In March , we were granted an inside look at the sales team – headed by Helen Pickles – who charted the seven values that contribute to the customer service that consistently gleans fantastic feedback . This month , following on from that focus on quality in the service that Oakland Glass gives , we hear how the team also strives for a quality product …

Joint Managing Director Amanda Falsey begins : “ Against a backdrop of declining supplies of raw materials , increasing demand and ever-rising costs - at all levels – we continually strive to improve our systems and processes internally .

“ Training our staff towards the quality of standards we expect , and educating every member of the team on what a difference it makes to receive a good quality unit , on time and in full , has been an essential part of this on-going process . In the last two years , through Covid and every other aforementioned factor , this has been a challenge at times , but has also made the goal even more important .

“ All of our staff are responsible for quality , but that said , we wanted to invest in a full time Quality Control Inspector . We have recruited from within Oakland Glass , as we like to give opportunities to our staff , to develop themselves .”

As such , Jack Foster was promoted to the role of full-time Quality Control Inspector , two months ago . Jack showed promise

right from the start of his journey at Oakland Glass and has fast tracked himself through the competency level , to become multi-skilled across the factory .

Amanda continued : “ Jack ’ s focus is to get to the root causes of any problems that he finds ,

to help and train up the other members of staff and report back to the management team his findings and solutions .

“ We are training him up in all areas and taking him out to customers to meet them , discuss their expectations and be the front-facing person to discuss any

issues that they face with our units . Jack is doing a great job so far and he is a great addition to the team .”

A relative ‘ new-comer ’ to fenestration herself , Amanda joined Tina Moorhouse as Joint Managing Director in 2019 ; her previous career was that

What matters most is creating an environment that allows our staff to thrive on both a personal and professional _capacity

of a Registered Chartered Accountant . With a resume that included setting and managing KPIs , risk assessment , streamlining practices , and financial viability across various sectors , including manufacturing ; setting up management teams and the roles people take on – and take responsibility for – in the workplace have always been paramount .

In Amanda ’ s own words : “ As an ‘ outsider ’ coming in , it didn ’ t necessarily matter that Oakland was a glass producer , it was its processes and getting the right people into the right positions that I focussed on first .

“ What matters most is drawing on people ’ s existing skills , training them in new ones if needed , dividing the workload appropriately but mostly creating an environment that allows our staff to thrive on both a personal and professional capacity . Jack is a shining example of this . His personal development and professional evolution during his time at Oakland so far has not only led to his own promotion , but bolsters our ethos as a brand and continues to set us apart from the competition in the eyes of our customers .”

www . oaklandglass . co . uk