Libby White, SHEQ Assistant- International Youth Day Special!

In light of International Youth Day, on the 12th of August, we wanted to take the opportunity to shine a spotlight on one of the many successful young employees within the Energy Assets Group.

Please meet Libby White, SHEQ Assistant within the Energy Assets Utilities Compliance Department. Libby joined our Compliance Department in 2018 and has worked hard to support Compliance locally in Birstall as well as supporting the wider Group.

Having shown adaptability for learning new skills, Energy Assets encouraged Libby to take up an opportunity to study for the NEBOSH General Certificate. Libby worked hard balancing her daily work tasks whilst studying part time – going above and beyond the recommended study hours and finished top of the class with a distinction!

We have interviewed Libby to hear what her typical day within Energy Assets looks like.

My Role at Energy Assets
I am a SHEQ Assistant within the Energy Assets Utilities (EAU) Compliance Department. My role is to support the Compliance Team with safety, health, environment and quality requirements. A major part of my day to day role is working with our Occupational Health Provider which includes arranging safety critical and other medical appointments including referrals and receiving medical reports. I am also tasked with ensuring that all display screen equipment self-assessments for office employees are completed and submitted. I routinely carry out a variety of other duties, such as requesting any outstanding individual health monitoring forms that are required and assisting with booking and coordinating training for employees. Another key task I carry out on a monthly basis is assisting with the completion of monthly EAU reports, such as the Compliance monthly report, showing current progress against agreed objectives and targets.

Organisational skills and the ability to prioritise certain tasks are important for my role. For instance, sometimes new tasks that I am assigned have to take priority over my general daily duties. The ability to be able to communicate clearly is important as I must ensure the joining instructions for any training courses and medical assessment are provided to employees, managers and planners. When trying to resolve issues, I have to be resilient as it is not always easy to do this! I often have to engage with things I have not come across previously, so I have to use my initiative and learn how best to handle them to ensure I am as efficient in my role as I can be.

Life during a Global Pandemic
I was furloughed from the beginning of April, however, I’m pleased that we had weekly Microsoft TEAMS meetings to catch up and to check to see how everyone was getting on. I have now returned from my period of furlough and am currently working from home. Although I found this slightly difficult at first, it helped that we started working from home before the offices were closed following a rota, so it wasn’t as difficult adjusting to this way of working. I’ve also been supported well by the organisation and my Line Manager throughout. What is important to me is that I always ensure that when I finish the working day at 5pm, I make the most of my personal time until I start work the next day – this way I can achieve a good work/life balance.

Team work makes the dream work!
I work in a team environment in which I support three Managers within the EAU Compliance Department – the Compliance Manager/ Safety, Health and Environment Manager, Quality Manager and the Industry Standards Manager. My role requires me to work closely as part of a team and assist my colleagues as required. The Compliance Manager organises a monthly meeting at which we discuss updates and assign work that needs to be completed. At the moment, due to all of us working from home, we let each other know what we are currently working on, either through weekly video calls, telephone conversations or by email. This helps to ensure that there is no duplication of tasks and provides a support network. This has helped during COVID-19 however we look positively to re-opening our offices in line with the Government advice.

Challenges and Motivations
Knowing that I am contributing to the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees keeps me motivated each day. I like that each day is different at Energy Assets – you just never know what is going to come through the door. No two days are the same and it never gets boring! I also enjoy learning new things – there is always something new each day to deal with. Of course there are days when we have tight deadlines to meet which require me to reprioritise my work and it can sometimes be difficult when employees/clients request information and assistance that cannot be provided instantly. In those situations, I just refocus and try to manage people’s expectations while still delivering what is required.

My evolution at Energy Assets
When I first started working for Energy Assets nearly two years ago, my knowledge of Compliance was not as extensive as it is today as my previous job was purely administration based. I have since successfully completed various training courses to help me improve the level of knowledge I need for my role. As a result, I now feel I have considerable knowledge of Compliance requirements. I have grown massively in confidence from my first day, with the help of my Compliance Team colleagues. Subsequently my confidence levels have grown significantly, which has helped me to move outside of my comfort zone. I hope to progress further within the Compliance Team and gain further health and safety knowledge and experience. My advice to my former self or someone who is seeking this line of work – don’t be scared to take on a new challenge!

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