As highlighted by our CEO Chris Earle, in 20 years of Verastar from CEO Chris Earle, a key factor in Verastar’s achievements is ‘people working hard to achieve success’.
With over 1000 colleagues across our South Manchester Head Office and 14 regional offices the people behind Verastar are integral to the business. Here’s some of their journeys from the last 20 years…
Cieta Davies, Customer Service Team Manager
Cieta joined Verastar in 2010 as part of the Telesales Team, after a year she moved to Contract Enquiries getting to understand the Contact Centre side of the business. She then helped set up the Utility Customer Service department before being promoted to Team Leader in 2014.
“Throughout my tenure at Verastar, the company has always supported me in my development and with progression opportunities, I have always felt I have moved up rather than down or sideways. Most notably, in 2015 I was given the chance to complete an NVQ L5 in Management and Leadership, supported by the company. I completed this in Feb 2018 and this was a career highlight for me.”
Thomas Lancaster, Trainer
Starting out on the phones in Customer Service in 2008, Tom was recognised for his hard work in earning a Supervisor promotion. He has since joined the Learning & Development Team and has enjoyed the Verastar journey so far.
“The best thing about Verastar is undoubtedly the people. I met my wife here and I’ve made some of my best friends here. It’s also been great to be part of a company that has continued to diversify and grow over the last 20 years. Despite the adversity faced by a double recession, we kept hiring and growing and offering as much as we could to our SME customers.”
Suddargar Hussain, Sales Advisor
Suddargar joined our Sales Team in May 2017 and has experienced Verastar’s dedication to People Development first-hand by working his way through our Pay Progression scheme.
“Thanks to the Pay Progression scheme, I am proud to say that I was the first to work my way through all of the levels and reach ‘Expert’ level in our Manchester City Centre office. It was easy for me to understand how to progress through the scheme. I am really happy how my salary increased, and my hard work and skills were rewarded.”
Read more about Verastar and our recent recognition for People Development here.
Lee Camozzi, Head of Customer Relations
Lee joined the business in 2002 as a Telesales Advisor and worked his way up to Department Head in just a few years. As the need for a dedicated customer Contact Centre arose, Lee was tasked with setting up many of our Customer Relations teams over the last decade. Now heading up the project-based teams, Lee is responsible for process improvements across the Contact Centre ensuring the business continually develops.
“I feel very lucky to have been in the right place at the right time during my journey at Verastar, key competent people were needed to take the company forward. If you’re an ambitious and hard-working person like me this is the perfect environment, there’s always something exciting going on.”
Rachel Gryckiewicz, Head of Customer Care Administration
Initially joining as a Customer Services advisor in 2005, Rachel was promoted to Supervisor within six months and then became a Manager. She played an integral role in setting up the Learning & Development Team, before becoming a Section Manager and then on to Department Head. She now runs five departments and has loved every minute of it.
“The company really push people to develop and learn and to create a career at Verastar. There’s so many opportunities within the teams and the company is big enough to make real progress. I’ll be honest that I’ll probably never leave! It’s all about the people here, the job is very busy but I have a great boss and a fantastic team and that’s all you can ask for.”
Sonia Javaid, Product Support Advisor
Sonia joined in 2017 and has been on a personal journey since she’s been part of the Customer Services team.
“When I first started this job, I had no confidence and was suffering from depression and anxiety issues. Over time, my team have been so supportive and really helped my overcome my issues. My confidence is sky high and I have to say we have become a little family.”
Holly Mack, Programme Manager
Holly has been with Verastar since she graduated in 2009. From learning the business in each operational function, she has gone on to set up the Project Management Team dedicated to continuous improvement and delivering the company strategy. She is now an integral member of the senior management team paving the way for a successful future.
“Verastar for me is a brilliant organisation to be a part of. We’ve made huge milestones as a company including entering new markets and revolutionising the way the utilities and telecoms industry bills, things which we are all very proud of. I feel fortunate to have been here for just under half of Verastar’s history and am excited about the future – especially as we implement our 5-year strategy. I am also lucky enough to have met my husband here and had our beautiful daughter!”
Read all about the rest of the Senior Team in our Meet The Team page.
Be a part of our next 20 years! Visit our Careers Page to find out how you can be a part of our growing team.
