Meet the Reconomy Team – Alyson Westbrook

Job title: Key Account ManagerDaily number of hot beverages consumed: Zero. I don’t really do hot drinks, but you’ll rarely see me without a bottle of water in my hand.Accompanying biscuit of choice: When it comes to biscuits, I’m not fussy. I’ll devour anything within reach!How long have you worked at Reconomy?I spent seven years working at Countrywide Waste Management (CWM), and I then joined Reconomy as part of the company’s acquisition of CWM in 2015. I’ve been very fortunate as I’ve continued dealing with many of same customers and external contacts, so the transition from CWM to Reconomy has been fairly straightforward. An added advantage of working at Reconomy is that the team is much bigger, which provides a wider network of support, both internally and for our customers.What are your core responsibilities?My day-to-day responsibilities combine customer account management with the acquisition and development of new sales. I am responsible for managing customer accounts in the northern region of the UK, which is effectively everywhere north of Birmingham – including Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It’s a huge area to cover and keeps me very busy, but I absolutely love what I do.Getting out on the road, meeting customers and building relationships is something that I have always enjoyed. I strongly believe that the reputation of a business hinges on the experiences of its customers. I therefore want to make sure that Reconomy’s customers receive the very best possible service and enjoy working with us.How do you make a difference everyday?Every day presents a new set of challenges to overcome and customer problems to solve. This keeps me on my toes and means that no two days are ever the same. I’m lucky because I enjoy very good relationships with all the customers that I work with, meaning that when they approach me with a specific problem, they know I’ll do all I can to resolve it. It’s very gratifying to go home at the end of the day knowing that I’ve made a real difference and helped to make our customers’ lives that little bit easier.How is the changing face of the waste industry directly impacting upon Reconomy and your job role?The work that we do here at Reconomy is helping to change attitudes towards waste management across many business sectors. That said, we still have a long way to go. Businesses will always find it challenging to look at the bigger picture or think holistically when it comes to managing their waste, as there are so many conflicting issues for them to manage. The immediate return of cheaper skips is then often favoured over the larger savings that can be made through best practice. But this is inevitable in the current economic climate.My job is to impress upon our customers that Reconomy is not just a skip hire company. We provide a full waste management service, meaning we can add value by helping them to adopt a more strategic and long-term approach to handling their waste. Supporting businesses as they change their waste culture is extremely satisfying, especially once they start achieving significant cost savings by diverting more waste away from landfill.What did you do before you joined Reconomy?Before joining the world of waste management 8 years ago, I worked for The Aluminium Company of America (ALCOA), one of the world’s largest manufacturers of lightweight metals. I worked in their customer services and internal sales department, selling safety components to the automotive industry. ALCOA has distributors all over the world, so I was responsible for managing teams across parts of Europe and Australasia. Prior to this I worked for Windsor Life Assurance and I’ve also worked for NatWest Bank as a sub-branch manager.What one possession could you never live without and why?I don’t consider myself to be materialistic and so I don’t put value on individual possessions. My friends and family are what matters the most to me and I really value being able to spend quality time with them all. I believe that time is the most precious commodity there is.What is the best thing about your job?I like to look at the big picture and focus on what contribution the company I work for is making to wider society. This is what first attracted me to waste management, because everyday we help businesses to reduce the volumes of waste they create and increase recycling. I therefore believe that by working for Reconomy, I’m doing my little bit for the planet and helping to protect and conserve the environment.