As many of you know I regularly practice gratitude.  Winning National Employer of the Year has reminded how grateful I am to have my coach/mentor who is my rock, personally and professionally.

I started working with Debs 6 years ago, initially to help me overcome personal fears and confidence loss.  I also wanted to learn how to understand others and their needs. I quickly realised what was holding me back. I had become so wrapped up in trying to run a successful business with limited business knowledge.  I felt like I was winging it and had started to lose some of the passion for the job that I had loved so much. I had imposter syndrome!

By looking at my strengths and maybe more importantly, my weaknesses I was able to prioritise what I wanted to focus on. Debs has a diverse background in businesses and HR and explained things in a way I understood so I trusted her to be involved with my precious business.

Over time I became more aware of my core values and what we are as a company. We worked on a plan to grow the business whilst ensuring all the needs of the team were met. Together we wrote policies and procedures that ensured everyone was working to the same end and understood what was expected of them.

I found my passion in the beautiful industry again and was desperate to share all I had learned with the team.  Debs began delivering short training sessions which included wellbeing, emotional intelligence and bespoke customer service training.  These sessions are always fun, informative and a great team building opportunity.  The feedback from everyone is always positive and they immediately put into practice what they have learned. Every session is a learning opportunity for me too!

We went on to develop a comprehensive training programme that works alongside college, enabling apprentices to fast track and become highly trained professionals.

I am so proud of the Pure Perfection team and all the awards we have won but winning Employer of the Year is the most important to me because it shows we got it right!  I still look forward to my sessions with Debs, they keep me grounded, motivated and empowered so I can empower others.

THANK YOU Debs Connell, you are my angel and I’m so grateful to have you! xx