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Annette O’ Connor is the Group HR Director for Epwin Group. Since joining the company in 1995, she has been instrumental in the transition and development of the workforce that is the driving force for the business. Annette spoke to Clearview about how she worked her way to the top …
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ANNETTE’ S FATHER was in the military, which meant she grew up travelling around the UK and Europe. Although this was a great life experience, it didn’ t allow her to take a formal education route. However, she did not let this hold her back and, with the support of Epwin, has gone on to achieve professional qualifications in her thirties and carve out a long successful career at the company.
“ On entering employment, I found my childhood spent moving around had made me very adaptable and given me an understanding of different cultures and the importance of communication,” Annette explains. She used these skills to excel in a recruitment role in London’ s Square mile, before relocating to Ireland for a time. While there, she found opportunities in recruitment were limited and moved into accounts management for a large industrial and electronics supplier.
In the early 90s, Annette identified Epwin as a company she would like to work for and, with no previous experience in HR, took a junior role in the HR team. With a natural aptitude for the job and the support of the company, she worked her way up through the ranks, gaining a CIPD professional qualification
in the early noughties, as well as a qualification in advanced employment law.“ Coming in at a junior level and learning my trade from the bottom up has served me well,” says Annette.“ I’ m grateful to the managers and directors that have mentored me over the years.
“ Epwin has developed people from within and we have a long serving workforce. We have also brought in fresh talent where needed, recognising new skills and experience from different industries that will support our continued success.”
Annette’ s advice is to,“ Take yourself out of your comfort zone, find out what you need to do and work hard to learn your trade. Don’ t wait to get recognised, get yourself noticed.”
“ Your front door … a real statement about you”
»»“ HI, I’ M GEORGE Clarke, product ambassador for Truedor from IG Doors.
I believe that Composite Doors are one of the best products on the market today when it comes to quickly and dramatically changing the appearance and the feel of the home, and enabling homeowners to make a really personal statement about themselves”.
“ Whether they live in a Victorian terrace, a 1930’ s semi-detached, a cottage or a truly modern development, their front door is the most immediately visible feature of their home and is the thing which says most about them”.
“ For so many years the range of door styles available was quite limited, but thankfully that’ s no longer the case. Now there is a vast range of door styles available specifically designed to suit whatever type of property people live in. Exploring the options available can give homeowners ideas for their home they hadn’ t thought of before or even realised were possible”.
“ It means that they can have exactly the door style they
want, to suits both the type of the property they live in, and equally importantly to give their home an appearance that is highly personalised to them- a complete reflection of their tastes”.
“ I always say to homeowners that it is important to understand the crucial role that a front door plays in the look and feel of the home and how important it should be to them – every time they come home of an evening, or friends and neighbours come to the door it is an opportunity for them to feel that the door is entirely personal to them, a reflection of their personality. It should give them a real sense of pride, and a real sense of ownership”.
“ Meaningful choice is really important, especially in today’ s world where people have a real sense of who they are and what kind of statement they want to make about themselves – being able to choose a great front door enables this to happen and is a great starting point for any changes people want to make to their home”
14 » MAR 2017 » CLEARVIEW-UK. COM