David’s Support Office career journey – from Customer Service Advisor to Recruitment Partner

Tell us about your career so far

Coming from a background of labouring and physical work, I really didn’t know what I was going to do for a role when I moved to Nottingham. I then joined the Customer Support Centre (CSC) as a Customer Service Advisor back in April 2013 on a six-month contract, believing it to be nothing more than a stop gap until I found a role more suited to past endeavours.

Fast forward 11 years, Boots is my home, the role gave me the skills to succeed, and the support to learn and grow.

My time in the CSC took me from Customer Service on the phone, to emails, to accident support and into the world of team leading. After excelling in all of these fabulous opportunities, I was given the opportunity to pass my knowledge onto the next cohorts of new joins as a CSC Trainer. After several years of training, I was successful in securing the role of Training Manager, allowing me to stay close to new joins, enhance their journeys and work with and hone the skills of other talented trainers.

In 2022, an opportunity of a six month secondment opportunity led me into the world of recruitment, so you could say I have had the opportunity to see the journey of new team members from all angles.  This ignited a new passion for me, and I now hold the position in the wider business as a Recruitment Partner

What made you continue your journey with Boots?

The atmosphere, supportive nature and belief in my ability to succeed was one I hadn’t felt anywhere else. I felt valued as an employee from day one.

What do you enjoy about working at Boots as a Recruitment Partner?

Being a Recruitment Partner at Boots, gives me the autonomy and trust to build relationships with both candidates and stakeholders across all levels, and the ability to utilise and deliver a true omni channel experience. No two days are the same as a Recruiter but the success of filling a role with a great candidate is an unrivalled feeling. The role’s pace and requirement to keep on levelling up your service delivers daily challenges, which keeps it exciting.

What’s next for you?

I like to go with the flow of life and see where it takes me, there will always be new opportunities that arise. In the meantime, I’ll keep learning, keep growing and just see where it takes me.

Can you share your proudest moment so far?

I think my proudest moment was being a huge part of a project where we would see the switch of hard phones to soft phones within the Customer Support Centre. This means we transitioned from physical desk telephones to a computer-based phone system. As a Training Manager at the time, it was my responsibility to put together training for the entire contact centre, whilst managing other training projects, a team of trainers, and abiding to sensitive timelines. The project was the biggest I had been involved with so that was a huge success for me.

What have been the most rewarding moments in your career so far?

There are so many rewarding moments, but I would have to say that seeing people join our business as new joins and overcoming initial struggles and then go on to flourish. There are so many people I have been fortunate enough to work with and watch grow. I am proud to be part of their journeys.
The other thing I would say is the inner strength I found to keep going in sometimes difficult situations, picking myself up and going again. It’s always a personal journey of growth as well as a career defining one, and that is the biggest thing I have learnt about myself whilst going on my continued journey.