Line Managers of the Month - January
To recognise the continuous encouragement provided by line managers, our learners and tutors are nominating those who are offering outstanding support to be in for a chance of being awarded as the Line Manager of the Month.
It was very hard to choose from the amazing nominations this month so we have two winners to be awarded as our Line Manager of the Month for January!
Congratulations to Heather Henderson / Gael Price and Paresh Soni!
Heather and Gael were nominated by their learner Bethany, who is completing her Level 3 Customer Service Apprenticeship with Aon UK Ltd. Paresh also received his nomination from learner Max at Rustins Limited, where he is currently completing his Level 3 Business Administration Apprenticeship.
Heather and Gael’s learner, Bethany said:
“I have weekly meetings with Heather and Gael to discuss my PIP. This has now ended however; Heather and Gael feel they wish to keep the communication up with me to ensure I feel part of a team and I feel supported and I have a space to bring up any issues or problems both inside of work and outside of work. These meetings have been moved to every fortnight.”
“They actively listen to any problems I have again both inside and outside of work. They have offered time back to me to have half an hour in a morning to de-stress if I wish by starting 30 minutes earlier. They have listened to any problem claims I have and both Gael and Heather have acted on my behalf to negotiate with people within the company to ensure I do not have extra work added onto my existing high workload.”
“They have both encouraged me to speak up with any problems I have. They have advised that so long as I bring up any problems I have, they will always be there to support me as best as they can. They are taking steps to help me believe in myself and the quality of work I produce.”
“Having this structure of management improves my value i.e. it improves my value of work and it improves my self-value. They believe I am of value to the company and ensure they are assisting me to achieve the value I am capable of.”
“The close contact enhances the accountability and it encourages me to improve my level of work. The PIP made me take accountability and made me accountable for anything that went wrong however, they ensured there was a balance and were there to assist me.”
“They have trust in me and went out of their way to ensure I had the trust in myself i.e. I do not have to go to them with everything and Heather challenges me if I need assistance with anything to come up with a solution myself and confirm with her that this is the correct way to proceed.”
“Their support has ensured my work has improved massively and the level of my work is now effective in the claims that I handle i.e. the quality of my work, the time keeping of correspondence and the resolving of problems.”
Paresh’s learner, Max said:
“I have been engaged by the job role because of how Paresh explains tasks set, he is constantly enthusiastic in his delivery when giving direction and this level of energy is contagious, inspiring me to feel passionate about the work I do.”
“Towards the end of last year when the COVID-19 cases were at an all time high, I felt somewhat anxious about commuting to work every day (7 ½ hours of commuting a week), as I was very weary of the more contagious strains. I communicated my concerns and that same day Paresh drove me home with my work PC and made sure I was set up to work from home. This level of compassion and understanding was refreshing, and I massively appreciated him listening to my concerns and making the necessary changes to put my mind at ease. On another occasion when he was on annual leave and the other member of technical was away, I needed help with a technical query and asked him, apologising for the inconvenience, he replied to my email immediately and said “Max, I am never on holiday” and said that he was always there for support if I need him.”
“For the job role I regularly respond to customer queries regarding the products, and in training I would send Paresh draft responses for him to check through before sending off. From here he would offer feedback and when I got technical answers correct, he always congratulated me and made it clear that he was pleased with my reply. This gave me the encouragement I needed to boost the confidence I had in my ability, ultimately bringing me a sense of conviction in decision making for myself and becoming an independent employee.”
“After the most successful year Rustins has had in 2020, I found out that I would be receiving a Christmas bonus. I had never received a Christmas bonus in a job before and this was Paresh’s decision. He told me that I had worked hard to earn it and was a part of the success. I was incredibly grateful for this display of appreciation considering I had only started working there in August of that year.”
“Every Monday Paresh is required to sign and send off my Timesheet and he does this first thing in the morning without fail. He is accountable for a great many jobs and tasks at work as the Head of Operations and leads by example by meeting these deadlines.”
“The Apprenticeship I was originally meant to be completing was a Customer Service Level 2, but on arrival and speaking to the agency, I was told that it would be possible for me to do a Level 3 if Rustins was accepting of this, a more expensive course and higher qualification in a subject I would much prefer. It was early days for me at Rustins and so I asked Paresh if I could, at first he was naturally sceptical as I had been out of education for some time and it was not the qualification on the Job Description. But then he had a change of heart and told me “we want to support you in what you want to do”. I was astounded and over the moon that he had seen something in me and decided to take a chance on me, TRUSTING me to complete this and enabling me to have the freedom to study a course I would much prefer. This is something I will never forget.”
“Paresh signed me up to do a Paint & Coatings course next month which has boosted my interest and engagement in the role even further, as it is an opportunity to gain valuable knowledge for the role. He has a clear path for me in this company and his mentoring is extremely effective in that at this point I have been answering calls and responding to queries, even doing batch tests for the products for well over 2 months now.”
“In closing I can honestly say that Paresh is an amazing Line Manager, he deserves credit for the support he offers and the examples he sets, and I am thankful to be working under his guidance.”
A huge well done Heather, Gael and Paresh for these fantastic nominations! It is clear to see how much encouragement Bethany and Max receive to believe in themselves when carrying out their roles. The amazing mentoring and trust shines through in these nominations, allowing both learners to positively progress in their qualification and role.