Who better to tell you what it’s like to work for Altro than the people who work here? Read the following interviews with Altro employees.
Employee Profile: Sarah de los Rios
Where do you currently work?
As Business Manager – Continental Europe based at Letchworth but only in the office 30 – 40% of time with rest out in Europe, primarily Sweden and Germany where we have offices but also the rest of the Continent as we do business all over.
What does your job involve? What’s a typical day?
It is very difficult to describe a typical day as my job is so varied, that’s why I enjoy it so much. A typical day overseas would usually involve either team meetings in subsidiary markets or Distributor visits usually encompassing architect and contractor visits and an update with the Distributor on sales performance, products, key projects, marketing activities and anything else they fancy discussing.
What’s been your career path with Altro?
I have been here for quite a while, much longer than expected!! I started in October 1998 as a Sales Executive for Latin America basically responsible for expanding and, in several countries, setting-up distribution of Altro products in South and Central America. This was a great introduction as it really was starting from scratch in many markets that had never heard of Safety flooring and were only vaguely familiar with PVC floors! In 2000 I was given additional responsibility for some of the European markets, basically the Mediterranean where I spoke the languages. Then just last year in June 2004 my job changed to the current one of Business Manager for Continental Europe. The challenge to double European Sales by 2008 means that there is plenty for us all to be getting on with in the region and the very positive side of these stretch targets is that there are constantly new opportunities to do things differently.
What do you enjoy most about working for Altro?
Well, as above really, the challenging company targets and constant change means that there are always new and interesting challenges both for me and for my team. I also think that the Altro culture is very positive as the family-owned factor and the size make good communication and teamwork easier whilst at the same time the growth strategy means that there are great opportunities for personal and career development.
Employee Profile: Stephen Jeffrey
Where do you currently work?
Within the IT helpdesk team.
What does your job involve? What's a typical day?
The IT department is based in Letchworth and we provide cover to our remote sites and overseas. The job is varied and one moment I can be working on a small hardware problem and the next it could be dealing with a remote connection issue for our entire sales force. Also a portion of time is taken up by planning for future projects or just giving general advice.
What's been your career path with Altro?
I first began working for Altro in November 1995 within the manufacturing Department as part of the Inspection team, after 5 years and various roles I saw a job vacancy within the helpdesk team. With the full support and encouragement of my manager I applied and was offered a chance to move into a different area of the business. But I still use the experience and knowledge I had gained within manufacturing on a daily basis.
What do you enjoy most about working for Altro?
Everything really, from the team I work within, right up to the culture of the company. I’m given the freedom I need to be able to do my job effectively but at the same time know I have support when and if I need it. The work I do is involving, challenging and constantly changing which I particularly enjoy. The hours can be a bit odd sometimes, as we may have to do work outside of office hours, and I like that flexibility.
Employee Profile: Paul Hankin
I work in the Manufacturing department as a Manufacturing shift leader.
I commenced my employment with Altro on the 30th June 1997. It was never my intention to undertake a career in manufacturing. I had completed my GNVQ Advance in business at school and for my gap year I had decided to work for a year at Altro to gain some practical work experience.
During that year I really enjoyed working in the Altro culture. The company really knows how to treat its people and everyone is made to feel valued and important.
I started looking at other options that I could take to gain an education and still work at Altro. I had a strong desire to gain a degree and anyone that knows me will tell you that the only thing that I enjoy more than golf is to understand what makes people tick and to understand what motivates us all. The answer I came up with was to study for an open university BSc honours degree in Psychology. This has been a constant in my life for the last 7 years.
As well as studying for the degree, I was looking for ways to progress within Altro. I always had a strong desire to be part of the management team. To achieve this, I participated in many training course and tried to apply what I had learnt to the best of my ability. During my time at Altro, I have been on team appreciation, skills development, NLP training, NEBSM management and a couple of year ago, I completed the Professional development certificate in management (CMS). In October, I am going to be moving onto the next stage which is the Post Graduate diploma in management (DMS). One of the main reasons that I have been happy at Altro is because it has always satisfied my need to be constantly improving and growing as a person.
In February 2003, I took my first step into the management team when I accepted a temporary position as the Production nightshift team leader. I was responsible for the day to day management of the shift and the production team as a whole.
In October 2004, the manufacturing management team underwent a restructure. I was appointed to the role of manufacturing shift leader. The shift leader team comprises of 5 people and together we are responsible for over 100 manufacturing team members. My role is very varied. I am responsible for the day-to-day operations within manufacturing. These operations include operational effectiveness, measuring performance, health and safety, recruitment, training and development, planning, new product development, supply chain management and one of our main goals is to shape the manufacturing culture to enable us to achieve our goal of Silver (cultural change programme).
I am enjoying my work as much as I ever have. I am pleased that I have progressed as much as I have. The best thing for me is that at 25, I still have a lot more development to come and I believe Altro is the ideal place for me to do that.