Unrivalled in Developing People

We recently launched our new #iamkura campaign to showcase some of the amazing talent we have working across our Kura offices. Our organisation includes call advisors, team managers and head of operations to our Learning & Organisational Development department, our Director of People and Culture to our facilities team who keep everything running smoothly. With a diverse range of career paths available, we pride ourselves on our commitment to our employees and their personal development.

This month we spoke to Kai Leverage our Operations Manager supporting a leading utilities company.

Hi Kai, thanks for being our first #Iamkura! How long have you been with Kura for?

It is coming up for four years – I’m honoured, the teasing from my colleagues wasn’t too bad!

Looking back, what did your career progression look like when you first started with us?

I started with Kura as an inbound energy advisor and to be honest I was looking for a “stop gap” job to tide me over until I found something else. However, when I started I was working with some great managers and began quickly realising that this wasn’t a “stop gap” company but one that I could have a future in. I began focusing on my career and working on developing my skills and developed quickly to a team manager. I found the role of team manager rewarding from day 1 and began to see my skills develop and as a result I was positively impacting the skills of my team. I spent a lot of time with my operations manager working on my development plan to identify internal development programmes and really work on my skills as ultimately I wanted to become Operations Manager – I was delighted to be promoted to this role at the end of 2018.

Well done – we’re glad you saw your hard work pay off. What is a typical day in the life of an Operations Manager?

Honestly, every day is different. As an operations manager I am responsible for delivering all performance measures and ensuring the health and wellbeing of my team managers and advisors. A typical day involves engaging with my team to discuss any support needs as well as working closely with our clients and internal stakeholders.

What are the highlights of your role?

It has to be seeing people learn and develop new skills within their roles – it gives them so much job satisfaction and allows them to develop long-term career skills which allows them to identify new promoted opportunities in Kura.

Is the campaign rewarding?

Yes, we handle calls from customers in the energy sector helping them keep some of their basic amenities and supporting them in times of need. It’s very rewarding.

How many team members do you have and how do you maintain a good working relationship?

The team is made up of around seven team managers and over 100 advisors. Maintaining an open and honest relationship with my team is the ultimate foundation of our working relationship, that and setting clear expectations regularly through team briefs and our 2M* process.

What would your colleagues rate as your best quality?

Definitely my ability to adapt my communication to the needs of the situation – to be both direct and challenging but also supportive when needed.

What would you say your future looks like now with Kura?

Cheesy answer? Bright! I would definitely like to progress further into a senior operations manager role in the next few years.

What piece of advice would you give someone applying for a role with Kura?

Be yourself; Kura is a great place to help you refine your skills and build a career with.

Thanks Kai! Finally, what do you like doing for fun outside of work?

Of all of my hobbies I would say I most enjoy music, gigs and football – but over all of that I would have to say spending time with my son.

*2M is our two people, once a month meetings that happen between managers and employees with 360 degree feedback.