Celebrating success in Operations with Hollie Hodges

Chatham | March

Did you know, 1 in 3 vacancies at Vanquis were filled internally in 2021! It's great to see colleagues progress their career with us. Today we’re speaking to Hollie Hodges, Operations Team Leader who shares her career journey so far and words of wisdom for anyone looking to develop personally and professionally. 

Congratulations on your recent promotion!
Thank you – I feel really fortunate having the manager support that I have had in the five years I have been here who helped me recognise my attributes and how I could further my career.

Tell us about your time with Vanquis?
When I first joined Vanquis I started in our Loans team. I then moved into our Cards team where I`ve since had two promotions. Firsty into a senior agent role and then progressing into my current role as a team leader.

What did you do before you joined us? 
I have a degree in drama and actually wanted to be a teacher before joining Vanquis. Whilst at university I worked in retail, childcare and hospitality. My last role before Vanquis was as a cinema host!

For colleagues in a customer-facing role, what are some important skills to have?
I would say... adaptable, approachable, self-driven and resilient. Dont be afraid to challenge existing processes and be ready to think outside the box for our customers.

What’s exciting about your team?
Cliché I know, but the team leaders are a big family and we work to support each other as much as our agents and customers. I`m super excited to have my own team that I can support, develop and recognise their skills, the same as what I have whilst being at the bank.

What steps did you take to securing your promotion?
When I decided I wanted to start my journey to becoming a Team Leader, I began to look at my senior peers and leaders on the floor and understand what it is they did on a daily basis. I started to research skills that would be useful for me, for example how to deliver effective coaching. There is a wealth of knowledge regarding these tasks on our e-learning that I have found really useful.

Using this information really helped me to broaden my approach to coaching and feedback, which still to this day supports how I deliver this. I would recommend anyone going for a promotion to think about what kind of skills they would need for that job role and then take ownership to go out and learn these to give yourself the best chance you have at becoming successful in your role.

What would be your advice for someone looking to take the next step in their career?
Go grab it with both hands! For anyone looking to take their next step with their career, I would recommend firstly reflecting on their goals. Its important you have vision of where you would like to be no matter how big the goal is or how long it takes to get there.  I would then suggest setting smaller goals within this to ensure you are on track to achieving your overall goal.

Vanquis is a great company to progress in. There are so many opportunities to work with other departments on a daily basis, it really opens your eyes as to where your potential would be best suited within the company.

“We haven’t lost the essence of what got us to where we are now.”

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“The bank wants to grow, and we need people to come along with us.”

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