Jessica Northrop

FV-Grad Hi, my name is Jess Northrop and I started on the Customer Service and Networks graduate scheme 6 weeks ago and wow what a few weeks it's been! Anyway to set the scene I will first tell you a little bit about myself.

I live in Cononley near Skipton and graduated from Lancaster University back in 2009 with a BSc in Geography. It was here that I first developed my interest in water taking a number of water-based modules and partaking in a field trip to Croatia to look at how they manage their water. After graduation the opportunity arose with Yorkshire Water's graduate scheme to enable me to perfectly combine this interest with my passion for customer service and so here I am.

After spending the summer travelling around Africa, which was an absolutely amazing experience, I am now settling down to work and am currently in my fourth week of my first three month placement which is with the Customer Experience team. I am currently working on a variety of different projects from a benchmarking exercise comparing the service we offer on external flooding to that of other water companies, to taking part in the recruitment process for new staff members. I am always busy and there is so much to learn as no two days are ever the same but there are so many people around to support me and offer a helping hand and a smile.

In my next blog I hope to give you a lot more information about my placement and all the other development opportunities available to me as a graduate at Yorkshire Water.

Will write again soon.

Jess

May 2012

Hello

So my placement in leakage has come to an end and I am just starting my brand new placement with Service Delivery. I will be working on a project based on DG3 'interruptions to supply' an important measure of Yorkshire Water's performance and one which is a key area of focus for the business at the moment. I will update you when I know much more about it.

Leakage was such a different experience to my first placement in Customer Experience, as it was about me leading projects that were looking to develop and pilot new ways of working. One of the pilots I was working on required me to work closely with a number of Team Leaders in leakage to test a new way of scheduling out work to the Leakage Inspectors in the field. This pilot is still ongoing but is looking promising.

Amongst other projects I also had the chance to be part of a four day leakage communication event based at Hull University. The event took individuals from all parts of Yorkshire Water through the 'leakage journey' - from our past performance, to where we currently stand, through to what we will need to do moving forward. This was a great opportunity to present numerous times to a large number of individuals from across the business. Having identified presentations as a personal area for development it allowed me to try out the new techniques I have taken from a number of training courses and to really build up my confidence in this area.

The graduate scheme really requires you to push yourself to identify and develop your weaknesses whilst continuing to further your strengths. With lots of opportunities to choose from, you can identify those that will allow you to develop the most and really challenge yourself to take these on.

Until next time,

Jess

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January 2012

How can time move so fast? I finished my first placement in Customer Experience just before Christmas. I was sad to leave as the work I was doing was allowing me to make a big difference to Customer Experience but changing placements is also what's great about the scheme. It provides you with the opportunity to experience so many different areas of the business and it always puts you in challenging situations where you are learning so many new things all the time.

I have just started my second placement working in leakage. I spent most of my time with Customer Experience working on the waste water side and this new placement is all about clean water. I have therefore spent my first two weeks going out with different teams who work in the field finding leaks, reading meters, maintaining assets and solving customer issues. It's great to see how it all works.

Yorkshire Water graduate scheme is not just about your placements though. We also get to involve ourselves in lots of activities that will aid our development. I am on the Water Aid committee and have also taken on the responsibility of organising a Water Aid ball for spring 2013. We have set up a mini committee and have just started to look at themes, locations and dates there is lots and lots to do but it will be a great learning curve.

I am also the project lead for the induction that the current graduates are organising for the 2012 intake. Not all the activities are so big however; I have also done lots of talks and sessions with universities and schools improving my communication and presentation skills.

Graduates are presented with so many opportunities to help them develop both within placements and activities like the above. There is never a day where I feel I haven't learnt something new and whilst that is challenging it is exactly what the graduate scheme is about.

Until next time

Jess

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