​​​​​​​We love having the opportunity to recognise our long-serving staff at the BBA and we don’t just do it when people leave the business.

We are fortunate to be surrounded by many individuals who have achieved years of experience with us. We value the learning opportunities from people who have contributed to the BBA for a considerable period of their working life.

This week our Head of Client Engagement, Emily Howell, marks her 10 year-anniversary at the BBA!

Emily has worked in a variety of posts since joining us in 2013 and took up a key position within the business last year.

Looking back

“It’s a bit of a shock – how does 10 years go so fast?!” Emily says, in disbelief. “When I started 10 years ago, being only 23, my attitude was, ‘I’ll never stay anywhere longer than two years!’, wow – that soon changed! I had clearly never anticipated joining somewhere like the BBA!”

Emily took a familiar route into the business by working with the admin team in Audit & Inspection, and can still recall her early April introduction to the former main office at Garston.

“I remember it vividly,” Emily explains. “I joined a team of six 20-something-year-old women in A&I admin, a great team to join, very vibrant and lively. I still remember my training plan – it’s the one I have reverted to for A&I admin now.

“I do also remember that the women I worked with were very ‘huggy’, and I hated people touching me at that point (I was not a hugger), but that changed quickly.”

Changes

There have been a few alterations in personnel during that time, but one aspect has remained – the co-operation of people. “People in the past have referred to BBA as a family to which I don’t necessarily agree but I understand the sentiment,” says Emily. “I personally like to refer to us as a Community, we are a Community of people all striving to do our best for the business and the industry, but more importantly perhaps, for one another.

“The people we work with are phenomenal, not just because they’re extremely clever or good at their jobs. We have some of the most amazing people working here, from a personal perspective, and that’s what I love. We look after one another – just as a Community does.

“I’ve seen a lot of people come in and out of the business over the past 10 years,” Emily adds. “I’ve worked with three different CEOs and Senior Leadership Teams however, our fundamental purpose has remained the same, and so it should, it’s just the way in which we do things has moved on. With new people, come new ideas, new systems and processes – a continuous evolution.”

Personally speaking

The continuous evolution is mirrored in Emily’s own progress following her promotion to Head of Client Engagement in 2022.

“I have developed enormously over the past 10 years at the BBA,” she notes. “Not just from a career perspective but on a personal perspective too. I started here with a job, which is all I actually wanted, but 10 years on I have a career, which I would not have, had it not been for the support, guidance and mentoring of so many people, some still with us at the BBA, others not.

“I think when Tara [Deller-Hoy] (Operations Director) announced that I was taking on this role, she referred to me as ‘homegrown talent’, and it’s true, the BBA has provided me with such wide-ranging experience, and I am extremely honoured to be celebrating 10 years’ service here.”

Advice

After a decade of service at the BBA, what advice would Emily offer to anyone starting at the BBA now?

“Jump in with both feet and don’t hold back,” she asserts. “If you embrace the business, the business in return will embrace you. If you’re looking for continuous improvement/development and opportunities, just turn up and be willing and you will be rewarded.”

Congratulations, Emily. Here’s to the next 10 years!