For the first in our monthly Meet the Team series, we interviewed Tyler, who currently works in our Contractor Support Team, answering queries and solving problems for our umbrella employees. We continually develop and invest in our people and as a result Tyler is preparing for a move into Internal Sales. During the transition he’s splitting his time between the two roles, so if you’re one of our umbrella company employees or agency partners, you may have already met him.
To most of us this “dual role” situation would sound like a tall order, but he describes the challenge with characteristic up-beat optimism, citing the support he’s getting and the adjustments others have made.
As he settles in to the interview, it becomes clear how he’s been able to cope; he’s a dynamo of youthful energy and playful humour. It’s difficult to imagine him being phased by anything, which is of course one reason he’s been so successful in supporting our contractors, and why we expect that success to continue as his career with us progresses.
When we ask what he likes about his work, another reason emerges. He’s fascinated by people, driven to learn about and connect with everyone he meets. Working on CST, he gets to meet and help many different people every day, and he loves it.
Asked what he sees as the most important part of his role, he talks about trust; about keeping our promises, getting things right and explaining things clearly.
“We’re talking about people’s money here, it’s so important that they can trust us.”
Tyler certainly walks that particular walk when talking to contractors, providing the exact mixture of friendly charm and assured expertise that our contractors need when they call CST.
When we get to his experience of working at Orange Genie, he talks at length about the support he’s received. He feels accepted, that his colleagues care about him. He’s grateful for the adjustments they’ve made to facilitate his move into sales, for the opportunity to use his natural skills and be himself.
We touch on his time as an amateur boxer, the opportunities it gave him, the physical and mental challenge of it. He talks about flying to France as a boy, to compete with the England Boxing Academy. It is perhaps telling that he doesn’t mention the endless hours of hard work required, that he appreciates what boxing gave him, and gives no thought to his own investment in it.
He confesses that he no longer has time to box, because he has other priorities now. He says it with a surprising lack of regret that leaves no doubt that this is a free and deliberate choice.
The explanation is written all over him as he talks about his daughter; he lights up and relaxes at the thought of her, suddenly even more animated as he talks about his life at home. He paints a picture of joyful domestic chaos, and the complex and wonderful challenge of caring for a precocious little girl and a big, soppy Rottweiler.
For all that he enjoys his time at Orange Genie, for all that he appears to be built for this kind of work, it’s also clear that the real highlight of his day - and perhaps the force that drives him through it - is waiting at home, with an un-capped felt-tip and sticky hands.