Change Management Co-ordinator Review

I enjoyed working at VWFS, everyone was very welcoming and easy to talk to which is important in a new office environment. I enjoyed that with my scheme I rotated between teams so was able to see the whole life cycle of a project, however, this did also add an element of difficulty as each stage required different skill sets so I had to quickly adapt to situations, I felt that maybe the rotations were a bit too short to get a full insight to the team, which I have fed back and has now been changed - which shows how great the company are through their willingness to adapt.

I felt that my value varied depending on who I was talking to and which team I wad working with at the time. Again due to quick rotations I was less ankle to show my full worth, and some people are so busy they are unable to acknowledge work that you've completed or listen to ideas you may have. But this was really dependent on the person. I organised to have a mentor throughout my year which really helped as I had dedicated time to go through the work I'd be doing and get feedback from them. This helped me feel more valued, it was hard not to take other people's lack of time to heart but I think that is just working life and a challenge everyone will have to overcome, you don't get the gratification of having a grade next to your work anymore.

It was rather unfortunate that due to structure changes in the department that my line manager was having to complete double key her usual load of work on top of also having me as a new employee. It meant she was really stretched for time, however, she did always ensure that I was okay and wasn't struggling with anything. That being said I really didn't feel that I got the support and guidance that I truly wanted. I possibly could've spoken up sooner than this regarding this issue but it can be difficult to phrase it in the correct way - and there's not much she could do about her major workload. I think this issue is more likely in a rotational role as your line manager is rarely going to get an in depth knowledge of the work you're completing as it will be going to someone else, which makes it trickier as your manager is solely reliant on what you say vs who the work was assigned by.

I had a fairly good balance of work, at quieter periods of work I had the freedom to learn about other departments and work on my own projects so it was nice to have that flexibility. Again, with it being rotational, and the fact I was an guinea pig to the scheme, I had a few dips in my work load; whilst building trust with new colleagues. I was fortunate that the work I completed was varied and wasn't a repetitive task, so having dips in work load wasn't necessarily the worst thing. There was always something to do or read if you asked people from around the office during quieter periods. There was also periods were out would swing the other way and there was loads to do. So overall it was a good balance.

Again, this was dependent on the rotation and who was delegating work. However, on the whole I believe I was fulfilling important roles that were essential to the department. I had work that meant maintaining mailboxes, meeting with people from around the business to explain impacts of change, organising a full day event for the whole department. It was really varied work and a lot of it was crucial to the operating of the department.

I couldn't advise doing a placement more. Regardless of how much training you receive and how busy you are you will always learn so much. It may not be through the work you complete but its the office life experience that will really help in future. Even though I didn't feel I got much support from management I developed a lot of self management skills through that, which will be essential in future - for both degree and work.

For the most part it was very relaxed and everyone was very friendly and chatty with one another. We had lots of meetings and team building events throughout the year which helped bring everyone together. There was some changes with regards to structure at the time so some days people were fairly tense but on the whole everyone was very approachable and would have a laugh.

I was the first person to try the rotational idea in the department and I don't think there was much organisation behind it initially. There was also a huge lack of awareness too, many people in the department were unaware I was rotating or even technically part of their wider team. Which meant I want getting as much opportunities for work as I possibly could have done. Over my time there it did improve, especially as I became more willing to feedback on any struggles such as this. I think I was slightly unfortunate with being the first to trial it especially when a restructure was happening as it meant there wasn't the time and consideration available from more senior staff to help me organise it more effectively. Before leaving I could see that they started to implement changes to the scheme so going forward it would be more seamless.

VWFS on the whole is fantastic at offering training opportunities, from online courses to signing up to internal training workshops. My manager was extremely supportive of me spending time on my development so I was able to attend lots of courses, both in soft skills and technical. I wad even fortunate enough to have the opportunity to receive an external qualification funded by the department, which was a really fantastic opportunity.

Although VWFS itself is yet to have a graduate scheme (this is something they're hoping to introduce soon) they work closely with their sister company (group) to offer opportunities to apply to their graduate scheme. There is a fast track application to their graduate scheme, which means I am currently booked in to attend an assessment centre with them in order to secure a place on the grad scheme. There is also plenty of opportunities to come back into a role though and are very encouraging of undergraduates to do so.

As a large group of us it allowed us to develop strong relationships and a social scene between us. We would regularly go on nights out in town and would often lunch together at work.

As it's not a student city and fairly close commute to London it wasn't super cheap to live there, but still fairly reasonable. I didn't pay far off what I had done at university for food and accommodation. It's slightly luck of the draw to which house you find to rent. Again, socialising not as cheap as uni as there were no student bars, however, there were places that have 2-4-1 offers etc.

Not being a student city did mean the nightlife was more bars than clubs, so it depends what you like. The scene was generally that of an older generation but was still fun to go to.

Quite a few opportunities but not that heavily subsidiesed so I didn't go on many. It was also a bit awkward to find out about them at times.