Frankie from Metallon in Derby tells us about high spirits and morale in the office and the positive feedback she has received.
Name: Frankie Burkevicius.
Job title: Administration & Accounting Assistant.
Time spent in recycling: Six months. (I started my recycling journey in Feb 2018).
What does your job involve?
What doesn’t my job involve, we’re very busy here in Admin! I provide support to the sales, accounts and HSE departments by answering phone calls, serving customers and undertaking general administration duties. These include filing and organising company documents like invoices, delivery notes and waste transfer notes. Answering the phone includes taking orders from customers for skip hire, waste services, scrap metal collections, price enquiries and taking payment(s) over the phone. I assist the Head of Finance with day-to-day invoice administration such as matching delivery notes to invoices, batching invoices and checking payments and recording incoming cash into the petty cash account.
I also assist in stock control, ordering PPE for staff and any general stock we need for our daily operations, ensuring that we don’t run out of essential items.
Recently I’ve undertaken some HR roles within the company, assisting in the production and distribution of job advertisements and job descriptions. I’ve also arranged interviews for candidates and produced interview questions relevant to the vacancies.
What is the hardest part of your job?
The hardest part of my job is trying to offer high levels of customer service during busy periods on the yard. Taking phone calls, responding to enquiries and emails and serving customers at the same time, all with a smile can be a challenge sometimes. – But I love a challenge! :D
What three things help you to do your job better?
There are many things that help me to do my job better, three of them being:
- I have a great team of office staff around me. From the day I started they’ve taken me under their wing! My days in the office without Pippa, Tracey and Sharon would honestly be so blue! (Not forgetting to mention Barney, Lola and Cilla the office guard dogs). They always bring high spirits and morale into the office and if I don’t have the answer to a query, I can guarantee that one of these ladies will!
- The regulars! In my time of working for Metallon myself and the regulars have become acquainted. It’s always nice to see a familiar friendly face. When I first started working they were all patient with me whilst I learnt how to use the weighbridge system. These days we have a friendly chat whilst I process their tickets.
- The weighbridge system! Without this system my job would very difficult! This ensures that all the weights and the prices match to the correct total. The computer is never wrong meaning that we can’t accidently over or underpay any of our customers. With no mistakes regarding payments, both customers and office staff are happy!
What are you most proud of in your career?
Having entered the company with no experience of the metals recycling industry, I feel that I have ‘hit the ground running’, learning something new every day! Since starting I’ve coped well with the pressure of a busy (to say the least) office environment. I’ve received plenty of positive feedback from my peers and I’m just about managing to balance my working and studying life.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
Advice I’ve received since working within the metals industry is to always carry a magnet! Other than that the best advice I’ve received is to never take life too seriously!
Quick fire round:
- Sausages or bacon? Bacon! (Pigs in Blankets at Christmas are a favourite)!
- Football or rugby? Football. Hala Madrid RMFC
- Cats or dogs? Dogs 100% (Man’s best friend)!
- Town or country? The country I suppose
- Apple or Android? Apple
