12 Days of Field Members – Bluestones One

Meet Richard Jones – Account Manager

Kelly Croutear — Wed, 24 May 2023 13:22:13 +0000

Tell us about your role at Bluestones One

My role at Bluestones One is Account Manager.

How would you normally start your day at work?

My day starts with touching base with teams, checking emails and reports from the previous day/night.

What does a typical day at work look like for you?

Liaising with customers either via phone, Teams meetings and site visits discussing existing and up and coming work.

Interacting with the Installation and Merchandising teams on ongoing projects.

Making sure the teams on the shopfloor have everything they need to complete the tasks onsite and supporting them throughout the day.

Working with our Resource Planning team to ensure all future projects are planned as per the customer’s requirements.

What do you find challenging?

The changing nature of our industry can often be challenging, but has the added benefit of no two days being the same!

What do you enjoy about the role?

Everyday produces different challenges and I learn something new every day and enjoy interacting with different people.

What’s the best thing about working at Bluestones One?

Working with new and existing customers to achieve the required goal to deliver each project. I also enjoy working with and listening to our colleagues on the shopfloor ensuring they feel supported and valued and that collectively we drive excellent service levels for our customers, helping to grow our business.

Meet Marge Smethurst – Project Support

Georgia Bellis — Fri, 12 May 2023 09:04:57 +0000

How did your journey at Bluestones One begin and what has it been like since?
I work part-time as Project Support. I support the resource team with day-to-day tasks and any issues that crop up during my shift.

How would you usually start your day at work?
Coffee!! I always arrive a little earlier than my start time to make a coffee and start my mornings work. I check my emails from the previous day and then ask my line manager what tasks to get on with.

What does a typical day at work look like for you?

As part of my role, I coordinate and communicate with our team members who are out in the field to discuss their upcoming work schedule.

I’m also responsible for confirming our team’s shifts, sourcing and recruiting new staff members and checking their role understanding through telephone interviews. I also ensure that everyone is efficiently set up on our Bluestones Scheduler app and take charge of requesting hotel bookings for those working out in the field.

What do you find challenging?
Not knowing everything! I also wish I had two sets of ears and arms to be able to help everyone but sometimes there are not enough hours in the day!

What do you enjoy about the role?
I enjoy everything, but the main part is probably recruitment as this is something I have done in previous roles.

What is the best thing about working for Bluestones One?

The people. I’m still learning especially with the new systems but I feel comfortable asking questions when I’m not 100% sure.

Meet Kerrie Oram: Lead Resource Coordinator

Georgia Bellis — Thu, 04 May 2023 08:54:42 +0000

How did your journey at Bluestones One begin and what has it been like since?
I have been with Bluestones One for 6 years. I first started in the logistics section of the business and I then moved to the retail and installations department, putting together teams for our installation clients. Moving forward, as the business consolidated, I moved over to the resource team.

My role is to put teams together for various clients, which involves making sure skill sets are met, dealing with accommodation, managing daily tasks within the resource team, cost tracking, payroll & expenses, and addressing any training requirements within the business.

How would you usually start your day at work?
The start of my work day varies daily and it could be anything from managing calls from field staff to emailing management or addressing other requests that come in.

What does a typical day at work look like for you?
Problem-solving, and supporting the resource team and field staff.

What do you find challenging?
Last-minute changes to plans can be challenging at times but once you have achieved them it feels rewarding.

What do you enjoy about the role?
Every single bit of my job and the company. When you find something you love doing there is no better feeling.

What is the best thing about working for Bluestones One?

The management structure and the people within that structure
Every day is different
My colleagues out in the field as they all work extremely hard

Meet Sam Gidman: Resource Coordinator

Georgia Bellis — Tue, 02 May 2023 07:58:25 +0000

How did your journey at Bluestones One begin and what has it been like since?
I have been with Bluestones One for the last 3 years, moving over with the Bluestones One acquisition of Deeset (store development). My role includes a wide variety of jobs from planning work for the field to completing payroll. I ensure that the field is in the right place at the right time.

How would you usually start your day at work?
My day varies but mainly starts with catching up on what happened overnight and addressing any issues that may have arisen.

What does a typical day at work look like for you?
Planning, booking Accom, arranging travel, and arranging training for staff.

What do you find challenging?
Every one of our field team has different needs and skills so matching them to the right job as well keeping them happy.

What do you enjoy about the role?
No two days are ever the same.

What is the best thing about working for Bluestones One?
The staff, the challenges, and the support they have given me.

Meet Gary Lowe, Operations Director

Nick Baldwin — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 14:10:44 +0000

How did your journey at Bluestones One begin and what has it been like since?
I was lucky enough to be one the first to join Bluestones One and since joining the business we have grown significantly, we are now a strong business with a great reputation for being customer and people focused.

Why do you enjoy about working in this industry?
Everything! From interacting with customers to visiting stores and meeting the teams that do the hard work at the shelf edge. I have some great relationships with customers and our field teams which we have built over time. Every day is both challenging and rewarding and I can’t imagine ever working in any other industry than this one.

