Melonbox Training & Consultancy – About
Hi, we are Linda and Di
Linda’s Journey
Having decided at the age of 13 that I wanted to join the Army, that’s exactly what I did when I was 17; I served for 5 years. Although going back this far might seem irrelevant, it is what first taught me that there are different ways to interact with people to get different outcomes.
The Army is all ‘shouty’ and ‘do what I say’, which is absolutely necessary in that setting. When I left and got my first civilian job, I learnt very quickly that apparently that doesn’t have the same effect in a civilian workplace! 😊
This gave me an interest in people, what they responded to, how to communicate, and from there this is where I realised my love for coaching. Seeing people grow and develop is one of the greatest things you can have the privilege to watch.
My career since has taken me from an agent on the phones talking to customers, through every level of management – Team Leader, Team Manager, Contact Centre Manager, Head of Customer Services, culminating in a Head of Site responsible for 450+ people. During that time, I spent 13 years in the Training arena as Trainer and Training Manager.
I have been lucky enough to work with some great organisations in financial services, insurance, telecommunications, and breakdown recovery. I have worked with the most amazing people and built some awesome teams.
Running our own training company is the icing on the cake for me – I am that proverbial ‘kid in a sweet shop’, and I love it!
Di’s Journey
I wanted to do a number of things when I left school – I thought about joining the Police or the RAF, so of course I went straight into working for an insurance broker!
I worked my way through from an Advisor on the phones, through to Team Leader, Supervisor, Team Manager and Call Centre Manager. Interestingly, I have never really looked for promotions, but they seemed to find me. I worked for the RAC and within a very short space of time, and at the tender age of 19, I was asked to do a Supervisor role. I appreciate now, how naive I was back then, but I followed my instincts. I was supervising people who were twice my age, with twice my experience.
Rather than seeing my role as ‘managing’ them, I very much approached it from a ‘team’ perspective. I saw my role as doing whatever I needed to do to ensure everyone in my team was able to be the best they could be – success either came to all of us as a team, or I hadn’t done my job properly. I adopted this principle throughout my career, relishing in other people’s successes, and continue to do that through Melonbox.
My Achilles heeI in life is that I really do not like exams or tests or assessments! I can be very good at something but the minute someone mentions testing me on it, I fall to pieces. Organisations are learning that people don’t always fit into one box and, over the years, I have met people that are like me and others that thrive on being tested and love the challenge of an exam. This drives me to ensure our training and coaching is carried out in a relaxed environment and we are able to ensure it works in a way that suits all individual needs.
Melonbox
We first met back in 1999 and have worked together for 20+ years over which time we have become the best of friends. It made perfect sense to set up our own business together in 2016.
We each have our own style and ideas, which perfectly complement each other in our business. We are driven by our shared passion for people and customers.
The values that are the heartbeat of us both are:
Professional – we act with honesty and integrity to provide a high-quality service that goes above and beyond expectations.
Flexible – we provide a range of tailored and bespoke solutions and are organised and agile to react to changing needs.
Caring – we are genuine people with a real passion for what we do and who we do it for.
Reliable – we deliver what we promise and communicate effectively to provide reassurance and complete peace of mind.
Innovative – constantly looking for ways to make a difference for people.
At Melonbox Training & Consultancy we are here to support your business. Talk to us about your current challenges, what keeps you up at night and how you would like to increase your peoples’ skills and customer numbers. Book your FREE 1-hour chat with us.
Melonbox Training & Consultancy – About
