I've been with Affinity Water for eight years now. I’ve worked my way up to this role since I first joined the business as an Operational Contact Centre Advisor. The key to being successful in my role includes being versatile in my working day, as it can change quite rapidly, and I need to be able to flex to these needs. One moment I could be looking at a long-term strategy, and the next I’m assisting with a reactive event on Standby. Alongside this, it’s essential to be people resourceful. Networking with people around the business will always be one of the best tools you can have in your bag, and you’ll be grateful to have such connections when you need them! The pace I’ve been able to progress within Affinity has been such a highlight for me, as well as the variety of roles I’ve been lucky enough to work in. I’ve worked on some great projects with amazing people, and that’s what keeps spurring me on for future development.

I joined Affinity Water 17 years ago as a business graduate and have since held a number of Project Management and Operational roles before recently taking on my first Director role. I really love the balance of working both in the office and out on site with our teams who serve our customers. I’ve spent two thirds of my career in Senior Leadership roles, often leading large front-line teams and delivering significant transformation projects alongside stretching operational targets. With no previous technical knowledge of any of the areas I have worked in, learning from others and strong mentoring and coaching have played a big part in my career development.

I have progressed within Affinity Water for 12 years to reach my current position. Joining back in 2011 turned out to be a pivotal moment, it wasn’t part of a long-term career plan, and I felt I wouldn’t be here to stay. I had the benefit of being able to develop in my career and figure out my strengths and weaknesses as I progressed. When thinking about tools that have helped and continue to help me on my career journey, the Lean Six Sigma toolkit comes to mind. It’s flexible, can be applied to pretty much any situation, and manages to stitch together a very results-driven approach with a real focus on value for customers. I think a legacy I’d like to leave is to work with facts, not feelings. If something matters to us as a business, we should probably measure it, understand how it works, find out how to get the best out of it, and learn how to fix it when it breaks!