Our regular colleague stories give an insight into working life at Hastings Direct. Talisha is a Team Leader in Customer Services and, in this week’s blog, she tells us about her development journey since joining our Leicester site five years ago. What has your journey been at Hastings Direct? I joined the business in 2016 as a Customer Representative in our Customer Service department. I spent 12 months in my telephony role where I was trained to help with many Customer requirements which in turn built my knowledge of our systems and processes. I then moved into a coaching role where I supported new colleagues joining the business and also existing colleagues who required additional support within their role. I’m now a Team Leader in the Customer Service department and have held my role for over 18 months. How did you prepare before applying for the role? I always aspired to progress within the company and I knew that, in order to succeed, I needed to evaluate my strengths and weaknesses. This helped me to determine my key development areas and set clear actions to enhance my skills. Secondly, I was able to use my natural strengths to my advantage whilst developing and growing in other areas. I approached the relevant stakeholders for support, and this helped develop my personal ‘brand’. What skills have you developed and how? Developing my communication skills proved paramount in my role as a Team Leader. It has allowed me to adapt when working with colleagues that have different learning styles. Becoming a coach allowed me to develop my communication skills by observing my peers and understanding what works for them and how I could integrate this within my own style. Hastings Direct has a diverse workforce and interacting with different personalities allowed me to communicate more effectively whilst building good relationships. What advice would you give to someone looking to progress their career at Hastings Direct? Be proactive – be the driver of your own development, build productive relationships and look to establish a mentor. A mentor will provide regular and insightful feedback that will aide your development, and this was key for me. We have full and part time Customer Representative roles available in Bexhill-on-Sea and Leicester, along with a number of home-based opportunities. If you’d like to be part of a team working together to support our customers, click here to find out more and apply.