A day in the life of… our General Manager
In this ‘Day in the Life of…’ post we speak to one of our longest-serving members of staff, Michelle Donaldson, who’s been with us for almost two decades.
She’s seen a lot over the years and has been with us every step of the way, as we’ve shaped and led the industry with our market-leading forklift forks and attachments.
Q. What time do you start and finish?
A. I start at 7.30am and finish when the job is done. Such is our success, my feet literally don’t touch the floor from the moment I walk through the door to when I leave!
Q. What does your role involve?
A. As General Manager, I consider myself as being an all-rounder, from dealing with customers’ queries to providing team members with whatever support they may need. This could include dealing with stock requirements and solving customer account issues, or carrier and haulier problems. I also manage my own accounts and cover for other staff where required, all while trying my best to keep everyone happy!
Q. What tends to be your first task of the day?
A. Making sure everybody’s fuelled up with their morning coffee before moving on to discussing upcoming tasks with our operational staff. We discuss key tasks for that day, including daily dispatches and stock due to arrive at the warehouse, to name but a few!
Then I’ll head to my desk, open my email inbox and deal with whatever comes my way during the day from our customers, suppliers and production and transport teams.
Q. …And the last?
A. Creating a list of what I have to deal with for the next day. My desk and inbox are never empty, so it’s incredibly important I keep on top of my ‘to do’ list and continuously reprioritise my work in line with the latest requirements and most pressing deadlines.
Q. What do you enjoy the most about it?
A. Everything! Being the first port of call for customers, sorting problems, winning new orders, supporting my colleagues within their roles, the list is endless!
Q. Who do you work alongside within the company?
A. I work with all members of our team, from the MD, Sales Director and sales team, to our operational staff, logistics and despatch teams and drivers. I work across the entire customer journey, from when an order comes in, to the moment it’s delivered to our customers, I’m responsible for helping ensure it happens.
Q. How has your job changed over the years?
A. I’ve worked for Invicta for almost 20 years. I joined a small team of 4 doing accounts and sales and have seen plenty of change during this time. I’ve grown through my time with the business to my position of general manager which comes with more staff to manage and lots of problem solving.
It’s been great to be part of the business growth and still see the company grow year-on-year with new products, larger premises and more staff. And the best thing is, it’s still a great company to work for.
Q. How does your role help deliver ‘the Invicta difference?’
A. We all contribute towards delivering ‘the Invicta difference.’ I’m here to make sure we deliver on what we say we’re going to deliver and if people can’t think something can be done, I always make sure it happens.
Q. What would you change about your job?
A. That’s a difficult one – it’d be great to have more time in the day to get my work done (as well as work shorter hours and have more holidays, but don’t we all wish that?!)
We hope you’ve found this Q&A with Michelle enjoyable and useful. Keep your eyes peeled for our next ‘A Day in the life of…’ blog post when another one of our employees reveals all about their role at Invicta.
In the meantime, if you’d like to find out more about our bespoke capabilities or discuss your forklift fork and attachments requirements with us, contact us on 0113 277 1222 or sales@invicta-attachments.co.uk.
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