The importance of helping staff to climb the career ladder, and indeed kickstart their career, is being emphasized by one of the north east’s leading lettings and estate agents.
Newcastle-based Walton Robinson prides itself that a large proportion of its staff have worked their way to the top, and has recently announced that it will take on two apprentices to start their journey in property.
General Manager, Amy Gibson, said: “I believe that we develop strength through experience and as General Manager, I find recalling scenarios from my previous roles allows me to push the business forward and support staff fully.
“It is also extremely important to reward and promote staff for their hard work and dedication, as it’s something that is mutually beneficial for both our people and the wider business.”
Amy joined Walton Robinson in 2014 as a Property Consultant in the Lettings Department then moved into Property Management, and has since been promoted to Office Manager and then General Manager in 2019.
Amy said: “I’m extremely grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given, and I love that Walton Robinson is always trying to be one step ahead.
“We never sit still and wait for things to happen, we always want to be ahead of the curve.”
There are a number of success stories from colleagues all across the company, from individuals who have climbed their way to Directorate level, or those who started part-time work as a student and have since furthered their career within the business.
SUCCESS STORY: Mark Smith, Operations Director
Mark joined Walton Robinson on a part-time basis whilst studying at university. After graduating he became a full-time Lettings Negotiator and was later promoted to Lettings Manager.
As the business continued to grow it became apparent that there was a need for a General Manager to oversee the full scope of day-to-day operations, and Mark took up this position for a period before becoming Operations Director.
Mark said: “Our team really buy into the culture of continual improvement that we seek to instil and I love to hear ideas about how we can adjust processes and procedures to improve the level of service we provide.
“We are always on the lookout for new opportunities and will always look to promote from within to take advantage of them.”
SUCCESS STORY: Kyle Dickson, Lettings Manager
Kyle started in 2019 as a Property Consultant in our Lettings Team, and was promoted to Lettings Manager in just a few months, using management experience from elsewhere to get a foothold in the property industry.
Kyle said: “There are no two days that are the same and everyday I get to experience something different.
“I’m also surrounded by fantastic people, and I’ve never really experienced a team atmosphere like it anywhere else – everyone just pulls together to get stuff done.”
SUCCESS STORY: James Devenish, Sales Manager
James finished studying for his A-levels and, after travelling for a period, joined Walton Robinson as a part-time Property Consultant in 2018. After just seven months, he was offered a full-time position in Lettings and Property Management. He since moved over to sales and was promoted to Sales Manager earlier this year.
James said: “The best thing about working for Walton Robinson is that it’s more like a family environment – everyone’s really close.
“Because it’s a smaller business, you can talk to anyone about everything and that really makes a massive difference.”
SUCCESS STORY: Gareth Thompson, Property Management Manager
Gareth joined Walton Robinson in 2019 as a Property Consultant covering checkouts over the summer. Within just a few months, Gareth had moved over to Property Management and was made Manager of the department.
Gareth said: “I love that at Walton Robinson my ideas are heard and I am able to implement things that I wouldn’t necessarily be able to do elsewhere.
“It feels much more like a collaboration here – everyone works as one big team.”
SUCCESS STORY: Anna Rogers, Accommodation Manager
Anna started her journey with Walton Robinson in 2020 as a Property Supervisor, after seven years of working in hospitality. After a successful six months, she was promoted to Senior Property Supervisor, and has since taken up the role of Accommodation Manager.
Anna said: “The best element of working for Walton Robinson is definitely the flexibility of workload, as we are responsible for our own diary management along with client and tenant management.
“I enjoy being able to plan my working days to suit the way in which I work to perform best, and the trust between staff and management allows me to just get on with the tasks in hand and be more proactive.”
SUCCESS STORY: Jen Humphreys, Senior Property Consultant
Jen joined the Lettings Team at Walton Robinson as a part-time consultant whilst at university in 2019. She since graduated and became a full-time member of staff, and was promoted to Senior Property Consultant earlier this year.
Jen said: “The best thing about working for WR is the close-knit team as everyone works well together and it makes the atmosphere great in the office.”
For more information, or if you would like to work with us, call 0191 243 1000, or email: Amy@waltonrobinson.com