Import Services is proud to spotlight the tremendous work done by our Warehouse Managers at our three sites; Hedge End, Nursling and Southampton Docks.
With a combined service of 58+ years, it’s only deserving that Paula, Christine and Emma are the first to feature in our ‘staff spotlight’ series.
Firstly, we introduce you to Paula Masters, Warehouse Manager at Hedge End.
Paula recently completed her 30-year anniversary at Import Services and her journey has been compelling. Having joined the business in 1989, Paula began working as a picker at the original Fareham site.
Throughout her 30 years Paula cites her fellow staff members, as the main reason why she stays so motivated and dedicated, “It’s the people here, we’ve bred a culture of teamwork and strong work ethic, it’s infectious and makes 30 years go very fast.”
Experience and hands-on approach are the skills Paula finds exemplify her leadership style. Paula’s track record of adaption across new sites, incorporating new processes, aligned to a thorough knowledge of the logistics operation as a whole, give her credibility amongst peers and subordinates.
Paula comments, “Understanding employees’ pressure and leading by example are vital to gaining trust and respect from my team.” Paula continues, “They know that if required, I can step in and perform their role if necessary, I’m not a clipboard manager, I like to be at ground level to ensure the entire distribution centre runs as smoothly as possible.”
Import Services has been through much change during the 30 years and Paula cites the implementation of the Operational Support Development Group (OSDG) as the standout change during her time. The OSDG controls all elements of training, looking after investment in people across all three sites, of which the impact of which is measurable by accreditation and a track record of promotion and development of staff.
Another significant change is in the labour flow from Eastern Europe. In the UK we have standards, licenses and training to go through prior to working at our sites, this is also where the OSDG come in and ensure onboarding is thorough, accurate and swift.
Paula also comments that weekly operations meetings are important to the success of all distribution centres at Import Services, giving ops staff an opportunity to share ideas, innovations, procedures, also to seek and offer guidance. Paula says, “It is the senior team and company directors, where the culture begins and we’re fortunate to have strong leadership from the top to help guide us to be the best managers we can be.”
