What a strange time to be at the company!
My name is Nathaniel Hardy and I’m a Customer Solutions Officer for Newydd. I’m 26 years old and I joined the Customer Services Team on 2nd of December last year.
I chose to apply for a role at Newydd as I heard so many great things from my future mother-in-law, Debbie Xerri who is a Housing Officer for the company. She has also worked in customer services for Newydd and it is the area where my career started 6 years ago. I’ve always been jealous of her, and my partner, for having stable jobs. I wanted to have a role like that after having a rough time in my early career. I made it my goal to join Newydd and thankfully I did.
When I joined 5 months ago, the team welcomed with open arms. I was told in my interview that everyone will talk to me, and that is certainly the case. I was part of the Newydd family!
A couple of months went by and I started to find my feet. I was fitting in well with the others and having great reviews on my work. I was loving it. The new year came and with it, the spread of COVID-19. We all knew that this was going to present some new challenges, and as a new starter I did worry how this was going to affect me, as I was still within my probation period. All I could do was keep my head down and wait for the daily news from Newydd.
Fortunately, I have been able to carry on working from home. This has presented new challenges, not just for me but for all the company. However, my mindset is that there are doctors and nurses who don’t have the luxury of working from home, so I shouldn’t see this as a challenge.
The Customer Service Team has come together over the past couple of months to keep in contact, take part in some fun challenges and more importantly, give help and support to tenants when needed. This just goes to show that we’re not just a team, we’re a family. This is one of the first things that I was told when I joined.
The only thing I can do now is work. I want to achieve a lot of things at Newydd and would like to pursue many opportunities within the organisation. I made this point clear to my manager, Eleanor, who agrees that there are many departments that I could move to when the opportunity presents itself, I just need to keep doing what I’m doing!
After being asked to write this blog, I would like to personally thank Newydd for letting me join the company. There are a few people who are aware of the career experiences I’ve had over the past few years, but it all now seems worth it now that I’m here.
Keep your heads up everyone.