The coronavirus lockdown has resulted in a very different experience for those starting new jobs. Fortunately for North West based packaging manufacturer Reelvision Print, it’s one that has been embraced with positivity and enthusiasm by their newly appointed Regional Sales Executive, Suzanne Wilson.
Suzanne officially joined Reelvision Print on 1st June, but she was interviewed and offered the role back in February, just three weeks before the UK went into full-scale lockdown. After serving out a three-month notice period with her previous employer from home, Suzanne faced the unusual challenge of starting a new job for a new company remotely, too. Thanks to modern technology and virtual meetings, she has hit the ground (and laptop) running.
Home for Suzanne is Wiltshire in the South West of England, which is around 300 miles away from Reelvision’s headquarters in Rossendale, Lancashire. So, remote and field-based working as the company’s representative for the Midlands and the South was always the plan.
However, in normal circumstances, Suzanne would have visited Reelvision’s manufacturing facility and met her new colleagues face-to-face during her induction. Thanks to the easing of lockdown restrictions the team was still able to make this happen in July, six weeks after Suzanne started working for the company.
“Having the opportunity to touch base for the first time made me feel like a fully-fledged member of the team. I have supplied virtually every type of packaging in my previous roles, apart from cartons, so it was great to see our customers’ orders being manufactured. It gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling to see how well organised, clean and precise everything is. Now more than ever, customers in all sectors are looking for this kind of reassurance,” says Suzanne, Regional Sales Executive at Reelvision Print.
Suzanne has worked in the printing and packaging industry for 13 years and has nine years of flexography expertise. In her previous roles, Suzanne has sold printed polythene bags for everything from food and clothing to medical supplies. More recently, she has specialised in the medical field, supplying a full range of printed solutions including sterilisation barrier packaging for hospitals. She is also a qualified internal auditor and this focus on quality makes Suzanne the perfect fit for Reelvision Print.
Suzanne agrees that it has been a challenging time to start a new job, but like everyone else working from home over the past few months, she has found ways to adapt:
“I have worked in sales since I was 16, so I feel confident when it comes to building new relationships and I’m already very used to homeworking as I have worked in remote sales jobs since 2014. The real difference is that normally I travel around meeting customers, but now I’m doing most of this virtually over Zoom or talking on the phone. I’m looking forward to getting out there and meeting more people face-to-face as soon as it is safe to do so.”
Although Suzanne, Reelvisions’ other sales staff and many of its customers are still working from home, the company is still very busy. This is because Reelvision Print specialises in manufacturing pharmaceutical grade packaging and demand for certain products has increased during the current pandemic. The company has also fulfilled a number of urgent orders for Covid-19 related clinical trials. So, in some ways Suzanne has joined Reelvision Print at the ideal time.
“Despite this extraordinary start, we were all delighted to welcome Suzanne on board, both virtually and in person. She has brought lots of experience to the role and has very quickly established herself as a valuable member of our team. We hope customers old and new will enjoy working with her for many years to come,” says Deborah Greenwood, Sales Director at Reelvision Print.
Suzanne sums up her time at Reelvision Print so far as “a breath of fresh air”, particularly with regards to how the company has adapted in light of Covid-19. All of Reelvision’s production complies with the ISO9001:2015 quality management system and PS9000:2016 code of practice for pharmaceutical packaging materials. This means the company already had very strict procedures in place for hygiene and product safety.
In addition to this, Reelvision has also been operating with social distancing since the end of March. As well as abiding by the 2-metre rule, the company has separated its production team into two bubbles and introduced a 30-minute changeover between shifts to avoid unnecessary contact. All surfaces are thoroughly cleaned between each shift and Reelvision is not allowing any external visitors on site during this time. The team made an exception for Suzanne, but only when they felt confident that every precaution would be followed to ensure her visit was carried out safely and responsibly, and she was only allowed into one of the shift bubbles.
Suzanne concludes: “I am feeling very happy in my new role and positive about my future at Reelvision Print. I am looking forwarding to working with the team, getting to know our customers and growing the business.”