What is your proudest professional moment?
It is really difficult to pick just one moment as there have been many in my career. But if I had to pick one, it would have to be when we won ‘Best New Business’ at the Bluestones Investment Group Awards. To share this accolade with my fellow Directors made me very proud indeed.

What are your values as a leader?
I have 3 values I tried abide by in everything I do:
1. Lead by example.

2. Respect everyone.

3. Always be honest.

How would you describe the company culture at Bluestones One?
There is a strong work ethic within our management team, everyone works collaboratively to ensure that we deliver the best possible service. It is very much a ‘teamwork makes the dream work’ mentality and in everything we do we try our best to ensure we respect each other and our field teams.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
Any spare time I have is spent following Liverpool Football Club, playing football with my son or going on family adventures such as camping with my partner, son, and daughter.

Meet Martin Sweeney, Installations Director

Nick Baldwin — Tue, 22 Mar 2022 11:31:05 +0000

How did your journey at Bluestones One begin and what has it been like since?
I joined the business in February 2020 and was really excited with my role and new opportunity to develop. Unfortunately, I was grounded slightly by the pandemic. This then presented the business and me with lots of obstacles which we had never experienced but with the support from the internal team and from our partner company, Bluestones Investment Group (BIG), we overcame these. Whilst many businesses have failed to survive, Installations continued to develop and grow its customer base. The next few years may present many challenges, but I am excited to drive the business forward in the coming years.

What do you enjoy about working in this industry?
I believe you must be a self-motivator and be ready to tackle daily challenges. Each day presents itself with new challenges, and whilst this can be difficult, you get a sense of achievement when you deliver for the customer. One thing that really excites me is the opportunity to see lots of the UK whilst on client and site meetings. We have a fantastic internal support team who are young and ambitious, and this allows us to develop.

What is your proudest professional moment?
I have two that really stand out to me. My proudest moment was when I was nominated and won three awards a few years back at the Tesco annual awards. These awards were nominated by three senior projects managers for my support and efforts delivering successful projects. The other is seeing how proud my family are at what I have achieved to date in my career.

What are your values as a leader?
The key values for me as a leader in our industry are focused on our people, who come together daily to support and deliver for our customers. I always try to treat and talk to people the way I would like to be spoken to.

How would you describe the company culture at Bluestones One?
Bluestones is a fantastic place to work and I’m extremely proud to be part of it. The culture I have experienced is a willingness to grow and go beyond expectations. Having now met more individuals across the group it is clear to see that everyone has a clear vision and determination to be successful and grow the various Bluestones brands.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
In my spare time I enjoy spending time with my 2 children (soon to be 3!!!!) and wife, visiting National Trust sites and walking with the dog on our local beaches. I am also an avid Newcastle United fan and enjoy going to watch them at home when time allows.

Meet Ashley Jewitt: Commercial Director

Nick Baldwin — Mon, 21 Feb 2022 10:59:49 +0000

How did your journey at Bluestones One begin and what has it been like since?
I joined Bluestones One in March 2018 after meeting with all the key stakeholders within the Group. It felt right and we were very much aligned in terms of how we wanted to approach building the business. Having the support network available, whilst having full rein to run our business, has been the reason why we have achieved what we have today and a testament to all involved.

What do you enjoy about working in this industry?
I like to be busy and working in our industry it is certainly that! There are always new challenges to overcome which is a big strength of ours and very rewarding when we deliver for our customers. We are always pushing ourselves with ideas and initiatives to maximise our service offering and lead the business to the next stage of the journey, which is very exciting to be a part of.

What is your proudest professional moment?
I have had some very proud moments throughout my career, but the proudest moment for me would be winning the most profitable business within the Group within a 3-year period of setting the business up. The work that went into this was immense and shows what a great network of people we have surrounding us.

What are your values as a leader?
Our service is very much about our workforce and the customers, so a big key value for me is the focus on our people which leads to delivering the highest standard of service in the industry. Vision is also a big value for me as we need to continuously thinking of new ideas and ways to keep the business ahead of the curve.

How would you describe the company culture at Bluestones One?
The culture at Bluestones One is one of the very best I’ve worked with. We are experiencing rapid growth so we have invested in new faces within the business that will bring a different dynamic to the team. Our focus will always be to recognise our people and maintain our \’one team\’ approach which in turn creates a very enjoyable place to work.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
I have a lovely wife, two amazing children, and we are always busy together in the outdoors camping or visiting new places. I enjoy catching up with friends and I also like to mix dance music.

Tell us something about yourself that we wouldn’t expect
When I was younger, I used to go to school in Tenerife and spoke fluent Spanish.

Meet Gary White: Managing Director

Nick Baldwin — Fri, 21 Jan 2022 12:54:41 +0000

We’re getting to know the Bluestones One team so, we’ve asked Managing Director, Gary White, about his journey in the merchandising and installation industry and what it’s like leading the team at Bluestones One.

