Claire entered the Graduate Programme with a degree in Geography and now has a position as a Collection Manager within the Lincolnshire area.
I joined the graduate programme in 2005 and spent the next two years moving around different parts of the business, gaining a firm grounding in Operations and my Certificate in Management from The Open University. I learned about things like management theory, motivational techniques and how to do things like conduct performance reviews. On top of this, I gained new technical skills from the managers and teams I worked with on each of my placements.
In my current role I’m responsible for a team of nine technicians. We work on the sewerage side of the business, dealing with flooding, pollution issues and problems such as blocked drains. It’s my role to performance manage the team, which is a very different thing from telling them what to do. After all, they have all been in the job a lot longer than me!
As a manager of people who may be older and more experienced than you, it’s vital that you approach the situation in the right way. When I joined my team, I let them know that I was here to learn as it was my first role. I also spent time getting to know them and their role before I started managing them.
Perhaps the biggest challenge I have faced since joining Anglian Water has been having to manage a team of 20 men, who all have different needs and expectations of you as a new manager. Taking the lead on large scale incidents is also testing, as you have to coordinate tankers and resources on the ground, whilst also managing the Environment Agency’s expectations and organising pollution clean ups.
It really helps if you’re good at judging people and situations. Natural people skills are vital, even though you do get taught the theory side of management. Flexibility is important because you move locations a lot and need to be receptive to constant change in your job. That’s why being able to learn quickly and take on board a lot of information in a short space of time is crucial.
My role is perfect for me because I didn’t want to be tied to a desk job. Although I have an office, I spend half my time at customers’ houses, at treatment works or out on the road. What’s more, I’m achieving my ambition to work in the natural environment. I couldn’t think of anything worse than a job in the city!
Anglian Water is a really friendly company that’s committed to developing its graduates. In fact, even after you’ve completed the graduate scheme there is a continued, structured development plan. And if you’re interested in working in another part of the business, they’ll let you take a secondment from your role and gain some experience to see if it’s right for you.
I’d sum up the graduate scheme as fun, full of variety, challenging and interesting. What’s more, you end up with a really great network of colleagues and friends!