Debbie F.

* Move from typist to supervisor as I had an interest in people management. * Move from supervisor to team leader to expand my knowledge of the support areas in the business, including post room and Facilities. * Promoted to co-manage a large call centre to experience different challenges of management and work in a fast paced, performance driven environment. * I missed the more personal touch of people management so moved to a different company to manage the communications team which has also given me an insight into web development and project management.

I manage a team creating letters & digital output

I manage a team of 10 colleagues who are responsible for all external communications to customers. This covers letters, emails, website updates and creating new messages on our company portal. The team are responsible for creating letters that customers will find easy to understand whilst conveying what can be complex regulatory changes. We work with a number of teams across the company including IT to make the updates happen. I ensure the team are aware of key deadlines in any project and help remove any blockers they come across during the project. For simple letter changes we can push the change live with minimal IT involvement so an eye for detail is critical in my role as I provide final sign-off on these changes. On the digital side, the work is more fast paced so moving resource around to cover demand can be quite challenging. As well as external customers, we support our Customer Service teams by creating question and answer documents to explain any regulatory change or project update. This allows them to be confident they have the correct information when answering customer queries.

Helping colleagues get the most out of work

As a people manager, I am really motivated to ensure everyone has the opportunity to do their best in a work environment. One of the key aspects of my role is to ensure the team feel supported in what can be quite a pressurised environment. This doesn't always mean reading through lots of HR policies although a good understanding of all people policies is obviously needed. Sometimes its just being someone for them to talk to. It might be about work or it might be about something completely different but giving someone the opportunity to talk and show you are listening is really important. Seeing a new starter in the team finding their feet through training I have helped create and become confident in their role is very rewarding. I'm very lucky to work in a team that all support each other - we definitely live by the saying "teamwork makes the dream work".

Make the most of opportunities that challenge you

Its quite easy to just carry on doing what you know and not taking any chances. The feeling you get when you are confident with what you are doing and know you can do it well is great but this approach doesn't give you any opportunity to develop new skills or challenge yourself. There are always opportunities to do something outside of your comfort zone - whether its joining a focus group within the company or finding out more about a role you might be keen to move into in the future. Make the most of these opportunities and your work life will become more rewarding.

My team support each other and work well together

I could mention projects that have gone well or, on a personal view, being able to manage a call centre with challenging performance targets. But actually the achievement I am most proud of is being part of a team that all support each other and work together. There have been a number of changes in the last year and the team has more than doubled in size but they find time to provide any support when asked for it. No-one is afraid to ask what they perceive as a daft question and all the new starters have given good feedback on their peers. This team work approach makes even the most challenging of days enjoyable.