For International Women’s Day 2020, our very own Jackie Beckett shares her experience of joining makepositive, and how the company culture of inclusivity helped her settle into her new role…
When my husband and I decided to move to the UK from Australia a few years ago we decided we wanted to live in Leeds due to the network of family and friends we already had in the area. In the six months leading up to the move, I started looking at different Salesforce consultancies in the North of England.
I started thinking about what I was looking for in my next career opportunity and decided I had to be fussy with the company and the role as it would have a huge impact on how well we settled into life in the UK. The things that were most important to me were equality and diversity – I wanted a place where women were fairly represented, supported and encouraged, and where I could meet people and develop a social network. That’s when I first came across makepositive.
I was initially attracted to makepositive by their website – it was full of diversity and I could see myself represented in the photos. It was obvious from the website and social media pages that diversity and inclusion were high on the agenda for makepositive, and everyone looked like they were having fun. When looking at the Executive page there were women there too, and not just one or two token women amongst a sea of men but nearly half of the Executive Team were women. This was in stark contrast to some of the other websites and social media pages that I followed and it was fantastic to see.
After three interviews with three different women in senior positions I managed to secure a role as an Implementation Consultant based out of the makepositive Manchester office. My first week involved a few days in Manchester followed by some time in the London office. I was given such a warm welcome that I knew I had made the right decision.
Not long after I started here our senior management started to run some Women in MP sessions to discuss what we loved and what we could do better at MP in terms of equality and promoting women. These sessions sparked some great discussions and resulted in some really positive initiatives such as reviewing our recruitment strategy to ensure the process and language we use is inclusive. We also introduced a promise to run all our projects in an anti-discriminatory manner and ensure that our clients agree to this prior to working with them.
makepositive is definitely a family, there is such a warm and friendly culture here. No matter which office I’m in or project I’m working on the team is always fantastic, and there’s such a focus on helping each other and working together to achieve shared goals. Each year we go away for a work conference, but unlike most companies we go camping at a beautiful farm in Kent. My first year attending I had not been at MP very long, and there was a staff member who had left and then returned to the MP family. I remember our CEO, Mark Richards, hugging this person during his whole introduction speech, he was so happy to have him back with us. That’s what MP is all about, there is genuine care and respect for fellow colleagues. Another personal example of this was when the Christchurch shootings happened in New Zealand. I am originally from Christchurch, and after that happened Mark sent me a personal message to make sure I was OK and to check in on my family and friends. I don’t believe there are many companies where a CEO would take the time to check on individuals in such a personalised way and it’s something I truly appreciated.
Some of the other things I love about makepositive are the total flexibility in work, I can work from home if I need to but also love coming into the office. We also have a fantastic range of projects, since working here I’ve worked on projects within training organisations, global charities, specialist care companies and software providers. Each project has given me lots of opportunities for professional development and to learn new skills. Every year we also partner with a different charity and each employee is able to take three Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) days per year to work with a chosen charity. It’s these things that make MP such a great place to work.
Although our move to the UK has been difficult at times, makepositive has certainly played a big part in giving me a sense of stability and a home away from home.
The theme for International Women’s Day 2020 is #EachForEqual – here are our India and Manchester office supporting this worthwhile cause…
