Liftshare supports International Women’s Day 2018

Thursday 8^th March 2018 marks International Women’s Day – an international day which celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women from across the globe. The day is now over 100 years old, with its current call to action being for gender parity – sadly, findings show that we are 200 years away from achieving this.

Based in Norwich, Liftshare have many incredible women in our local history, including Edith Cavell, the World War I nurse from Swardeston; Elizabeth Fry, the social reformer whose work included improving prison conditions for women; award-winning actress Olivia Coleman; and the celebrity cook and majority shareholder of Norwich City Football Club, Delia Smith, to name just a handful.

Of our 25 staff, Liftshare employs 12 women, with females being represented on every team in the office. Of the 5 teams here at Liftshare – Finance, Product Development, Marketing, Client Engagement and Business Development, 4 are headed up by women:

We caught up with some of the ladies in the office to find out what they love about Liftshare and the role they play in the business.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

“Do something you really like, and hopefully it pays the rent. As far as I’m concerned, that’s success.” Tom Petty – Sarah Roberts

Never go back, you left somewhere for a reason, whatever that reason was it will map out your future path – Julie Staple, Client Project Manager

Communication, transparency and a clear purpose will take you far. – Caroline Mayers

Don’t grow up, it’s a trap! – Kate Atkinson, Senior Business Development Executive

“You can only do your best.” – It’s something my Mum often says to me on the many times I’m being hard on myself. And of course, my Mum does know best! – Laura Watling, Marketing and Membership Manager

How do you find the work/life balance at Liftshare?

The perfect split. The environment is set up to have spaces to relax if you need time away from your desk, and occasionally there’s a pup walking around wanting some attention! Hours aren’t overkill, and there’s a very good work-from-home policy in place to allow you to be flexible when you need to be. –SR.

Incredible, being a working mum is a balancing act in itself, but to work somewhere supportive of motivated and driven women who can be great mothers and still have a career is very difficult to find – I’m thankful to Liftshare for recognising this. – JS.

I really appreciate the flexibility to balance work with 2 boys, a husband and a new puppy(!) by having work-from-home days and flexi-time. – CM

My role is very much about work/life balance, and Liftshare is a fantastic employer in allowing me the freedom to juggle my own diary, which includes travelling the UK, working from home and flexible working hours. – KA

Unlike some employers, Liftshare treats its staff like adults (even though many of us are big kids), and give us flexibility by flexi-time and a good work from home policy. We do work hard here, but we are rewarded with fun! – LW

Do you feel you are recognised for what you do on an equal footing?

Yes. The Product Development team comprises 4 men and myself, so I’m regularly in meetings with just men, I feel as long as there are facts and reasoning behind your points, your voice is heard regardless of gender. – SR

Yes. My opinions and ideas are always valued and taken into consideration. I am lucky enough to be heavily involved in the growth strategy with a Management Team that is highly skilled and passionate about the mission of the business (not to mention dominated by women). – JS

Yes. I love working with a diverse team so we can appreciate all perspectives and get to better answers. – CM

My immediate team members are both males, and I am more than equal – ha! – KA

Absolutely – I recently won employee of the month! We’re lucky to have a good mix of men and women on all our teams, but I have always felt equal. I have seen other organisations where this isn’t the case, and being considered equal makes work much more enjoyable. What’s more, Liftshare has listened, and I’ve been able to work my way into my dream role and make changes to what we do as a business! – LW

What is the most important skill for your role?

Listening and understanding. I need to be able to convey ideas from the business into feature ideas to the product development team, and also understand on a high level the development required to build such features. I cannot communicate the development of such ideas without absorbing information from both sides. –SR

Innovating ideas and getting the most from our operational processes and people. In a small business everyone’s ideas are important and understanding how things can be done quicker, better and cheaper through enhanced and efficient processes is key. Building relationships inter-departmentally is essential – which is easy when you work with such an amazing team of people. – JS

Creative thinking, plus always having an eye on what’s happening in the world, what that means to our clients and members and how we can help them. – CM

The ability to communicate effectively at all levels. – KA
Problem-solving – I work directly with our members to ensure they’re having the best experience with us. If they have a problem, I like to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible, with minimum disruptions to the member. – LW.

Want to know more about our staff? Every Wednesday we take you behind the scenes over on Twitter and Facebook so you can find out more about what makes the Liftshare team tick.

Like what you’ve read and interested to work with us? Career opportunities with us are posted here – We’d love to hear from you!