February Apprentice of the Month - Charlotte Poor
We are happy to announce the winner of the LDN Apprentice of the Month is Charlotte @ Mamas & Papas!
Charlotte joined the Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability programme as an existing member of the Mamas & Papas team and has since made an incredible contribution to social impact strategies across the business.
Check out Charlotte's winning Apprentice of the Month nomination along with our other fantastic nominations below!
Charlotte’s Skills Coach:
It is impossible not to immediately be invested in everything Charlotte has to say as she is so wonderfully positive and extremely knowledgeable about all things CR&S related in her organisation. Charlotte is one of the most committed apprentices and has demonstrated this via taking a 380-mile (!) round trip for a development day. Charlotte ensures that she attends scheduled live sessions at all costs and does so even in the midst of site-wide internet outages.
Charlotte has also actively contributed to the CR&S Apprenticeship through her considered presentation on ethical trading which was delivered to her peers in a live session.
When meeting with Charlotte’s line manager, it has been impossible for either of us to find fault in anything she does. In the rare instances, there are development points, Charlotte is brilliant at taking on feedback and is driven in her approach to self-improvement. Charlotte is also brilliant at regularly feeding back on the apprenticeship process from an apprentice’s viewpoint.
Charlotte’s contribution to CR&S in her organisation is outstanding. She recently delivered an interactive training session during an ESG event, the resources she showed me were engaging and went beyond the event brief to support ESG awareness across the business. Charlotte’s dedication to supporting ethical practices, sustainability, and corporate responsibility in her role also shines through her apprenticeship assignments.
Charlotte’s Line Manager:
Energy: Charlotte is a constant bundle of energy and an incredibly popular member of the team. Life at M&P is often extremely fast paced and Charlotte is always more than willing to assist anyone in anyway she can. She happily fulfils the unofficial role of team co-ordinator, organising cards and gifts for office birthdays etc and is a major contributing factor in keeping team morale high.
Enthusiasm: The enthusiasm Charlotte shows on a daily basis is second to none. Even for tricky tasks such as our recent integration with Amazon which Charlotte has lead from a compliance and sustainability perspective. Charlotte takes pride in completing a task to the best possible standard and her level of output is recognised frequently amongst the wider team.
Willingness To Learn: One of Charlotte’s major strengths is her willingness to push herself outside of her comfort zone. Charlotte currently manages M&P social compliance auditing programme and has recently had to familiarise herself with the new Sedex data platform to ensure this programme is kept up to date. She has applied herself admirably and picked up new skills extremely quickly.
Ability To Take Feedback: Juggling her apprenticeship and her day-to-day role is a challenge Charlotte faces head-on. She manages a busy agenda very well. An invaluable help to myself personally, Charlotte is always open to trying a different approach or making adjustments to projects based on feedback, often resulting in excellent outcomes.
Propensity To Take Action: Charlotte is a proactive individual with an autonomous and independent style of working. When given a brief I trust Charlotte completely to take that away and action on what needs to be done. A recent example would include a research task into exploring what would be involved in M&P becoming accredited to GOTS.
Example of an outstanding piece of work: There are many outstanding pieces of work that I could highlight but if I had to pick just one it would be the recent work Charlotte has done in relation to M&P’s progression through our ETI membership. Charlotte has been heavily involved with senior stakeholders in the business to outline company's ethical trade strategy, accounting for and using skills developed through her sustainability apprenticeship.
Our runner-up for this month is lvl 3 Publishing Assistant Apprentice Aki Gurung! Aki was nominated by LDN Skills Coach, Vanessa, with feedback provided by line manager Tom at Tate.
Aki’s Skills Coach:
Aki has grown so much in confidence over the last few months that it is hard to remember that she was a much quieter person right at the start. Always inquisitive, she has questioned and researched everything put in front of her and she does it all with a smile, good humour, and enthusiasm.
What really stood out for me was that before Christmas she took on the work of helping edited the Tate magazine when a colleague was unable to do it. When we spoke, Aki in her usual style, said "I've been a little bit busy". On top of her usual work, responsibilities, and apprentice work, she offered to step up and fact-check all the articles, proofread and edit as needed. It sounds small - but this is a magazine that goes out to all members of the Tate. It was a huge task, and she was still smiling and laughing!
Her attitude, her professionalism, and her approach to work is exceptional and I think I can't think of anyone more deserving of acknowledgment.
Aki’s line manager:
Aki has made an immediate impact, getting to know not only the team but Tate itself in a short space of time, and participating in all relevant department activities (from weekly meetings to site visits) from day one. The pandemic has had a profound impact on Tate, as it has for cultural institutions across the country, and Aki’s energy and passion have been invaluable in helping Tate Publishing to recover and seize the opportunities we now have.
Curiosity and an openness to new ideas are essential characteristics for aspiring editors, and for Tate employees, and Aki displays both in abundance. She has diligently and excitedly researched and read-up on projects allocated to her, and has never been afraid to ask for help or ask questions to ensure she fully understands the task in hand.
Here’s what was said about the other fantastic nominees:
Charlotte Essinghigh @ Perfomance.io:
Since Charlotte started with us almost 5 months ago now, she's been eager to learn and get stuck in - all whilst becoming a popular member of the team and always coming to work with a huge smile on her face! As time goes on, the standard of quality of her work has really improved and it's lovely to see her confidence building. Charlotte has got an eye for reviewing slide decks and has become an internal branding champion in the business!
Charlotte is a real asset to us at performance-io, and I'm looking forward to continuing to watch her grow.
Joanne Jones @ Reflex Medical:
Joanne has been an amazing addition to our Marketing team and provides the creativity and energy that I cannot at all times. Joanne is always excited to be involved in our plans and projects. She is creative and willing to put forward her ideas. Her excitement and enthusiasm are clear from our external facing social media which she is instrumental in creating. Our social media presence would not be what it is without Joanne’s enthusiasm and passion for the business!
Muhammad Shahzad @ Citywire:
Muhamad takes great pride in ensuring he’s not just completing tasks but also understanding why those tasks need to be completed and the impact it has on the team and business goals. Having that level of curiosity and enthusiasm is a rare quality and shows great maturity often only seen in more experienced team members.
Leah Kelly @ Alain Charles:
Leah hit the ground running when she joined us, and has impressed from the get-go with her energy and enthusiasm, getting to grips very quickly with our editorial processes. Her work to deadline is very impressive, with tasks completed ahead of schedule; this is particularly useful for her work on Travel Bulletin which has a fast turnaround time. Leah has proved adept at balancing her work commitments with her apprentice work and her role as LDN class rep, which she undertakes with great enthusiasm.