A day in the life of… Alison Overton, Executive and Board Co-ordinator

Alison has been with ECL for over seven years. Her role is to support the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) as well as the Board, the Chairman, the non-Exec Directors, and the Corporate Services team.

Alison told us: “My role is a supportive role, it’s busy and varied which I love. My main duties are to support the ECL Directors with arranging meetings, making sure they have the relevant paperwork ready for the meetings, agenda’s, etc. I support the Board, the Chairman and the non-Exec Directors and act as a liaison between our Board, our Directors and ECC. I also support our Corporate Services team and any staff that may be working at or attending meetings at Seax House. I am a constant point of contact for everyone at ECL as I am at Seax House most of the time. I manage the meeting room bookings, keep everything in the office running smoothly and make sure our plants are well watered!

“It's hard to outline a typical day because every day is different but most days when I arrive at the office my first port of call is the kitchen to make sure there is enough milk, tea, and coffee for everyone for the day. I empty the dishwasher then head to my desk and check my emails to see if there’s anything urgent that needs my immediate attention. I usually then need to help someone with a printer issue, lost locker key or something along those lines. Then I get down to my actions for the day. We have a weekly SLT team meeting on a Monday so there are regular agendas for that and a regular time that the papers will come in, so I structure my day around what needs doing for that, plus what needs doing for our regular monthly and quarterly meetings.

“My time management is dictated by the regular meetings schedule. I’ve become better at knowing what’s needed and spinning many plates! My actions for the weekly SLT meeting as well as the monthly Board meeting, and quarterly Shareholder and Audit Committee meetings dictate the structure of my days. I manage the incoming and outgoing post, keep meeting rooms tidy and ensure the stationery cupboard is always well stocked. I also line manage Sabah and Grace who work part-time to help with the post. I love managing Grace and Sabah – they light up my day when they are here it’s so rewarding working with them! I’m delighted to add that Nicola Irving has recently joined the team and will be helping to support the Directors and with the general running of the corporate office.

“I love my job because its essence is supporting people and I enjoy helping others to do a good job. I get to see new services like Ward-led Enablement go from the idea and planning stage through to being a successful service. It’s really rewarding to support the directors to roll them out. It’s nice to know that I’ve played a small part in helping to get new projects and contracts through the governance stages to become live and helping customers.”