Day in the Life: Sharon Smith - Labour Manager

Meet Sharon - our Labour Manager!

 

How long have you been in the infrastructure industry? 17 years

And McGinley? 17 years (with a 2 year break)

 

Run through of an average day. 

It’s a busy environment you have to think on your feet and hit the floor running! My morning consists of calls and emails from clients and workers, the rail industry is a 24 operation! Our client depots start from 06.00 and our sites start at 23.00, so queries can build up. So, it’s essential to get to these first.

Dinner time is a team catch-up to see where we are at and if any member of the team needs help. Payroll is an essential element, so we make it our priority. Reminding our workforce about the deadlines for the week.

The afternoon tends to be quieter on the outbound call and email front, allowing me to pick up compliance, training and fleet and the weekly planners. We can be working on these for at least 13 weeks in front of ourselves. The plans are our bible. Without these, we would be lost. (I deleted one last week! So, thank you to our IT team for the recovery!)

I also have to pre-plan my time to visit clients and sites, on days, nights, or weekends. This is my favourite part of my job, putting on my oranges and meeting the workers. It’s great to put faces to names.

 

What led you to join the infrastructure industry?

I had family and friends working within the infrastructure industry when I was an Office Manager for another company, and it sounded great. So, when the opportunity arose to join McGinley, as a Payroll Administrator I took it. I soon progressed (within a year) to a Service Co-Ordinator and then to a Labour Manager. I have had a few roles in between, gathering skills and knowledge across the business, returning to the Labour Manager role that I have now – and I love it!

 

What career advice would you give to your younger self?

I was very young when I started a family, working part-time to make ends meet. I promised myself then that I would find and grow a career to provide the best I could

The best move I made was joining the infrastructure industry, it is supportive, challenging and has great career prospects and promotions. My only regret is I didn’t join it sooner.

So, my advice is to choose a career and believe in yourself!