It’s always great to see the younger generation following their parent’s footsteps into a career in construction and engineering and we’re lucky enough to have several of these family teams working with us. Ahead of Father’s Day, we caught up with the Smillies, the Eastwoods and the Williams’ to hear more about their experience working together at Mabey Hire.
It’s brilliant to see that you’ve recommended Mabey Hire as a place to work to your family. So, what would you say is the best thing about working here?
Matt Eastwood, Chief Financial Officer: This is a really hard question, as it’s difficult to think of just one thing. I think I would have to say it’s the feeling of being a part of a family that is the best thing for me. I’ve worked at a lot of large companies and global corporations in the past and it’s just not the same as working for a smaller and close-knit organisation, such as Mabey Hire.
Joe Eastwood, Sales Manager: For me, it’s definitely the experience of working together with the team that I’ve got. The team spirit is really strong here, everyone is always there and ready to help – I really enjoy it.
Steve Williams, General Manager at our Glasgow depot: I agree, it’s definitely the people. They’re just a fantastic bunch, from the top all the way down. Like Matt said, it’s all about that family feeling - something which you just don’t get at larger businesses.
Jordan Williams, Yard Operative: Yes, everyone really makes you feel like you’re a part of the same team. From people in the yard through to engineering, everyone’s made me feel really welcome ever since I started. In fact, I was originally only meant to be here for a year, but I ended up enjoying it so much that I stayed!
Stevie Smillie, Piling Attachments Services Manager. Considering that I've spent almost half my working life at Mabey Hire, I would consider my colleagues to be my work family.
Ryan Smillie, Engineer: I’d have to agree with everyone else – there’s a definite theme here! For me especially, the last fourteen months I’ve spent working from home (like so many others) has really highlighted the comradery that we normally all have together on site or in the depot.
What would you say is the best and/or worst thing about working with your dad/son?
Matt: Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, since we both work in different departments – I’m in finance and Joe’s in sales - we don’t normally cross paths that often. That said, we’ve both recently been working from home of course and we’ve been crossing paths a bit too much…!
Joe: I’d have to agree. While we both work in the same industry and therefore can bounce ideas off each other is a definite positive, we do also have a tendency to talk about work a bit too much.
Steve: For me, I genuinely enjoy getting to spend more time with Jordan, it’s a great opportunity. There are no negatives – although I’m sure Jordan will have a long list!
Jordan: Not at all! I enjoy the extra time spent with my dad – although the downside is having to wake up earlier, as he has an annoying habit of wanting to be at the depot an hour early every day…
Ryan: Yes, sharing a ride into work is a definitely a plus, saving on the old petrol money! On the other side of things, since me and my dad can often end up working on the same job, if there’s a spanner in the works or if it’s a particularly complex project, we’d often end up discussing it at home – which isn’t fun for everyone else.
Joe: Me and my dad can definitely relate to that – we’ve been told off at home for talking too much about work, especially on the weekend. Sometimes they hear nothing but Mabey Hire!
Stevie: Although due to Covid, we’re not travelling and in the office together at the moment, the best thing about working together is sharing knowledge and expertise when working on the same jobs. The worst thing is that, Ryan, like all youngsters these days, doesn’t carry cash. So the Bank of Dad is quite frequently called on for the coffees etc .
Working side by side with different generations of your family must mean you have some nuggets of knowledge to pass on. What is the most valuable thing you’ve learned during your time at Mabey Hire?
Matt: For me, it’s perhaps more about what’s amazed me, rather than what I’ve learned, and that’s how adaptable and agile we are as a business. This last year especially, after the UK government’s lockdown announcement, we had around 150 people switch to working from home in less than 48 hours. You wouldn’t have thought it was possible beforehand, but everyone pulled together in a really amazing way and just got on with it. The level of agility was remarkable.
Joe: For me, I’ve learnt the value of just picking up the phone and speaking to as many different people as you can. I’ve had so many great conversations over the two years I’ve been here, with everyone from engineering to product development, and learned so much from them in turn.
Steve: Teamwork has to be the most valuable thing for me. Like Matthew was saying before about the Covid response, in Glasgow we remained open as an emergency depot throughout lockdown. During this time the support we had from everyone who was still working, whether from home or in the offices, was just fantastic.
Jordan: I’d have to agree with my dad. It really is all about teamwork and the realisation that you can’t really do anything without everyone else. For example, the yard can’t do anything without sales and sales can’t do anything without engineering and so on – it’s all interlinked and we’re all reliant on one another.
Stevie: Always be truthful and up front with your customers, this is massively important when building personal relationships, and returning custom.
Ryan: The most valuable thing I’ve learnt is regarding engineering. I started off in the industry as a CAD trainee nine years ago and then Mabey Hire gave me an opportunity to progress in civil engineering and really develop my career. I got my engineering qualification and started my ICE professional qualifications as well and was able to use my skills and experience from the business to do that.
If you’re looking for a new challenge and are interested in joining the Mabey Hire family, visit www.mabeyhire.co.uk/join-us to find out more about working with us.
