Life After Graduate

Position in Picture (Left to Right)

Name

Graduate Info

I wanted to join a high-performing company and Motability Operations stood out.
 
I wasn’t sure what to expect from the company, but the more I found out the more I realised I’d find a friendly and innovative working environment in which I’d be able to develop professionally.
 
My first 6-month placement involved organising a nationwide tour of business seminars for our network of dealers. As the seminars form a crucial part of Motability Operations’ annual communications strategy I presented a review of the tour to the Board of Directors – slightly nerve-racking, but great experience!
 
I spent my second placement in Asset Risk and was tasked with project managing a piece of consumer research into trends in used car buyers’ spending behaviour and organising the tender process for research agencies to pitch for our business.
 
It has definitely been worth the hard work - working with senior managers on a variety of projects enabled me to learn from their experiences and helped me to develop a wider perspective of the business.
 
Since completing the graduate scheme in 2010 I have been working in Customer Services as manager of the MI & Forecasting and the Communications Team.
 
The role is both challenging and satisfying – I work with dedicated and talented individuals who have a passion for providing excellent service to the business and our customers. There’s a drive for success in whatever we do, but an importance placed on achieving that collectively.
 
The mixture between collaboration with people around the business and problem-solving means the role is varied, challenging and makes excellent use of the skills I developed through the Graduate Scheme.

MI & Forecasting & Communications Team Manager

Joel

My expectations were for Motability Operations to be fast-paced, successful and professional and I have not been disappointed.
 
Motability Operations offered a very attractive graduate programme and provided a wealth of opportunities.
 
The people I met through the recruitment process were friendly, professional, commercial and put me totally at ease. The opportunity to meet with senior managers at the assessment days also allowed me to ask questions about life at MO.
 
The one-to-one sponsorship from a Director gives you fantastic exposure and the chance to learn from senior management from day one is second to none.
 
The chance to undertake placements in a number of departments enriched my experience and helped me develop a better understanding of the organisation.
 
My final placement confirmed my interest in an account management role. When a permanent role became available at the end of the Graduate Programme, I did not hesitate to apply and have been a PWSS Account Manager since 2010.
 
I have no doubt that my experiences on the graduate programme and the support and advice provided by my sponsor and line managers, contributed to my success in the role.

Powered Wheelchair Scooter Scheme (PWSS) Account Manager

Leah

Motability Operations offered me a chance to do something worthwhile and challenging right from the outset.
 
I joined the Graduate Programme in 2007. During my first placement in Marketing I was involved in developing the marketing materials and presentation for the dealer business seminars, writing articles for the dealer magazine, supporting the day to day operations and budget management of the dealer marketing campaigns and producing a promotional DVD for the Supplier Awards. This was a great insight into what the Company does and gave me an opportunity to work with a number of different departments across the business, including Heads of Function and Directors.
 
My second placement in HR involved headcount reporting, organising and facilitating company introductions and disability confidence workshops, conducting a disability benchmark review and providing legal and regulatory updates to the HR business partners. This role provided a huge amount of interaction with Directors and Senior Managers which enabled me to build good working relationships across the organisation.
 
My final placement in Finance was the start of a rotational programme which saw me spend time in Financial Operations and Systems, Accounts Payable, Financial Control and Overheads and Planning before taking a permanent role as the Overheads Accountant in August 2009.
 
In January 2011, following a successful time in the Overheads role I was seconded to the role of Finance Manager (R2m) responsible for the successful transition of the newly acquired Route2mobility finance operation. My team and I are now responsible for all finance activities related to the existing Route2mobility fleet including consolidation of financials within the Group accounts and statutory reporting. The scope of this role is so large and varied that the skills learnt during the Graduate Programme as well as my recently completed CIMA professional exams have been essential to the success of this role.

Finance Manager

Craig

Working at Motability Operations today is just as challenging and rewarding as it was six years ago when I started. The programme itself gave me a really good understanding of how the entire business worked. The exposure it gave me and the commercial focus I gained was invaluable and allowed me to transition into a management position straight after the programme.
 
In my current role I am jointly accountable for a sales team which sells in excess of 120,000 vehicles a year. I am also a member of the departmental management team which is responsible for the re-marketing of all of Motability Operations’ 200,000 vehicles. I would certainly recommend the graduate programme to anyone who was looking to work for a friendly, commercially focused organisation that rewards hard work and commitment.

Online Sales Team Manager

claire

Claire

I applied for the graduate programme because I wanted to work for a company that values hard work and a friendly approach. I was really impressed with the amount of support I received, from the training in the first few weeks to the director level sponsorship. Motability Operations clearly invests a lot in the graduate programme, but in return they expect a lot. I certainly dived in at the deep end!
 

I spent time in HR, Vehicle Remarking, and Customer Services. I had the opportunity to present to the board of directors, develop a marketing strategy for the launch of a new car purchasing website, and manage a team that handles all the vehicle documentation. When the graduate programme was complete, I moved into the Communications Team, and worked on a project to develop a knowledge management solution for the Dealer Services department. The things I learnt on the programme about how to present information, and how to analyse and critique current practices really came in handy here.
 

I am now working on a long-term project to deliver a new Customer Relationship Management system. It involves running workshops with managers and subject matter experts across the business, understanding how processes work, and developing a solution for them in the new system. Its a fantastic opportunity to further the skills I gained on the graduate programme, and build relationships with people at every level. I don't think I would have achieved so much without the graduate programme.

Communications Co-ordinator

Marta

After finishing my MA I wanted to work for a successful business with an ethical customer impact. From the information on the website and their press coverage, to customer testimonials and the attitude of their staff, Motability Operations appeared to excel at customer service as well as make a healthy profit, so the company ticked the right boxes.

 

I was unsure about which direction to follow career-wise but there were a number of options on offer. I wanted to try something I hadn’t tried before, take myself out of my comfort zone, and so opted for a placement in Business Systems. I coordinated changes to company systems and worked with the Business Analysis team to improve our delivery process. Much of the Motability business is technology-led (applications to the Motability scheme are started on our bespoke Online Applications System, for instance) so it was a good place to learn about the business model as a whole.

 

I spent my second placement in Dealer Marketing, coordinating a marketing campaign and project managing two of the One Big Day events. My final placement was as the Operational Communications Manager for Customer Services. This was a good opportunity to learn how to manage a team, improve performance and utilise individual strengths to deliver projects. We worked with Customer Services to develop a knowledge management model, delivered an Oracle knowledge management application and streamlined the comms delivery process into the business.

 

At the end of the graduate programme I re-joined Business Systems as a Business Analyst and am now working on the Apollo strategic change programme. The programme has a number of workstreams and I’m currently part of the Oracle CRM project team. I work with a huge variety of people, from business representatives to technical consultants, to understand our challenges and ensure we deliver against our objectives. I’ve learned a lot from being involved in the programme from business case stage through to delivery. Motability Operations isn’t afraid to evolve and adapt to changing market conditions, so this is a great place to be for someone who enjoys projects and change management.

Business Analyst

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