Liaison Officer Review

My primary role is concerned with the wellbeing of our 1,500+ Logistics staff. I am a Mental Health First Aider and can help people in a wide variety of situations. I am also responsible for providing Internal Communication for the Logistic teams using media ranging from posters and briefs to videos. Every day is different and the Covid-19 pandemic meant that I had to adapt accordingly to ensure the safety of our staff, their families and our customers.

It's been many years since I was involved in formal training of this sort, so the programme was particularly useful to me as a reminder of the techniques I used to use when I worked in the manufacturing sector. It also enabled me to develop those skills and adapt them for the different challenges that I now face in my current role.

The Trainer Assessor was excellent. Not only did he possess a wealth of knowledge, but he also fully appreciated the challenges we faced within our roles at work and provided a degree of flexibility within the programme to accommodate the needs of the business. This was particularly important for me, as the commencement of my programme coincided with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and I was integral to ensuring that the business was able to continue operating in a safe and controlled way throughout. The use of the latest technology enabled us to stay in contact and work together 'virtually' throughout.

The programme was well organised and structured, but there was built in flexibility that enabled us to focus upon elements that were particularly relevant to our roles in more detail. The Trainer Assessor was critical in ensuring that we navigated our way through the programme and addressed any issues as they arose.

My employer was committed to ensuring that I was allowed enough time each week to devote to the programme. When the needs of the business made this impractical, for example when I needed to devote a significant amount of time implementing new ways of working to ensure the safety of our staff and customers during the Covid-19 pandemic, additional time was allowed to get back on track with the programme.

The Trainer Assessor fully appreciated the external factors and needs of the business that reduced the amount of time I could devote to the programme at certain times and provided the flexibility I needed to stay on track. He was always available for consultation and the use of Microsoft Teams made the sharing of information very efficient.

Refreshing my knowledge of techniques that I first used many years ago, together with developing these skills and adapting them to the challenges of my current role have certainly improved my effectiveness. In addition, exposure to the wider business and personnel with complementary skills and experience has enabled me to build a network of contacts across the business that also enhances my performance.

They are currently quite limited, but this is something that I am now in a position to address. I can now see the value in such extra-curricular activities and aim to develop a range of activities that will encourage our staff to develop relationships outside of work that could benefit team building within the organisation. My plans include activities that'll also benefit the local community.

Yes

There are opportunities to develop as an individual and develop a career for people who want to move forward. A number of our senior managers joined the business on the shopfloor and worked their way up. We have schemes that enable staff to gain experience in other roles whilst training and, for those who are simply looking for a steady job, you couldn't hope to work with a nicer bunch of people.

Do your research. Find out as much as you can about the role or roles that interest you and take steps to prepare yourself for those roles in advance. You can learn a lot on line and, by showing that you are serious about working in a specific field, you'll have a much greater chance of succeeding.