The document summarizes an interview the author conducted with Michael Heins, a Unit Director (UD) at HEB. Some key responsibilities of a UD include leading over 300 employees, managing sales and profits, developing employees' careers, and terminating employees when necessary. The author learned that being a UD requires working nights, weekends, and holidays. They were surprised to learn that UDs are directly responsible for terminating employees. Michael explained that HEB has a good termination process in place. The author was interested in the developmental aspect of the UD role in helping employees grow their careers. However, they were concerned about the demanding work hours and how that could impact family life. After reflecting, the author remains interested in the U

1. For the purpose of this assignment I chose to interview Michael Heins.
Michael is a Unit Director for HEB and I knew he would be the perfect person to
interview. While I was interviewing Michael I learned that the position is a very
demanding job. Typically you are leading 300+ partners and they all look to you
for guidance. He explained to me that while making sales and gross profit are
important nothing should come before the people. He talked about how when
working retail you can expect to work nights, holidays, and weekends. He told me
about how being a Unit Director can be very rewarding but that it is also a pretty
big responsibility. I learned that being a UD typically means being on several
boards. Michael for instance is not only in the Chamber of Commerce but also a
board member of one of the biggest charity organizations in the United States.
Being a Unit Director means having a passion for not only business but also for
the people. Unit Directors are credible, adaptable, and servant leaders.
Something that really surprised me about the job is that they are the ones
responsible for terminating partners. I have always been under the impression
that Human Resources did the terminating and that the UD had a say in it.
However, apparently Unit Directors are responsible for having that final
conversation with the partner to let them know that they will no longer be working
for the company anymore. Aside from surprising me this is also something I
worried about because I could only imagine how difficult it could be to terminate a
partner. I would hate having to have that conversation where ultimately I am
changing that partners life. However, after talking with Michael I fully understood
that while it is definitely not his favorite job he also knows that HEB has a really

2. great process in place and they give people several chances before termination
is even up for discussion. For example, if a UD has to terminate you for your time
and attendance, you had nine chances a year to call in but on your tenth you lose
your job. I would have to agree that nine is a very reasonable amount. This also
does not include deaths in the family or major emergencies because we do not
write people up for those.
The main thing that I liked about this position was the developmental
aspect. A huge part of your job as a UD is to help other partners grow their
careers with HEB. Therefore, UDs are the ones that get to have conversations
with partners about their goals and then the UD helps to make a plan of how to
get there. They also get to host 4 training classes per year for partners that have
ambitions to move up with the company. I would love to spend that
developmental time with partners because helping people reach their goals is
something I am very passionate about. I would also love to hold these leadership
classes and get to do different activities with the partners to help them grow. I
also liked the responsibility piece and how influential you can be in peoples lives.
I feel that HEB gives their top leaders quite a bit of flexible time to spend a lot of
time with their partners and really just focus on their needs.
Something that I disliked about the position or that I could see challenging
is the hours required to work. Michael takes every Sunday off but he does have
to work every Saturday because it is the busiest day at his store. He also has to
work some late nights because he has to help close the store. Honestly, I am not
a huge fan of this type of schedule just because I feel that it could be pretty tough

3. when I have children one day. As a store leader you are also required to be their
for holidays because we are very busy then and the leadership is needed in the
store. After our conversation I did learn that there are pros to not having
weekends off. For example, you could take your family to an amusement park on
a weekday and it is likely to be much slower. I don’t see the late nights being too
much of a problem I just don’t want to miss out on key events with my future
children. Luckily HEB really wants their partners to have a very healthy work-life
balance and so many leaders still are able to prioritize and make it to their kids
games etc.
This occupation aligns with my skills because I do have that passion for
both business and for the people. While I fully understand that we are a retail
business and we have to make a profit I am also aware that the people do
always come first. If your people are not happy then they more than likely won’t
treat your customers very well. This occupation aligns with my values because
HEB is a very Christian based company and I can very closely relate to that.
They have great ethics and standards that really align with my faith and values.
Lastly, this position aligns with my interests because very early on in my HEB
career I knew I wanted to be a UD. It interests me because I could work for a
company that is so invested in its own people but also very active in the
community. Every test I tool ranked me very high in the social aspect and being a
UD could fit right into that.
After my interview and what I have learned the position is still of my
interest but I could also see myself looking into corporate jobs. I still love what

4. the job entails and I still want to be that influential leader in peoples lives I just am
torn between the work hours. I know I would still have a blast pushing for sales
and reaching goals I just think that the hours may be challenging once I am ready
to have a family. I still love the idea of being part of a company that is so invested
in the community and responds very quickly during disasters, I just wonder if I
would lean towards more regular hours. I ultimately think it is something I would
try out but if the hours did not work then I would change my career path at HEB.
HEB is really great at allowing you to move around positions so just because I
become a UD does not mean I would be stuck there forever.
In order to be a UD I think you definitely need to have strong
communication skills. I also think that you need to have great people skills and
the ability to be adaptable. HEB is constantly on the move and changing you so
you have to be able to adapt. I also think some financial understanding skills are
a must because overall you are running a pretty big business if you are over an
entire store. Having knowledge of our HEB culture is also very important. One
needs to understand what our mission statement is and how we have gotten to
where we are. A great leader once told me that financials and technical aspects
can be taught easily but a heart for people cannot. Experience in retail and in the
business can be very important but HEB also loves to hire externals. They have
hired several people fresh out of college into a top leadership position. Therefore,
I would not say experience is an absolute but it is definitely a plus.

5. Interview Questions
1) Can you please give me a summary of what your current role looks like?
2) What has your career path been?
3) What is your favorite part of your job?
4) What is your least favorite part of your job?
5) When did you know you wanted to have a career with HEB?
6) Who is someone that has really influenced you to become the leader you
are today?
7) In your opinion what are the three most important skills you must have to
be successful at this job?
8) What is the best feedback you got as you were working your way to
becoming a UD?
9) If you could go back in time would you go the exact same route you did to
get where you are today?
10)How are you able to maintain a healthy work life balance in your role?
11)Where do you see yourself in your career within the next 10 years?
12)What is some advice you can offer someone that has a passion for
becoming a UD at HEB?

6. Dear Michael Heins,
I am working on an assignment for school where I must interview a person
in an occupation I have interest in. I was wondering if you would have anytime to
meet between now and July 17th? If necessary we could also do a phone
interview.
Sincerely,
Darnelle Hummel
(915) 422-8523
darnelle.hummel@ttu.edu
Dear Michael Heins,
Thank you very much for taking the time out to allow me to interview you. I
really learned a lot from our interview session and your provided some great
advice. I know you have a very busy schedule and I wanted to thank you for
making time for me. I look forward to staying in touch.
Sincerely,
Darnelle Hummel

7. Informational Interview Assignment Grading Rubric
Criteria
Points
Possible
Points
Earned
General
Paper adheres to APA formatting (title page, citations, references
page, etc.). Headings are appropriately labeled. Filename is correct.
This rubric pasted at the end of the assignment.
10
Writing is clear with appropriate grammar, spelling, and
punctuation.
10
Interview information and reflection
Student clearly identifies an occupation 4
Student provides foundational knowledge about the occupation 16
Student provides a copy of an effective e-mail request 4
Student provides a copy of an effective thank you note 4
Student discusses what was learned through the interview (5A-D) 16
Student reflects on interview and responds to evaluation prompts
effectively.
30
Student provides a copy of their 12 informational interview
questions.
6
Total 100
Instructors Comments: