With International Women’s Day approaching, we took the opportunity to have a chat to our Key Account Manager Elizabeth. Below she talks to us about her career to date, what attracted her to the FM industry and her goals for the future.
Hi Elizabeth, can you tell us a bit about your journey that got you to where you are today?
Sure, I started out in this industry as a Graduate for MITIE. After my initial year working in operations for both soft and hard services, I decided to pursue a further career in soft services, based on business improvement. My role at MITIE developed into that of National Account Management and I was heading up large multi-site retail portfolios across England and Wales.
I later decided to make the move to Churchill Services to head up their Midlands Operations for cleaning services. I loved the sales side of this role and I quickly joined the BDM team and have continued in sales since then.
I started at Hemlow as a Business Development Manager 2 years ago and since then my role has now developed into a Key Account Manager position. This enables me to use my previous business improvement skills alongside my sales experience.
The thought of developing the company and driving change is a great motivation!
What inspired you to pursue a career in the maintenance sector?
If I am honest, I just fell into facilities management after securing my place on the MITIE graduate scheme. However, despite being focused on soft services at that time I have always enjoyed the mechanics of hard services and had a drive to understand the logistics of how a building works.
What drew you to the role at Hemlow?
What really attracted me to the role at Hemlow, was the people aspect of the business. I was aware that they placed a real focus on investing in their employees and there was a clear progression and training plan for the role.
This would ensure that I was able to meet my own personal development goals at the same time as contributing towards the growth of the business. I would also be leading a new region in their sales team, and I was definitely up for the challenge!
I have always enjoyed the mechanics of hard services and had a drive to understand the logistics of how a building works.
What motivates you in your career?
I think being in sales most people naturally think I would be driven by sales only, I am a very driven individual, but its not just the figures that drive me. I love that by bringing in new business and contributing to company growth, we are able to create and recruit for new roles across the company from engineering-based roles to management positions.
The thought of developing the company and driving change is a great motivation!
What does a typical day look like for you?
I know its cliché, but no day in FM is the same!
From spending the day writing and collating information with my head in a tender, to being out in a hard hat and high vis meeting clients on the rooftop of a site!
Overall, I spend my time managing client relationships to enable growth and assisting the marketing strategy as well as developing future CPD training sessions. The role continues to develop, and I work with a lot of different people on a number of different projects, so that keeps it really interesting for me.
What does you like most about your job?
I love meeting clients on site and really understanding the buildings we are tendering for, I always ask myself, why are they tendering? What USPs can Hemlow offer? I always strive to fully understand the client requirements, Hemlow has so many unique offerings so I want to ensure that we focus on and offer the right one.
Creating that true bespoke service is something I really enjoy.
What is the biggest professional challenge you have had to overcome?
For me, it has to be the move from soft services to hard services. After working in soft services for 6 years I suddenly had to adapt to a new way of thinking and absorb a lot of new information.
In a short space of time, I’ve gone from not knowing how a building works, to being able to solely conduct CPD training sessions on Air Conditioning Systems and Building Maintenance Specifications. This is something I am extremely proud of.
If you could switch roles with someone for a day, who would it be?
I would like to be a Facilities Manager for a day, having worked, and continue to work, with a number of them, I find their role so diverse and interesting. I would like to better understand the pressures they face as well as their interactions with tenants, contractors and landlords. I’m sure it would be interesting although no doubt very challenging!
In a short space of time, I’ve gone from not knowing how a building works, to being able to solely conduct CPD training sessions on Air Conditioning Systems and Building Maintenance Specifications. This is something I am extremely proud of.
What’s next for you, what do you hope to achieve in your career at Hemlow?
My aim is to continue to develop the Midlands and Northern regions at Hemlow so we can become a national supplier of M&E services.
Before you go, can you give us a little insight into your passions outside of work?
Well, although this last year restrictions have meant I haven’t been able to partake in this as much, I really enjoy going to the gym and playing racquet sports. My first sport in badminton, which I didn’t get to play much of in lockdown, but I have picked tennis back up.
I also have two dogs which I enjoy walking with my Hubby!
Are you interested in a career in Maintenance and Engineering? Head over to our Careers page where you can hear more from our #TeamHemlow employees, see our current vacancies and find oud out more about our Improver Programme.
