Empowering all of our team to excel in both their professional and personal lives is integral to our ethos at Business First Partnership.
We are committed to championing the women within our team and are proud to have 60% of our head of department positions held by women.
To mark International Women’s Day this year, we spoke to two of our brilliant female colleagues to hear about their development journeys at BFP.
Opportunities for professional development
Grace Burdekin and Hannah Walters joined the BFP team in 2013 and 2015 respectively. Both ladies have gone on to become integral members of the BFP team and take on senior leadership roles.
Grace began her career at BFP working in Finance & Quality Assurance. After demonstrating an aptitude for finance and passion for her work, Grace was quickly given the opportunity to take on a management role. Soon after this, she made the step up to her current position as Head of Finance.
Similarly to Grace, Hannah also began her career at BFP in the finance department. After two short years, Hannah was promoted to Finance Manager before moving into her current role as Head of Account Management.
Reflecting on her journey at BFP Grace explained: “There are so many opportunities available to you at BFP. If you want to take the next step in your career or develop a particular skill, you are always encouraged to do it and given the right tools to help you reach your goal.
“At every stage in my career so far, I have felt supported by both my colleagues and the directors, that’s what the company culture is all about.”
Hannah added: “It’s true – the level of advice, care and support within the team is unlike anywhere I’ve ever worked.
“The leadership team truly want you to excel and is passionate about recognising and developing talent within each person.
“I first joined the BFP to work in the Finance Department. After the pandemic, I wanted to take on a new challenge and made the sidestep into Account Management.
“There are so many stories similar to mine where colleagues have changed job titles or moved departments to find the right position for them. We are all treated like individuals who add value as opposed to being hired to fulfil one role.”
Empowering each other to succeed
We’ve worked hard at BFP to instil a culture of trust, support and respect in our team. We believe this culture is what empowers all of our team members to develop their careers.
“No matter what your background or qualifications are, if you have the right skills and attitude you can go really far at BFP,” said Hannah.
“As a team, we are very close and constantly check in with each other and share positive feedback. Individual successes are the team’s successes, which is really motivating.
“The team is constantly expanding but we haven’t lost that tight-knit ‘family’ feeling. That starts with the directors and filters all the way through the company. The way we are made to feel valued and looked after encourages us all to behave the same way with our colleagues.”
Supporting a healthy work-life balance
At BFP, we are proud to support the wellbeing of all of our staff and find ways to empower the working mothers on the team.
We do this by offering flexible working patterns and job-sharing opportunities so that new mothers can return to work at their own pace. We also created a dedicated support network to enable them to share their experiences with one another.
“As a working mother of two, flexibility is important to me,” said Grace. “I love working for a business that enables me to work around my childcare needs and family life whilst still taking steps forward in my career and delivering for our clients.
“It’s nice to work somewhere that cares about its staff members and is constantly developing new initiatives, like those offered to working mothers, as it truly helps to get the best out of the team.”
