Insight
This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating the theme of Give to Gain, and for us at Thinventory it felt like the perfect opportunity to shine a light on something we believe in, the power of collaboration.
We’ve sat down with some of the incredible women across our business to hear how they’ve given their time, knowledge and support to the people around them. Whether that’s through mentoring a colleague, sharing their expertise, or simply showing up for someone who needed guidance.
In the third and final instalment of our International Women’s Day feature, we speak to Natalie Gambrill and Rachel Van Gelder who both work in our customer support team. Here are their stories:
Tell us a bit about yourself:
Natalie Gambrill: I’ve been with the business just over nine years. I began as a trainer in our customer support team and my role has progressed from there. I’m the support excellence manager- I oversee customer support and the day-to-day running, mainly processes that affect the team. Together myself and Rachel action any new processes and systems- we like our processes!
Rachel Van Gelder: I started with a company that Thinventory bought out in 2012 and then made redundant from that role. I moved to Coventry in 2014 and have been in a customer support role ever since, starting as an advisor, then senior team leader and now support excellence specialist. My role entails carrying out quality checks on calls and helping to write guides and carry out training. I’m originally from New Zealand and have been in the UK for the last 30 years.
Natalie: I would describe us as two halves of a brain; we are both are like sponges. One of us will always remember something!
Share your career journey so far.
Natalie: I’ve always worked in customer service roles. I’ve worked as an assistant manager at O2, training manager at Phones 4U and more recently, I worked in customer support for TNT.
Rachel: I’ve worked in customer service roles since I was 19, mainly the banks and NHS. I’ve worked in retail but didn’t enjoy it!
How would you describe working at Thinventory?
Natalie: I always say it would take a lot for me to leave; I’m invested in the business and what we do, I really care what the team are involved in. My line manager Lara is the best manager I’ve had. It’s nice that the team get on very well and the relationships we’ve built.
Rachel: I am a lifer. I’ve progressed and happy with the job I’m doing. If I ever got a job anywhere else, it would be Disney!
How did you start working together and how do your roles fit in with one another?
Natalie: Rachel was here before me in customer support. I joined the team and sat with Rachel who helped me. When British Gas onboarded, I headed that team up and Rachel came to work with me. My role then changed after my maternity to look more at the processes and systems which myself and Rachel work on together.
Rachel: Natalie really helped me when we started working together. I’m dyslexic and she has helped to bring out the best in me and support me
Do you have an example of a time when you have supported each other, either professionally or personally?
Natalie: We are each other’s agony aunt. We have a great friendship; we trust each other and have a good bond. We use Salesforce in customer support which I implemented. As changes and improvements were made, me and Rachel came together to look at how we use it, how it can be improved and how we can reduce the manual work the customer support team do. Me and Rachel spent hours and hours brainstorming process flows and looking at the steps that needed to be taken. We both would have lost our minds without each other.
Rachel: We are like a married couple!
Natalie: Yes, we are, we bicker but then we make up. We very much bounce off each other.
How do your different strengths complement each other?
Natalie: With Rachel she can see things in a different level of detail to me. She is the other half of my brain.
Rachel: I’ve spent so many years working as an advisor in customer support I can look at things from a different perspective. Natalie is great at making the words look good.
What does it mean to have a strong female colleague supporting you in the business? Has it made a difference to your career at Thinventory?
Rachel: All our managers have been female, so I don’t know what it’s like to have anything different. I feel I can speak my mind and I’m comfortable to express my own views.
Natalie: I’ve been in a few different businesses, and this is the first company that are predominantly female in management roles, which is nice to see.
Has there been a piece of advice either of you have given to each other that has stuck?
Rachel: When I was a team leader, Natalie helped me to be more organised and now I can sort things out so much better.
Natalie: I can look at things from a different perspective, how I oversee, organise and run things, Ambreen our deputy team leader has also benefitted from this advice.
How do you navigate different perspectives, whether between yourselves or with members of your team?
Natalie: As mentioned previously, we are like an old married couple. Rachel will sometimes explain things and I don’t understand, but we talk things through until we reach the same end goal. We will talk, adapt and look at what is best for the team. We are usually quite aligned.
Rachel: Sometimes I need to explain things a few times and get frustrated with myself.
What do you hope other women across the business will take away/ take action after reading this interview?
Natalie: There was no one else I would rather work with than Rachel. I wouldn’t be able to do my job without Rachel.
Rachel: The key is to be open and honest with each other; I don’t take it personally if Natalie doesn’t always agree with me.
Natalie: We have respect and encourage each other. We talk each other up, it’s all about having that friendship. Rachel is the closest person I’ve ever had to work with. I can be honest and myself; communication is the key.