Hi, my name’s Naomi and I have been at AO since 2014.
As you’d imagine in that time, it’s been an interesting, varied journey and I feel so lucky that I’ve ended up on this path.
I started out in AO’s Contact Centre, dealing with all the admin, such as cash back, promotion queries, ordering parts for customers, the staff shop, and tons of stuff in between.
I genuinely loved my time in the Contact Centre and I worked with some amazing people, gaining valuable experience along the way. One standout memory was when I was named ‘Star of the Year’ at the annual awards night and won a trip to Abu Dhabi!
My time here boosted my confidence massively and equipped me with the knowledge and experience to move onto the next stage of my AO journey…
Moving to Estates
After six years in the Contact Centre, I jumped ship to the Estates team. This gave me the opportunity to see AO from a whole different perspective.
Aside from gaining experience in budgeting and how to do a monthly re-forecast, I learnt a huge amount about what makes the business tick, like how much buildings cost to rent, how much each site spends on electricity each month, how things operate. I got stuck in so much that some AOers will even recognise me from helping out behind the front desk.
Self-development is a big deal to me and I know only I can get myself to where I want to be, which takes us onto the next step of my AO journey…
One of the People Team
Just before Christmas 2022, I made another leap within AO; this time to the People Team as a People Services Coordinator.
HR has always interested me, probably ever since I had my first maternity leave chat many years ago. I thought I’d love to try my hand at that but I always assumed I’d need qualifications and years of experience, so I never thought I’d be about to embark on my own HR career.
I’ve only been with the People Team a short time but I have loved every minute and learnt loads already. It has made me realise how much I love working with people and it’s true when they say that it’s the people that make AO.
I’ve never really had a clear career path laid out but I think I’ve finally ended up where I’m meant to be.
Next, I would love to start a HR qualification and I’m really excited to see where the next nine years at AO will take me.