Hayley Graham, Supply Chain Development Lead

How long have you been with ForFarmers?

After 14 years working in export sales, I moved to ForFarmers as part of the original Dairy Direct team nine years ago. Since then, I have worked in several customer experience based roles including stints as Customer Service Team Lead and Customer Complaints Manager.

Around four years ago I became Supply Chain Development Lead, focusing on managing business improvement projects. With my background in customer service and complaints, my first project was integrating customer complaints into our CRM system. Since then I have worked on several other projects which aimed to either improve a process or improve the experience that the customer is getting from the business.

What does the average day look like for you?

Every day is always different, but that is how I like it! However, we always have two daily eBusiness project scrums a day. These meetings allow the core project team, including the IT business analysts, and on occasion the third party developers, to come together and ensure we are all working in alignment. With large projects it is essential that we ensure the team is working together closely so that the project stays on track. We also have regular meetings with project stakeholders to ensure that they are kept up-to-date on our progress and remain confident that we will achieve our project deliverables.  We also spend a lot of time planning, scoping and testing alongside our wider project team here in the UK and in Holland.

What do you enjoy about your role?

It might sound a bit corny but I enjoy the challenge. I like being presented with an issue or something that needs fixing, analysing the problem, and coming back with a solution. Having a role which comes with the opportunity to push myself is something that is really important to me.

I also get a lot of satisfaction when we successfully deliver a project that we know will benefit our customers. While sometimes we may meet unforeseen challenges or resistance, being able to work through this and turn the situation around is really fulfilling.

What do you like about working at ForFarmers?

The team across the entire business is fantastic and really feels like a family. I am also really proud to work for a business which supports farmers and it’s great to be part of a business which is making a difference to such an important industry.

I also enjoy the autonomy that we are given. This sense of empowerment has given me confidence in myself and, having been entirely self-taught in project management, this was really important. However, I have now gained my PRINCE2 foundation certification (a project management qualification) and am currently studying for my practitioner qualification which I’m hoping will give me further confidence in my knowledge and abilities.

What do you do outside of work?

My 18-year old daughter and two dogs are my world. I have a chocolate lab called Cassie and a rescue dog from Kathmandu. I really enjoy spending time walking in the countryside and on the Norfolk coast, as well as socialising with friends and family.

Since the Covid pandemic, I have also started gardening and growing my own fruit and vegetables. I’ve now got a greenhouse and I really enjoy getting to grow and cook my own food.