Staff stories
Eunice – Human Resources Officer, Head office
I started work in Carr-Gomm in 2002 as a Human Resources Administrator for Recruitment and Selection. Prior to that, I worked as an Assistant Medical Recruitment Officer at the Barts and the London NHS Trust. When I started at Carr-Gomm I was impressed by the culture of the organisation, which was very relaxed and friendly.
My role as the Human Resources Administrator changed over time and gave me the opportunity to develop further within HR. I am currently working as a Human Resources Officer responsible for delivery of the HR service, mainly dealing with employee relations. My team covers the South, West and the London regions. I find my role as an HRO very interesting because of its varied nature.
The best thing about working in Carr-Gomm is the knowledge that even though not directly, my work is making a difference in someone else’s quality of life and that gives me the job satisfaction that motivates me and commits me to my work even more.
Neil - Area Business Manager, Barnsley
I started at Carr-Gomm in 1995 as a part-time project worker, after spending most of my career in catering. I became an Area Business Manager in 1998 and now manage a team of four Local Service Managers and a staff of over 30 people, stretching from Barnsley to Burton and Leicester.
I like Carr-Gomm’s person-centred approach to both clients and staff and the chances that I get given to develop new services in response to local need. For example, I recently launched a floating support scheme for teenage parents in two local authority areas and opened a new service comprising of self-contained flats for individual with learning disabilities. One of the aspects I really enjoy about this role is the diversity.
I am proud of a project that I recently piloted - an approach to reducing voids (empty rooms) in our properties by encouraging individual project workers to take greater responsibility for tackling the problem. Devolving budget responsibilities for repairs, maintenance and renewals to the project staff, allowed the staff to plan ahead and identify likely spending throughout the year. After running a number of training sessions with my staff I found that the work greatly increased sense of ownership of their project amongst staff and ultimately in a reduction in the number of voids.
Jazka – Client Involvement Officer, South Region
I came to Carr-Gomm in 2001 as a Project Worker, after spending 7 years working in the social care sector as a play worker, youth worker, child therapist and support worker. Within 6 months I was given the opportunity to move up the ranks to the post of Client Involvement Officer. I am responsible for the facilitation and implementation of Client Involvement across the south region of Carr-Gomm, which spans a huge area across five counties. My role is always varied and never dull and includes training staff and clients in empowerment and self-advocacy, developing policies, setting up creative workshops and steering groups and supporting clients to develop newsletters and facilitate house meetings.
What first impressed me and continues to strike me about Carr-Gomm are the opportunities and support available to staff to develop new skills and gain new experiences. If you are ambitious and want new challenges, yet appreciate working in a supportive and relaxed environment, then this is the place for you. Staff are given the freedom to explore their potential in Carr-Gomm, so much so that I have just returned from a year’s sabbatical where I worked and travelled across north and central America. Being able to take time out to travel and develop in different environments has not only given me a fresh approach to my work within Carr-Gomm, but also equipped me with even more skills that I can apply to my role as Client Involvement Officer.
