We sat down with a few women from around The Bristan Group to understand their stories and their journey to where they are now. In this article, we chat with Product Training Lead, Maria Howley, who is now in her 10th year at Bristan. 

In January 2014 I joined the Bristan Group as a Customer Service Advisor in a stop-gap role while I was in the middle of completing my science GCSE and CAT C license to become a Paramedic. However, I quickly became part of the team and couldn’t see myself leaving after six months, so I stayed!

How did you go from there into training?

Well, I was a part of the Frontline team for two and a half years and a Technical Coach role became available. I decided the time was right to take the leap and applied. This role is second line to the Customer Service function and provides in-depth technical support to Frontline Agents. This role gave me the opportunity to expand on the knowledge I had gained speaking to Plumbers, Installers, and Customers about the issues and function of their products.

This role gave me the opportunity to be invited to ISH in Germany, Installer Live, and Screwfix Live which was, I believe, instrumental in helping me decide what sort of career I wanted with Bristan.

What came next?

As part of my Personal Development Plan, I looked into training to see if this was something I could pursue. The Bristan Group gave me that opportunity and I started to shadow the Trainer at the time, sitting in on his sessions, learning about training techniques, and the best ways to share my knowledge with new starters.

After a couple of months, I was running new starter sessions for Frontline Agents monthly – on my own! It was daunting at first, however, with each session and seeing the people that I had trained doing so well, I quickly fell in love with the job. This was something I knew I wanted to do.

What did your progression and journey from there look like?

After 2 years of working as a Technical Coach and doing the new starter training, I was offered the job of Technical Product Trainer full time. I was over the moon! There was a lot I still needed to learn but I was excited for the challenge. I had a lot of support from the original trainer and my peers which helped me gain the confidence and skills to train effectively.

Training was brilliant, I really enjoyed meeting new people and imparting knowledge that would help people do their jobs, it was a real buzz!

In 2019 I was offered the job as Sales & External Trainer. This role would push me out of my comfort zone and mean that I was training a completely different set of people. The Sales team internally needed different information than I was used to delivering. Training external customers also meant I needed to adapt my approach dependent upon which area of the sector they came from, whether that be Installers, merchants, sales, showroom, and a few more.

What support was offered to help with this transition?

I had the opportunity to go on a 3-day course to help me build confidence and learn new delivery techniques and skills to enhance my sessions. This course also gave me the confidence boost I needed as sometimes being a female leading a training session regarding plumbing and products can be a bit daunting to a room full of male Installers.

What are some of the other challenges you’ve faced in the role?

Just after the training course, Covid hit. That was such a challenging time for everyone, and it meant I had to learn and adapt my sessions from face to face to online. As a lot of the business could not go into the office or go out to customers, I had to find a new way to deliver the training. Thankfully, I was able to adapt quickly and had material ready to go. Although the pandemic changed so much around working life, it actually really helped me to grow and flourish.

How did The Bristan Group support during this?

The Bristan Group was great at supporting us through that difficult time and were patient with the changes that needed to happen. I couldn’t have asked for a better company to work for during that time. Now 3 years on, my training is delivered in a host of formats; online, face-to-face, and through a comprehensive e-learning plan.

Where are you now?

I’ve been promoted again to Product Training Lead and moved into the Brand and Comms team within the marketing function. This again has taught me so much and my role has changed again giving me more insight into different aspects of the business. It’s also helped me build relationships with different departments. I am also currently training for a CIPD qualification which I am fitting around my busy training schedule.  This year I have lots planned for training internally and externally that will push the availability and quality of our training even further.  Watch this space, this year is going to be exciting!

The Bristan Group has pushed me and saw my potential. The company had confidence in me throughout and I’m grateful for the progression and opportunities I’ve been given throughout my 10 years working for the company.

I still have a lot to learn, and I can’t see training going anywhere so here’s to the next chapter and delivering the exciting developments this year!

Look out for more of our International Women’s Day articles, featuring other women from around The Bristan Group.