How did your journey at Bluestones One begin and what has it been like since?
I joined the business in May 2018 and it’s been a whirlwind experience ever since. We built the business from scratch with the support of the group and have gone from strength to strength. We now have a market leading business that will continue to grow and I’m very excited for the next few years.

What do you enjoy about working in this industry?
No two days are ever the same. We are constantly engaging internally and externally on new projects, ideas and initiatives. As with every business there are always challenges, but as a team we face them head on and come out stronger for the experience.

What is your proudest professional moment?
There are a few, but we have been very fortunate to be part of such a supportive Investment Group and have won 3 awards in 3 years at the annual awards. Our first one (Best New Business) was incredible but to have recently been awarded Most Profitable in our third full year of trading was a huge achievement and I’m immensely proud of the team.

What are your values as a leader?
My key values are about focusing on the people, which for me is our teams and our customers, as we simply don’t have a business without them both. I try to empower the team to make their own decisions, but have to fight my own need to know everything in order to let them get on with things!

How would you describe the company culture at Bluestones One?
To be honest I think our culture is constantly evolving as the business and the team grows. We set out with some very clear objectives relating to how we treat our people and customers, and as we’ve grown we’ve worked extremely hard to maintain those and ensure that focus isn’t lost. We are still committed to reward, recognition and growth for our teams and believe this drives our culture.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
In my spare time I enjoy spending time with my wife, daughter and family and friends but also try to ensure I play 5 a side football twice a week (think I’m too old for 11 a side now!).

Tell us something about yourself that we wouldn’t expect
I’m a proud ‘Jersey Bean’! This is the term for people from Jersey, Channel Islands, where I was born and lived until the age of 10.

Meet Richard Jones – Operations Manager

Nick Baldwin — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 16:15:04 +0000

Tell us about your role at Bluestones One I have been with Bluestones One for three years. I first started on the shop floor (in the field) where I would travel the country meeting new people and completing a variety of projects. I then moved into the resource team where my role was to put teams together for various clients, this involved making sure the skill set was right. I was also responsible for making sure the accommodation is right and making sure that we, as a business, got the basics right and the teams had the right tools to deliver the best service. I am now currently the Operations Manger which means I now have my own team within the office and manage colleagues in the field. This role also includes interaction with clients to ensure they have the faith in the business to consistently deliver their requirements. I have been in retail for over 20 years now and I have enjoyed every minute of it, the different places and challenges that the job role brings. There is no better job satisfaction than knowing our colleagues in the field deliver a high standard of service to our clients and seeing what we have all achieved. How would you normally start your day at work? The start of my day varies daily and could be anything from a call regarding feedback from site or another job request coming in. What does a typical day at work look like for you? Solving problems, supporting the colleagues with in my team, on the shop floor and the clients. There is no better satisfaction when you can achieve and overcome challenges that this job may bring. What do you find challenging? This job is not like Groundhog Day, every day is different and offers different challenges. What do you enjoy? Every bit of it. The interaction with the colleagues on the shop floor, the office environment and also with the clients. I really enjoy knowing you have to be able to adapt to different situations and react quickly to resolve any issues that come along. What’s the best thing about working at Bluestones One? – The colleagues on the shop floor. – The management structure. – The values the company want to install. – Every day is a different challenge.

Meet Garry Leck: Lead Resource Co-ordinator

Nick Baldwin — Mon, 20 Dec 2021 11:23:13 +0000

Tell us about your role at Bluestones One
I am the Lead Resource Coordinator and have been with Bluestones One for almost three years now. I started out in the field as a Merchandiser, then moved up to Team Leader before I got offered a permanent role within the office. I spend most of my time based in our North East office where we run a small team responsible for allocating the work to the field staff. On a day to day basis, we allocate the work and resources needed for each job site.

How would you normally start your day at work?
The start of each day is different and led by what has happened the previous night. The main priority is to resolve any day to day challenges or additional requests generated by the night teams. Once resolved we can move onto the planning of the following days and weeks.

What does a typical day at work look like for you?
A typical day is mainly dealing with enquiries generated on-site whilst trying to organise the following weeks. If we can get everyone into a job they like with people they enjoy working with, our job is made so much easier.

What do you find challenging?
Everyone has different priorities and everyone always wants things doing promptly. Trying to find the balance and trying to do the best for everyone is tough sometimes. I wish everyone could experience a day in the office, it’s not the place where we just drink coffee and eat biscuits, although that does often help!

What do you enjoy?
It’s different every day. We deal with hundreds of different people and we all have different lives and different issues. If we can help or resolve those concerns and problems it makes everyone’s life a little better. It doesn’t always work but when it does, it’s great!

What’s the best thing about working at Bluestones One?
Bluestones One is a big company so you get that reassurance of guaranteed pay (we can all pretend that it’s not important, but it is really). However, it’s also small enough that everyone cares. All the directors know all the staff and are very approachable. As a company, they will always try and help resolve any challenges we face and support staff wherever possible. There aren’t many companies that I can say I would trust, but Bluestones One is definitely one of them!