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I first joined the business in 2016 as an Assistant Retail Manager in Bettys York. I’d been working in catering for smaller businesses but I was looking to move into a managerial role within a bigger company.  As soon as I started in Bettys, I loved it. We had such a great team, it was fast-paced and there was a nice sense of camaraderie. 

I hadn’t had a lot of experience with learning and development programmes before, but there are so many opportunities for this at Bettys & Taylors. The business is very committed to investing in its people and supporting professional skills and personal development, so I was very excited to explore this further and that led to me taking part in our People Leader Academy (PLA) which was our internal development programme that develops the behaviours, skills and knowledge expected of people and team leaders in the business. 

Three months into PLA, I was promoted to Deputy Retail Manager and then Covid hit and, as it did for everyone, things changed dramatically overnight. My PLA peer learning group was extended as a result of the pandemic and we met virtually. When Bettys was able to re-open under social distancing restrictions, I was part of the team that worked on our plans, working out the logistics of bringing our own people back into branches safely, as well as welcoming customers back and how we would all adapt to the measures in place. It was a huge challenge but throughout it all, my PLA group kept me motivated and provided me with a consistent, supportive team spirit.  

My PLA programme ended in February 2021 but I felt like I hadn’t finished in my development journey and I was also thinking about my next steps in terms of my career. I approached our internal Learning & Development (L&D) team who matched me up with a 1 to 1 developer who was amazing. 

My developer really challenged me, and encouraged me to see things differently, opening up new perspectives and it was during that time that I realised I felt ready for exploring a career change. When the Green Coffee Technician role at Taylors came up, I discussed it with my developer and they encouraged me to go for it. The timing worked out perfectly because as I came to the end of the six month 1:1 programme, I was just starting my new role in the coffee team.

Within the Taylors coffee team we have a number of licenced Q Graders, which is the highest-profile qualification for a coffee buyer. There are only a limited number of these in the UK so I feel fortunate that I can learn from their experience, any time spent with them is valuable in terms of training. My next big challenge will be working towards taking my Q Grade exams. It’s a very rigorous process with 22 exams taken over six days so it’s a significant undertaking but the business recognises the importance and value of continually developing its people and in-house expertise.  

With this in mind, I have recently moved back into the 1:1 development scheme again, working with a new developer this time, on some specific skills I’m keen to develop, to support me in my current role, and my aspirations for my career development.  

I would encourage anyone new to the business to explore the range of learning and development opportunities we have available here, because the business really does invest in its people. We have a very unique culture at Bettys & Taylors,  and there’s such a great mix of programmes and courses available, which encourage new approaches to working and fresh thinking which all enable you to grow and flourish, as well as building your connections across the business.