WAYNE Stone is Trading Manager at the Sussex Beacon charity shops in Brighton and Hove.

He runs a business with a difference that is about to go digital.

Wayne is everything but your typical shop manager.

His responsibilities are to ensure staff provide great customer service, monitoring the financial performance of the charity stores, managing budgets and donations, and supervising staff and volunteers.

He is also a trained support worker for adults suffering from mental health problems.

After working in social care for seven years, he decided it was time for him to get back into retail in 2012.

He still wanted to use his social work experience, which motivated him to work for a non-for-profit organisation.

Wayne said: “When an opportunity at the Sussex Beacon came up, it was perfect because my end goal was to work in the retail industry again, but I also wanted to carry on helping others.”

He gradually worked his way up from a zero hours manager role to his current position at the Sussex Beacon’s shops in London Road and St James Street, Brighton.

The shops are an important source of income for the Sussex Beacon and many staff and volunteers are needed for the day to day runnings of the store.

What makes the Sussex Beacon charity shops different from many other retailers is the strong emphasis placed on recruiting, training and supporting voluntary workers.

Volunteers come from many different paths of life and include former service users at the Sussex Beacon, new and established local residents, retirees, students, as well as vulnerable adults and people living with mental health disabilities.

The charity shops have been recognised by the UK Volunteering Forum and Skills Training UK, a leading provider of apprenticeships, traineeships, work-based training/ learning and employability solutions.

It has awarded the Sussex Beacon ‘Investing in Volunteers’ Award for two years running.

For many participating youngsters, volunteering with the Sussex Beacon charity shops marks a turning point, especially if they come from troubled backgrounds and have experienced problems at school.

Wayne said: “New volunteers can feel very insecure and often struggle to communicate when they first start with us.”

Every volunteer is treated as part of the team from day one and spends the first two shifts shadowing Wayne.

He tries to find out their strengths and interests to allocate interesting tasks that encourage skills they might not even know they have.

This can include learning how to use the tills and card machines, process stock and deliveries, list items for auctions and specialist buyers, and develop customer service skill useful for career progression.

Wayne said: “As my grandmother always used to say, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

“If you are nice to people, you will get the most out of them.

This year is the start of new beginnings for the charity shops.

Both stores will undergo refurbishments and revamp their branding so that people know that they are in a Sussex Beacon shop the moment they walk through the door.

One of the most anticipated changes is the shops’ online presence.

This includes the launch of four new social media accounts for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Shpock that will feature current promotions, stock and products, and enable the shops to reach out to the community directly.

Wayne said: “Charity shops are not what they used to be, we face a lot of competition and cannot afford to miss out on engaging with customers in this digital age.”