Sue
Video transcript
My name’s Sue Bickle. I’m the manager of the Odney Club and Winter Hill estate and I’m based in Cookham in Berkshire. I’ve been with the Partnership for nearly 25 years.
Before I joined John Lewis in 1984, I’d worked for Marks & Spencer and I’d worked for Fenwick’s which is the largest department store in Newcastle and I was a cosmetic consultant in Fenwick’s and I got the chance to transfer into what was then Bainbridge - which is now John Lewis, Newcastle.
I found myself working in this fantastic environment where communication was better than I’d ever seen before. I liked it so much that I became a Partner. I’ve had absolutely loads of positions in John Lewis. I joined as a midday, part timer as I’ve got three sons; they were all little at the time and it suited my lifestyle.
I then was fortunate to be spotted as somebody who had potential and I went on to a management development programme within the business. I had various Section Manager positions, was promoted to Department Manager and then moved into the personnel side of the business.
I moved from Newcastle, which was a huge step for me, but I was fully supported by the company and I went to work in Glasgow. The people that were working there were fantastic people – as Glaswegians are - but they were struggling to understand how empowered they could be and that the Partnership is not a tell organisation, and I went there as Personnel Manager to unlock that.
I think there’s certain qualities people need to work in the Partnership. I think they’ve got to be really optimistic. I think they’ve got to enjoy delivering service continually no matter what their mood is. For example, where I work, we have delegates come in for training courses and meetings, and we have people coming on holiday: it’s really important that I give them the best experience when they come and visit the Odney Club or the Sir Bernard Miller Centre.
Managing the Odney Club and Winter Hill is really very special and something that I never thought I would end up doing when I joined what I primarily thought was a retailer. But within the John Lewis Partnership there’s opportunities to do other things. We own hotels and I manage the largest of our hotels. Within my branch we have a conference centre and a full 18 hole golf course. The customers that come are nearly all Partners, although we do have the public as well. I joined as a retail manager and I’ve found myself in the hospitality industry, which is fantastic.
