and Customer Experience here at J.Jill, and will be celebrating my 10-year anniversary in July! After spending many years at companies with large retail footprints and established brand presences, I wanted to join an organization who was on the brink of growth. I could see the potential J.Jill had and wanted to use my prior experience to make an impact at this critical point in time for the organization.

Where I really make an impact is with our store associates and in-store experience. My work is centered around building and delivering strategies to store associates so they can provide the best in-store experience to our customers. This includes everything from setting and communicating clear goals, to creating service strategies that will retain loyal customers, to keeping our store associates engaged and motivated. I just love threading all these focus areas together!

J.Jill: Wow! 10 years is a long time. Can you talk about how you’ve grown professionally throughout your time at J.Jill?

Kerri: Absolutely! I have learned so much. I started at J.Jill as a Senior Manager, overseeing communications and engagement for field associates. Later, I was promoted to a Director position where I’ve had the opportunity to play a more strategic communications role. With that promotion, I also began leading training for field associates, which was something I had never done before. Being trusted with that opportunity was something I greatly appreciated, and reinforces how investing in an associate’s growth and development is an important part of J.Jill’s culture.

J.Jill: We love to hear that! We know it’s hard to select a favorite project, but if you had to choose one that you are most proud of, what would it be?

Kerri: I think that I am most proud to have worked on the Size Inclusivity initiative. As a part of our “Welcome Everybody” campaign, we extended our size offering in our retail stores and provided all of our designs at one price. My role in this initiative was to craft the communication plan and training strategy for our field associates. I couldn’t have done it without the help of so many of my business partners, which is one of the things that I love most about J.Jill – you get to work with great people in a very collaborative environment. After the launch, our project team was honored to receive a Make It Matter Award, which is our company recognition program that celebrates associates and teams whose contributions to the business support our vision to live in a world where the totality of every woman is seen, valued and celebrated.

J.Jill: Congratulations on receiving a Make It Matter Award! When you look back at your career thus far, what’s the best piece of advice you have received, and what advice would you offer someone interested in getting started in your line of work at J.Jill?

Kerri: I have been lucky to receive a lot of great advice from different leaders, but the two pieces of advice have really stuck with me are 1) Work hard and be nice to people, and 2) Always have a point of view and don’t be afraid to share it.

In terms of joining J.Jill, you can really succeed here if you have passion for the customer. Our customers are the reason we do what we do, every day, and you can see that come to life everywhere! Whether it be how the design team conceptualizes the product, or how our associates expertly style our customers, making our customers look and feel their best is of the utmost importance. If you’re interested in store support teams specifically, I would encourage you to manage a retail store at some point in your career – which I had the opportunity to do earlier on in my career. ?Knowing what it’s like to be in those shoes is an invaluable experience.?