In this week's edition of People behind the brand, the series where you get to know the Orbis team, we catch up with the one and only Lucy Rackham. Popularly considered the backbone of Orbis, Lucy is our Operations manager and the woman who knows everybody! She’s cracked the secret to staying on first-name terms with a rapidly growing team and keeps our world running smoothly, so we sat down to get her take on all things expansion, onboarding, and her unique background.
WHAT’S THE BEST PART OF THE JOB?
I love the people side of my job and helping them succeed in their roles. With support, encouragement and showing that little bit of love and care that everyone needs.
WHAT’S THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE?
Balancing workloads, between the people side and other operational duties that must be completed.
WHAT’S SOMETHING YOU WISH YOU’D KNOWN AT THE START OF YOUR CAREER?
Believe in yourself, if you have the right attitude, work ethic, and remain true to yourself anything can be achieved. Oh, and asking for help is not a weakness, we all need some help or guidance sometimes.
IN ANOTHER LIFE… IF YOU WEREN’T A RECRUITER, WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING?
I would be working with animals, probably at a dog rehoming scheme, helping owners find the right dog and helping a needy dog find the right home. Not very ambitious I know, but I think it would be so fulfilling.
LUCY, WE THINK OF YOU AS THE BACKBONE OF THIS OFFICE! WHAT’S THE MOST FULFILLING PART OF SEEING US GROW AS A BUSINESS?
Seeing those that I have onboarding being successful in their new role, watching that person make their first deal and being so proud is a lovely thing to be part of and knowing that you helped them achieve this.
YOU HAVE A LOT OF CONTACT WITH OUR NEW STARTERS; WHAT’S YOUR APPROACH TO WELCOMING NEW PEOPLE TO THE BUSINESS AND SUPPORTING THEM THROUGH THAT ONBOARDING PHASE?
I always try to help give them all the tools they need to do their job, helping them by training them on all the systems that we use, even if it is so they just understand what each system is. I love my role of being the “mother” of the office, being that person, they can come to ask anything. I will always ensure that I ask them how they are, just a friendly face saying good morning makes a difference. A new job can be scary, but that friendly face can mean so much to a new starter.
YOUR JOB HISTORY IS QUITE A READ – INCLUDING 10 DOWNING STREET – HAVING WORKED ACROSS SOME UNIQUE ENVIRONMENTS, DO YOU HAVE ONE STAND-OUT LESSON TO SHARE?
Never run up the stairs in front of a Prime Minister, no matter how much of a rush you are in. The fall down those stairs will feel like it goes on for minutes and the end result is quite embarrassing (ha-ha)
