Service Support Manager
Laura Lang
Laura is the Service Support Manager within Waterscan’s Operations team, based in Rotherham.
She plays a critical role in the efficient collection and recording of water consumption data so that customers can be confident in the accuracy of their water bills and focus on reducing their water costs and usage.
Laura, what does your typical day entail?
Every week at Waterscan is different, not least because of the wide range of people that I work with, both internally and externally. I’m responsible for scheduling technicians for water audits and providing any help and support they may require.
Of course, this means there’s plenty of customer liaison and often organising hotels and equipment deliveries too. In addition, I manage our Service Support Coordinator who schedules Waterscan’s meter-reading technicians and arranges sub-contractors for civil engineering projects, for example, when repairs are needed to address leakages.
This all requires me to be very organised, be good with detail, and be able to prioritise my workload effectively and efficiently. Enthusiasm to motivate the extended team also helps!
You’re now in your tenth year at Waterscan: what keeps you here?
The position that I was initially recruited for, Operations Administrator, seemed perfect for me and it was. It lived up to my expectations 100%.
My manager has always been very encouraging and supportive of personal development, and I continue to learn a lot from him, while my promotion into a managerial role gave me the opportunity to develop new skills. I have completed an NVQ and am currently working towards my Institute of Leadership and Management award too.
Another thing I really like about Waterscan is that it is very supportive of family life and flexible around that when needed.
I have always felt valued here and my input is requested and appreciated. I have never felt overlooked because I have a child; many companies just aren’t like that.
Was this a logical career progression for you?
Very much so. I have a background working in utilities, scheduling engineers in both gas and commercial electrical businesses. This was reactive work though and one of the things that drew me to Waterscan was that it was more proactive and, at the same time, a job that I could bring relevant experience into.
Even so, I took it upon myself to attend site visits with technicians to get first-hand insight into what they did and how they did it, so I had strong and specific insight into their work. This has really helped when they call on the team here for guidance.
On a personal level, I’d been working part-time since the birth of my son but was ready to dive back into the workplace full-time. I wanted a role in which I could back up my knowledge and experience with qualifications and mentoring. It was obvious from my first interview that Waterscan was big on learning and development and that was important to me. As a Mum, you can
often be overlooked in large companies, but I could see that wouldn’t be the case here.
What’s next for you?
I don’t have a set career path in mind. I just want to continue learning and taking every opportunity to develop.
I always saw water as a bit of a second thought to be honest – a forever resource – but through my work here, I’m now very much aware that this is not the case, so I’m motivated to continue to support companies that are trying to save as much water as possible.
