Lynsey Poyner joined UKAS as operations director last year. She reflects on her first six months in the role and considers the year ahead.
The autumn marked almost six months as operations director for me at UKAS. During this time, I have been delighted to find motivated and conscientious colleagues. The welcome has been warm, and it is with this goodwill I embark on the task ahead. Already it is clear and fascinating to me, that no two days are the same here at UKAS. One day a development call concerning how we monitor and measure time in the UK; the next, a scheme looking at DNA testing to prove the authenticity of manuka honey! The breadth of our activity never ceases to amaze me, and I feel incredibly lucky to be part of our journey.
Growth opportunities
The growth experienced by UKAS brings many opportunities in terms of our offerings and ability to support confidence in products and services we rely on, but it also brings challenges. In the Summer 2023 BMTA newsletter, our talent acquisition manager Nick Rushfirth detailed the recruitment challenges the TIC sector faces in terms of closing the skills gap in accreditation. During my early times of reflection, my thoughts are pushing me to support each industry to find creative ways to fill these gaps. Compared to this time last year, we have more than 27 extra employees on our books (an increase of over 11%). Inducting these colleagues in a structured, comprehensive way, so they feel empowered and confident to represent UKAS during their duties, whilst all of the time ensuring they feel like they belong at UKAS, is at the heart of what is extremely important to me.
Collaboration and communication
Another focus for me is the encouragement across our teams of excellent clear communication and a willingness to collaborate to solve problems and service our customers. Having spent almost 20 years in a large certification body, mostly in large operational delivery teams, my experience and indeed, my time with our field and office-based teams has allowed me to hear first-hand the challenges our customer service teams, customers, assessment managers and technical assessors face. Where practical, I will seek to work with the operations leadership team to make improvements and efficiencies.
Delivering over 33,000 assessment days per year, it is essential that UKAS ensure the precious resources we have are utilised in the most efficient and effective way possible. My background in resource management, process efficiency and continuous improvement contribute to my early actions here.
On a personal note, when I am not contributing to the world of accreditation, I love to cook, keep fit and get out and about in our camper van with the family. In my humble opinion, ensuring a balanced level of wellbeing when you have an incredibly busy professional life is key to achieving that magic ‘balance’ we all strive for.
